2024-Why Struggle?Week 35-Meditation: Let's Breathe Together

Why Struggle? podcast with Barbara J. Faison shares ideas, insights, and simple practices to live an intentional life and thrive. Enjoy meditations, affirmations, and practices along with musings from daily living. This is an episode about meditation with a breathing practice.

Transcript

Greetings and welcome to the Why Struggle Podcast.

I'm your host,

Barbara J.

Faison,

And my intention with this podcast is to offer ideas,

Insights,

And inspirations so you can live life better.

Greetings and welcome to 2024,

Week 35,

Meditation.

Let's Breathe Together.

Over the last month,

I have shared my meditations,

Affirmations,

And practices,

My M.

A.

P.

Map.

Meditation and breath work are so essential to my daily life,

And I am so grateful.

In this excerpt from my book,

Audiobook,

E-book,

Why Struggle,

Life is Too Short to Wear Tight Shoes,

I share my thoughts about meditation as a practice,

And we will also have a brief breathing practice at the end.

Meditation Visualization Exercises.

So,

What is meditation?

One of my favorite descriptions of the meditation process is that meditation is mental hygiene.

Every day,

We brush our teeth and shower or bathe before leaving the house.

We make sure we are properly groomed before presenting ourselves to the world.

Meditation,

A form of mental hygiene,

Is a way to prepare my mind for the day by allowing me to connect with my inner guidance.

Meditating regularly is like muscle training.

The more I meditate,

The more in tuned to life I become.

My mental focus and clarity get stronger just as my physical muscles get stronger when I exercise them.

Imagine your mind is like a bowl,

Open and ready to receive.

As we go through our day,

Our minds are filled with thoughts,

Images,

And sounds,

Many of those we have no control of based on our environment.

Unless we take the time to manage these things,

Our bowls begin to overflow.

Science now confirms that we can manage our minds and have a major impact on our lives by simply slowing down and paying attention more.

It's important that we take the time to feed our mind just as we feed our body.

Paying attention to what we listen to,

Who we spend our time with,

Paying attention to what we listen to,

Who we spend our time with,

And what we feed our mind is crucial for love and self-acceptance.

Meditation is one way that allows you to manage your emotions and thoughts.

Visualization is similar to having a focused daydream.

When you visualize,

You are the main character in your movie,

Mentally designing how you want to see things unfold.

Taking two or three minutes to think specifically about something you want to see in your life is a practice that is very beneficial.

In my meditation time,

I often reflect on what is important to me so I can start my day with a clear mind.

Meditating daily helps me manage the stuff I allow in my bowl.

The most important element of any practice is consistency.

I am more focused because I begin every day from a place of peace and gratitude.

Meditation is a process.

The more I meditate,

The more comfortable I become with the process.

The breathing practice that accompanies meditation gives me an opportunity to be present to what is happening right now.

This meditative time allows me to become more aware of what is happening in my life and world.

I think of meditation as a form of mental focus.

I have discovered that it is because of the silence,

Not in the silence,

I gain more clarity.

Imagine you discovered a new flavor of ice cream that you didn't know you liked until you tried it.

That's how meditation feels to me.

I didn't know I liked pistachio until I tried it and now I really enjoy that flavor of ice cream.

I would even try to order it or buy it if available.

Meditation is like that for me now.

I find ways during my day to find moments to be present by meditating or taking time to connect with my breath or just paying attention more.

Once you decide to start meditating,

Your experience will vary each time you meditate.

Be gentle with yourself and allow what happens to happen and just be present to whatever comes up.

This is not a test or a goal that needs to be completed.

Developing a practice is committing to being there and present.

Your willingness is all that is required.

Make your practice as formal or informal as you choose.

The most important thing is that you decide to meditate.

The reminders below may help you connect with creating your practice.

These are not required,

Just things to consider.

Make the commitment to meditate for 10 minutes a day.

If you've decided to have a partner,

Confirm the day you will start and how you will follow up with each other when you're done.

Find or create your sacred space where you can be uninterrupted for at least 10 minutes.

Turn off all phones,

TVs,

Computers,

And other distractions and decide to be present.

Give yourself permission to indulge in this form of self-care.

You deserve it.

Appreciate any thoughts that may come up during your practice and return to whatever your focus is,

Breath,

Mantra,

Or phrase to bring you back to your breath.

When you're paying full attention to whatever you're doing,

That is a form of meditation.

Walking alone,

Crocheting,

Knitting,

Eating,

And only eating,

Gardening,

Etc.

Be present to whatever happens in your practice.

It will be unique to you.

You may want to have a notebook or paper to write any observations after your practice.

Experiment with various things until you're comfortable.

As you begin to use your mind as the amazing tool it is,

You will grow and notice your level of confidence grow and your doubts lessen.

The following pages are samples of meditation and visualization exercises that will help you learn to focus on your breath.

If you don't have time for five to ten minutes of meditation as recommended below,

See if you can stop and connect with your breath for three to five minutes.

You can stop,

Close your eyes,

And take three deep breaths and use the thought,

I am on the inhale and here now on the exhale.

When you're comfortable with your breathing,

Try the meditation and visualization exercises.

Remember,

E.

T.

E.

,

Enjoy the experience.

End of excerpt.

Let's practice.

Enjoy this breathing practice.

Greetings and welcome to today's practice.

Remember,

This is your practice.

Do what feels right to you.

Let go of what you think you should be doing and be here now.

It's not that serious.

We're just breathing.

For this practice,

You can be seated in a chair,

On the floor,

Or wherever you are comfortable for the next few minutes with your spine upright and straight.

Your breaths will be through your nose if that's available to you right now.

As I'm talking,

Place your hands on your body somewhere to remind you that this is your home.

Your body is where you live physically,

And your body is also your mode of transportation.

When you show up,

You bring your body and your energy.

If you feel comfortable,

Relax your gaze by lowering your eyes or closing them completely.

Once you're settled in,

Let's just breathe and be with our bodies.

That's right.

You're going to just breathe at your own pace and rate and be with your breath and rate and be with your breath and your body.

Just breathe.

Notice your breath.

Breathe in and out at your own pace.

Feel the air moving through your nose.

Keep breathing in and breathing out.

And when the thoughts come,

And they will come,

Smile and return to your breath.

Just breathe.

Breathe in and out at your own pace.

Just breathe.

I'm going quiet to allow you to really focus on your breath.

I'll be back before you know it,

So keep breathing.

Take a full deep breath in through your nose and out through your mouth.

How do you feel right now in this moment?

As you open your eyes,

Take in what you see with gentleness and appreciation.

Just breathe in and out at your own pace.

Breathe in and out at your own pace.

As you open your eyes,

Take in what you see with gentleness and appreciation.

Open your arms wide and give yourself a big hug for completing today's practice.

Great job practicing being with your breath and your body.

Remember,

You can return to this place any time you choose.

Until next time,

Keep practicing and keep breathing.

Be well.

How are you feeling in your body right now after the five-minute breathing practice?

Leave a comment,

Observation,

Or reflection where you're listening to this podcast.

Transcribed by https://otter.

Ai