Welcome,
I'm Bailey Smith and this Centering Meditation is here to support you in finding gratitude.
It is impossible to feel fear or anxiety and gratitude at the same time.
Come to this practice to ground yourself,
To center yourself before moving toward any stressful situation.
To begin,
Take a moment to remove any distractions that are around you and to enter into this space.
You can find a comfortable seat on the floor or in a chair.
Roll your shoulders up toward your ears and then just allow them to fall down your back.
Let your palms rest on your thighs and allow your body to just settle into stillness.
Start to notice your breath in and out.
If you're new to this practice or if your mind begins to wander,
Just simply come back to your breath,
To my voice,
Breathing in and out.
As you start to notice your breath,
Maybe you begin to slow your inhalations to the count of four.
And then allow your exhalations to extend to the count of six.
Inhaling for four.
Exhaling for six.
Using this extended exhale to bring yourself back to center,
To presence,
To stillness.
And using this extended exhale to regulate and calm the nervous system.
Inhale for four.
Inhale for six.
Allow the count of your breath to begin to simmer.
Begin to imagine a bright light shining from the top of your head.
This light is so warm that you can actually start to feel the temperature of your skin increase.
This light can represent the universe,
The source,
Our higher self.
Allow this light to start to trickle from the top of your head down over the entirety of your body.
Covering your face,
Your ears,
Neck,
Shoulders.
Like honey,
Allow it to drip over your arms,
Your fingers,
Torso,
Legs.
Covering all parts of you.
As this light travels down,
Every muscle that it comes in contact with relaxes.
Legs,
Feet,
Toes.
As you make your way down to your feet,
Feel your feet on the ground.
Feel your seat beneath you in your chair or on the earth.
Feel the support underneath of you.
For as long as you have been here,
This earth has always and will always hold you up.
This is a foundation that is with you always.
So start to feel what it feels like to sit in the lap of the earth.
Feel its presence holding your tissues,
Your muscles,
Your bones.
Start to bring one of your hands to your heart.
Begin to notice the beat of your own heart.
Feel its rhythm,
Its pattern.
For as long as you've been alive,
You have had this heart pumping blood.
Before you had a brain and formation,
Before you had bones in your body,
You had this heart.
This heart is the center of who you are.
Begin to think of a person in your life that you can feel deep gratitude for.
Start to visualize this person clearly in your mind.
Just whose face comes to mind.
What do they look like?
Maybe they have a scent where you can start to hear the sound of their voice,
Their laugh,
Their smile,
Their presence.
Start to hold this person in your heart.
Take yourself now to an experience with this person.
Maybe this is a loved one,
Your child,
A best friend.
Start to take yourself to an experience with this person where you felt so lucky to be with them.
Allow yourself to feel this moment,
To relive the moment in your heart,
In your mind.
What is it about this experience and this person that makes it so special?
Start to now think of a place in your life that you have deep gratitude for.
Maybe it's a place you come home to,
A place that you create in,
A place you live in,
A place you visit frequently.
Maybe it's a place that's new,
That you used to hope for and dream of,
Or something so familiar that it's engraved in your bones.
Start to see it in front of you,
Feel it,
Hear its sounds.
And for a moment,
Just notice its sacredness.
Not everybody gets this sacred place,
But you get to have this to come home to or to come back to again and again.
I invite you to ask yourself to find gratitude for something that you have lost.
And instead of focusing on the absence of this thing,
Can you start to find gratitude for what once was?
And a reminder that if you can find gratitude in that,
You can find joy in anything.
You can turn a tough situation into an opportunity.
You can shift the fear and the worry,
The anxiety into something that motivates you,
That moves you.
As you visualize this person,
This place,
This experience,
The beat of your heart,
Begin to visualize a light at the base of your heart.
This light is a glowing pink light that represents all of these blessings.
This pink light represents the heart,
A place of unconditional love,
Compassion,
Joy.
And with every beat of your heart,
The light starts to grow.
The light begins to glow and to spread throughout your body,
From the center of your chest through your torso,
Your shoulders,
Arms,
Legs,
Face.
And this glowing pink light starts to spread across the entirety of you so that you can start to feel these intense,
Deep blessings that you have.
Maybe you don't have everything that you want,
But in this moment,
You have everything that you need.
And if you begin to feel stressed or anxious or worrisome,
Know that this place is one that you can come back to again and again.
Your home,
Your truth,
Your place of blessings,
Of gratitude lives right here in your own heart.
You can stay here as long as you need.
If you're moving on back into your day,
Slowly start to deepen your breath.
Begin to bring movement back to your fingers and your toes.
Once more,
Feel the support of the earth beneath you.
Slide both of your hands together on your heart.
If they're not there already,
Just take a moment here to pause,
To consider what you want to take with you,
What you're ready to leave behind.
When you feel ready,
Start to softly blink your eyes open,
Welcoming the light of the room back in.
Thank you so much for joining me.
Namaste.
