Mindfulness - Live Group Session

This recording is of a live group session. This mindfulness session includes awareness of the body and bringing stillness to the forefront of the mind through the connection to breath. There will be time to connect with the breath on your own with gentle reminders to bring yourself back from thought, to the breath.

Transcript

Hi,

Thank you so much for choosing this meditation today.

It is based on mindfulness.

This was recorded during a live online session.

You can do this sitting or lying down,

Whatever is comfortable for you.

Have your spine elongated so you can just imagine that a piece of string is pulled up from your spine up to the top of your head and that's a really nice posture.

So it's nice and soft but it's straight.

And you can close your eyes if you feel safe to do so or else you can just have a lowered gaze,

Whatever you're most comfortable with.

Notice the surface that you're sitting on.

Feel the pressure that's upon your legs and your back.

Just feel all the sensations that are there and how you're cradled by that surface beneath you.

Just allow your shoulders to ease and relax.

Just let them drop away from the ears.

Letting go of any tension that's held in the jaw.

This is a time for you to be present in the here and now.

And to find that stillness within.

Not doing,

Just being.

Just in this precious moment.

Begin to notice your body.

Noticing your feet.

Feel the aliveness in your feet.

Perhaps there's tingling or vibrations.

And if there's no sensation at all,

Just the awareness of the feet is perfect.

Shifting your awareness now to your shins and calves.

Noticing all that's there in this moment.

Spotlight on the calves and the shins.

In full present awareness.

Moving up to your knees.

Allow them to be in the forefront of the mind.

Noticing all that is there.

Moving up to the thighs now.

Notice any sensations or feelings in those parts of the legs.

Notice any sensations or feelings in those parts of the legs.

Noticing any sensations or feelings in those parts of the legs.

Then allowing your buttocks and hips to be in full present awareness.

Centre stage.

The lower back.

Notice all the sensations that are there here and now in the lower back.

Perhaps there may be tension or tightness or tingling.

Just send loving awareness to this space.

As we move our awareness now to our mid-back.

Notice all the awareness.

Placing all our awareness in that region of the back.

And then bringing our awareness now to the upper back.

Noticing all that is there in the upper back.

All the sensations.

Our shoulders.

Notice all that is there in this moment.

Tend to hold a lot of tension into the shoulders.

Just with every breath,

Allow the shoulders to loosen and let those muscles go.

Just with every breath,

Allow the shoulders to loosen and let those muscle fibers untangle.

Let them ease.

The arms.

Allow the arms now to be centre stage in the awareness.

Notice all the sensations,

Vibrations,

Perhaps temperature.

All that is there.

The hands.

Notice all the sensations in the palms and the fingers.

Notice the aliveness in the hands.

All that is there here and now.

All that is there here and now.

Our chest.

Bringing centre stage to our awareness,

Our chest.

Perhaps you can feel the rise and fall as the breath moves in and out of the body.

Then moving our awareness to our belly.

Notice all the sensations in the belly.

The rise and fall of the breath.

Perhaps digestion.

Notice all that is there.

Notice all that is there.

Moving our awareness now to our neck.

Notice all the sensations that are there.

Allow the neck to be centre stage here and now.

The chin and the jaw.

If you're still holding any tension in the area,

Just allow it to ease and let go.

The lips and your tongue.

Notice all the sensations,

Tastes perhaps or the moisture in your mouth.

Allowing the whole mouth to be fully present.

Your cheeks.

Allow them to become forefront of our awareness now.

Now our nose.

Perhaps you can feel the air as it moves in and out here.

Your eyes.

Notice all the sensations in our eyes.

The eyebrows.

And the forehead.

If there's any tension here,

Allow it to ease,

Allow it to rest.

And your scalp.

Notice all that is there in this moment.

Notice all the sensations.

Now noticing our whole body.

The aliveness in our whole body.

The miracle that is our whole body.

Notice the energy flowing through your body.

The aliveness in the body.

Allow your attention now to move to the breath.

Moving to the breath at the nostrils.

Notice the inflow and outflow of your breath.

Feel the way the temperature changes with the inhale and with the exhale.

Noticing the flow of coolness as it moves into your body.

Bringing new fresh revitalising air.

With every out breath,

Feel the warmth as it leaves.

The breath is our anchor throughout this meditation.

It allows you to be in the present moment,

In the here and now.

The mind wanders in thought.

Know that this is perfectly natural.

You do catch yourself in thought.

Be kind and gentle with yourself.

Just gently observe that thought as you become aware of it.

So you glide by almost like a cloud gliding or moving through a blue sky.

Then bringing your awareness back to the breath.

As it flows in and out.

Notice the way it flows into your body.

As it touches the back of your throat and moves down to the belly.

Notice the outflow as it moves from the belly through the chest,

Back of the throat and back out the nose.

Ride the wave of each breath as it flows in and out.

Breath by breath.

Moment by moment.

Perhaps you can feel the breath,

The belly.

As the belly rises and falls.

You may wish to place your hands on your belly if it helps you to connect deeper to the breath.

To feel that in and outflow.

As it moves in and out.

Connect to whichever area that you feel most strongest to the breath.

The nose or the belly.

Or perhaps you can feel the whole body breathing.

Expanding and retracting with each breath.

And if the mind wanders in thought,

Being kind and gentle to yourself.

Allowing the thought to glide by like a cloud in the sky.

And reconnecting to the breath wherever it feels strongest for you.

The movement from thought back to the breath may happen repeatedly throughout the meditation.

However many times it happens,

It's perfect.

There's no right way or wrong way or in regards to how many times you have to shift from thought back to breath.

Allow yourself to ease into the breath as it flows in and out of your body.

Just go ahead and do that for some moments now on your own.

Allow the spotlight to be fully present on the breath wherever it feels strongest for you.

And if the mind wanders in thought back to the breath,

It may happen repeatedly throughout the meditation.

And if the mind wanders in thought back to the breath,

It may happen repeatedly throughout the meditation.

If your mind wanders in thought,

Be kind and gentle with yourself.

Gently taking your awareness back to your breath wherever it feels strongest for you.

And if the mind wanders in thought back to the breath,

It may happen repeatedly throughout the meditation.

And if the mind wanders in thought back to the breath,

It may happen repeatedly throughout the meditation.

Feeling in and out of the breath.

Embracing the stillness and being fully present,

Not doing just being.

As the breath flows in and out.

And if the mind wanders in thought back to the breath,

It may happen repeatedly throughout the meditation.

The mind wanders in thought.

Be kind and gentle with yourself.

Allow the thought to glide by like a cloud in the sky.

Moving your awareness back to the breath.

And if the mind wanders in thought back to the breath,

It may happen repeatedly throughout the meditation.

Noticing the way your body might feel in this moment.

Body and mind is thankful for this time of self-care that you have nurtured it with today.

Allow your awareness to gently now shift to any sounds that are coming from inside and outside of your room.

Still awaken the ears a little more.

Before we fully awaken from this moment,

Bring to awareness something that you're grateful for today.

I'm grateful for all of you in this moment and having this moment together.

Whenever you're ready,

Bring gentle movements to your body like moving your fingers and toes and moving the head from side to side.

And then whenever you are ready,

You can open your eyes.