Hi there everyone and welcome back to your practice.
Welcome back to your meditation today.
Thank you for being here.
So when you are ready,
You will start in a seated position.
Just finding a comfortable seat wherever you find yourself,
Whether you're in bed,
Maybe you want to sit on the floor or roll out your mat.
Sitting up nice and tall,
Just gently resting your hands on top of your knees.
And then closing the eyes.
Just draw those eyes to close.
We just start with our gentle breathing,
So shifting our awareness to our breath.
Focusing and drawing our attention to the breath.
We're not trying to control anything here.
We're just simply noticing every inhale and every exhale.
Every inhale,
Feel the body full up with air,
Feel the gentle rise of the chest,
Feel the belly rise and exhale all the way out.
Allow the breath to ebb and flow through the body.
As we intentionally breathe here,
Feel how the breathing rate slows down.
Maybe the breath deepens slightly.
Really just allow yourself to simply just be.
There's nowhere else you need to be,
Only this moment.
Then we're going to move through something called a box breath.
So we seal the lips off,
We inhale through the nose for a count of four.
Hold at the top for a count of four,
Exhale for the count of four and hold at the bottom for a count of four.
So when you are ready together,
We inhale through the nose,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Hold,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Exhale,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Hold,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Inhale,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Hold,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Exhale,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Hold,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Three,
Four.
So carrying on like this in your own time and this is uncomfortable for you,
You can lower the counts it's just important to keep the inhale on the hold and exhale all at the same number of count.
So we have three more rounds to go just in your own time.
As you breathe through this box breathing technique feel how the body calms down,
Feel how the nervous system regulates itself.
And then when you have completed your last round just let that breath control go slip back into your normal natural rhythmic breath.
Maybe notice that feels a little bit different than it did before.
Maybe it sits a little bit lower in the belly,
Maybe there's a little less tension up in the chest or in the body.
Just notice that feeling,
That feeling of calm and ease.
And then slowly we're going to draw our attention to our intention.
So that is what we are focusing on today in our meditation.
Welcoming in an intention for the rest of our week or if you find yourself on a Monday morning like myself maybe for the rest of the day.
So this is just simply a word,
A phrase,
A statement,
Anything that brings true to you.
Anything that you would like to move with and through.
Anything you would like to call into your life in this moment.
And focusing on an intention while we meditate is a really nice way to guide ourselves through the rest of the day.
It also just brings a sense of awareness to our minds and maybe our thoughts that might be floating in our minds.
If you would like something,
Some sort of an inspiration this morning,
I offer you the idea of acknowledgement and release.
This idea of noticing where we've been,
Releasing the past and allowing ourselves to live in the present.
Releasing any worries in the future,
Anything that might be on our minds.
And with this intention of acknowledgement and release,
I offer you a short reading today.
And let these words resonate with you and if they don't,
Just simply let them go.
An acknowledgement to self,
A letter to self,
A poem to self,
An offering to self,
An acknowledgement to self.
An offering to express my recognition,
An acknowledgement that I deserve.
And this is often something we don't give ourselves enough of.
The honor and well-deserved pat on the back,
Embrace and love of where I have been,
Where I am now and the trust to know where I am going and being okay with if I don't.
Looking back,
I am proud of myself,
Of my experiences and what I have endured.
The internal landscapes I have overcome and the times I have gotten myself out of and through and will continue to do so.
My transformative journey up to this point,
An acknowledgement of this journey.
This journey of surrendering to the changes.
An acknowledgement of this healing journey in this moment.
And although it might have been uncomfortable and terrifying in the past,
I release all of that,
I let it go and I surrender to this present moment.
I am proud of these journeys.
I am proud of my expression of delving deep and discovering and rediscovering myself.
I am proud of the softening I have allowed within myself.
The openness I'm starting to become comfortable with,
The vulnerability,
The breaking down of walls and letting myself out,
The patience I start to cultivate,
The expectations I minimize and release,
The projections I am trying to silence that do not serve me.
This energy that I have created.
I let go of the pressures,
Internal or external.
I let go of the past and I acknowledge the vast growth I've had and I'm still having.
I do not fear these changes or growth.
I completely embrace them.
I am proud of my living human experience.
I'm proud of the lessons I have learned along the way.
I'm proud of all sides of the complex being I am and the fact that I get to learn from that.
And with all that being said,
I release that that does not serve me right now.
So just let those words settle.
Start to draw your attention back to your breath.
Notice where you are at.
And to end our practice off today,
Let's just take one big inhale together through the nose.
Exhale out.
Let it go.
Release.
And I thank you for being here today,
For practicing your meditation with me.
I am so grateful.
My heart overflows with gratitude.
And I hope you acknowledge yourself today as I acknowledge you.
So
