Meditation has a variety of benefits.
It manages anxiety,
Chronic pain,
High blood pressure,
Enhances self-awareness,
Emotional health,
Improves impulse control,
Self-control,
And attention span.
So wherever you find yourself today,
In this present moment,
Allow yourself to have no expectation.
Allow yourself to become comfortable in the space around you,
Either sitting on the floor,
On a cushion,
Or maybe a chair.
Turn yourself away from any distractions,
Put down your phone.
For the next several minutes,
I'll be watching the time so you can give yourself permission to disconnect.
Take three rounds of breath.
Big inhale through the nose and an even longer exhale through the mouth.
Imagine you are breathing air through a straw.
Three rounds of breath.
With meditation practice,
You will start to create space and silence between thoughts,
Emotions,
And actions.
You will always have thoughts.
You may notice five random stories about the past or future,
But with practice,
More silence will come between the stories.
The mind can relax and you can control your thoughts.
You will develop the skill set to shorten stories.
Stories will shorten into random sentences and then maybe just a few random words.
Today's tools for this practice is breath,
Imagery,
And the sound of my voice.
These tools are the reminder that you have nowhere to go and nowhere else to be.
Always take another three rounds of breath.
Big expansive inhale and an even longer exhale to remind you to soften and relax.
Try to stay comfortable.
As you sit,
You may notice tightness or tension in the body,
But just stay committed to this practice.
Interlace the fingers and allow the hands to rest on the lap.
Notice the area around you.
Take a look around.
Become aware of your environment.
And when you're ready,
Give yourself permission to close the eyes and develop awareness of the breath.
Notice what it feels like to close the eyes and breathe.
Keep the breath active.
Try not to hold the breath.
Also notice any sounds that you hear in the room,
Outside the room.
Trust that you are in the exact moment that you need to be in.
Invite three more rounds of breath.
Expansive inhale,
Long exhale to soften and relax.
If you are not stuffy,
See if you can breathe through the nose.
Close the mouth.
Exhale through the nose and exhale through the nose.
On the next exhale,
Pretend you're going to fog up a mirror,
But keep the mouth closed.
Feel the vibrational breath in the back of the throat.
When you can feel the breath and hear the breath,
You are giving the body and mind a chance to connect,
Giving the mind a job to listen and feel the breath,
Giving the body a better chance to trust that it can soften and release.
Continue to hear and feel the vibrational breath in the back of the throat.
Keep the eyes closed for imagery.
Visualize your nose.
Tip of the nose.
Right eye.
Left eye.
Overhead.
Top of the head.
Back of the head.
Right ear.
Top of the right ear.
Bottom of the right ear.
Inner right ear.
Left ear.
Top of the left ear.
Bottom of the left ear.
Inner left ear.
Inner right ear.
Inner left ear.
Release between the two inner ears.
Back of the head.
Top of the head.
Tip of the nose.
Forehead.
Notice the breath.
Notice where in the body you could soften a little bit more.
Allow the jaw to feel heavy but soft.
Take three rounds of gentle breath that feel good to you.
Gradually allow the breath to become bigger and more expansive.
Maybe even explore the idea of holding the breath for three seconds at the top of the inhale and keeping the body soft and relaxed as you take that even longer exhale.
Just explore the idea of a short hold on the top of the inhale.
Keeping the eyes closed,
Visualize the space around you.
And notice if there are any subtle differences in the body from now and the beginning.
If you feel any sense of relaxation,
Allow this to be the reminder that these meditation tools are what you need to pick up so that you can stay alert,
Aware,
And motivated so that you can stay present all throughout the day.
When you are ready,
You can gently wiggle the fingers and toes,
Roll out the wrists,
The ankles,
And gently flutter the eyes open.
Namaste.
