A Smiling Mind and Body: Opening to Presence and Receptivity

By consciously creating space in our bodies and minds, with gentleness, we allow a kind of openness and acceptance of all that arises. In this meditation we bring a smile to our body, feeling the openness and receptivity this brings to our minds.

Transcript

So we're just going to begin by finding a nice and comfortable seat.

Nice and comfortable posture.

Obviously there is no right or wrong way.

Just making sure that you're comfortable and that the posture of your body isn't creating any unnecessary stress or tension.

When you're ready just on your exhale just gently closing down the veil of the eyes.

And for the next couple of breaths on your inhale just elongating your spine up towards the ceiling.

And on your exhale just let yourself sink deeper into the posture.

Just let the body become a little bit heavier.

So just like this a couple more times.

Inhaling to elongate the spine.

And then just starting to let yourself sink deeper into the posture.

And then just start to become aware of the full cycle of the breath.

Becoming very aware of the inhale through the nostrils.

And the breath traveling down the spine to the navel.

And traveling back up the spine and then back out the nostrils.

In down up and out.

Just seeing if you can be with the breath for a full cycle.

Just getting to know the breath.

Just starting to become familiar with the breath.

So it's very easy to get caught up in the thinking,

The comparing,

The judging,

The expectation and the endless list of things to do which can cause us unnecessary stress and tension.

And it will mean that we are not fully available or receptive to what it is that our day has in store for us.

Maybe it leaks into the way we relate to other people.

Maybe it leaks into the way that we relate to ourselves as we move through the day.

And maybe it leaks into how much we can pour ourselves into our task at hand and bringing meaning to what it is that we are doing.

And so we are just going to spend some time during this meditation to carve space,

To open up,

To smile through the body and the mind.

To create a sense of receptivity and availability.

So we can be open and accepting of what it is that shows up for us today.

Whether or not you have a big list of tasks ahead.

How open can we be?

How much can we smile?

And so when you are ready,

Just take a deep breath in through the nose,

All the way down to the navel.

And then just breathe out through the mouth.

And we are just going to do that one more time,

Taking a deep breath in through the nose,

Filling up the lower lobes of the lungs,

Then exhaling out through the mouth.

And then just return into a neutral breath.

In through the nose,

Down to the base of the spine,

Up the spine and back up the nose.

So we are just letting the breath be our anchor,

The breath be our grounding stick.

Bringing us back to the moment as it is.

Before we go into this meditation,

Just setting a motivation or an intention for yourself,

For this practice.

Why is it that you have chosen this practice?

What is it that you would like to experience and receive on the other side?

Just bringing to mind what it is that you would like to feel or experience.

And just on your next exhale,

Just let that filter through your body.

And when you are ready,

Just take your attention up to the space between your eyebrows.

Just noticing if there is any creasing there,

Any wrinkle between the eyebrows.

And if you can,

Just see if you can create more space across the forehead.

Loosening any tension or squeezing around the eyes.

And if you are creating a smile across the forehead,

The outer edges peeking upwards and outwards.

And just notice maybe there is more light shining through the eyelids.

What is it like to be more open across the forehead?

Just continue breathing and using the breath as your anchor.

And just taking your attention down to your eyes and see if you can make a smile across your eyes.

You can always tell when someone is smiling whether you can see their mouth or not.

Just having the outer edges of your eyes peeking upwards and outwards.

And sense of openness.

And then maybe again you notice even more light coming in through the eyelids.

Be able to receive more,

Experience more.

And then bringing your attention down to the mouth and allowing a gentle smile with the outer edges peeking outwards and upwards.

Then what is it like to maybe smile on the inside of your mouth?

Creating more space inside your mouth.

A sense of suppleness,

Gentleness.

Almost like you are hugging the inside of your mouth.

And maintaining the smile across the forehead,

In between the eyebrows,

Across the eyes,

Across the mouth,

Inside of the mouth.

On your exhale just let the smile drop into your shoulders,

Creating space across the collarbones,

Shoulder blades at the back of the body starting to squeeze a little bit closer together.

And so just an openness in the chest.

And just feeling what it is like to be more open in the chest.

Again more available,

More receptive.

Then maintaining this openness across the face and in the chest.

Just coming back to your breath.

Coming back to your anchor into this moment.

As you sit with your breath allowing yourself to be present with what it is.

Can you maintain this smile,

This sense of allowance and acceptance with everything that arises in the mind?

As the mind constantly fluctuates and plays and comes up with new ideas and distractions and frustrations and judgements.

Can you maintain this smile throughout it all?

And can maybe consciously bringing a smile to the body in the way that we have help us bring a smile to the mind in the way that we relate to all that arises?

And just so for the next couple of minutes just playing with the idea of bringing a smile and openness to all that arises.

Keeping aware of the smile across the face and the shoulders.

And keeping the breath as your anchor.

Just a couple more moments like this.

And then when you're ready to start to deepen the breath taking a couple of very conscious breaths.

And if you'd like maybe breathe in through the nose and breathe out through the mouth.

And just start to bring gentle movement back to the body.

See if you can maintain that smile across the mouth.

When you're ready take a deep breath in and just bring your shoulders up towards your ears.

Exhale out through your mouth and let the shoulders roll back down.

Gently blinking open your eyes.

Keeping your gaze low.

Keeping that smile across the body.

So hopefully you can maintain this smile in the body and in the mind as you start to interact with the day around you.

And just see if you can play with the idea of bringing a smile of openness,

Acceptance to all that is that arises in your experience.

Reviews

Loved all the smiling!!!
Thank you.

Thanks very much:)

Nice meditation, thanks for guiding!

A lovely practice - thank you!

Thank you! Very uplifting yet grounding. I was holding so much tension from my day and this helped release it and make my body feel well, happy! I’m so grateful!

One of my top favorites ❤️

Much needed in changing times. Sincere. Subtle yet profound

Thanks Al. I enjoy hearing an Australian accent as well. 😊

Thank you so much!

Beautiful time out of mind. Ty Al.

Thank you so much Al. Inner Smile is illuminating, it makes our vibes higher and makes us shine brighter with all our aspects.

I am grateful for the smile and the gentleness that you provided with this meditation. Namaste

I am able to remain engaged throughout and really enjoy this meditation:)

Thank you. Today was a day I needed support in my practice; I found this very restorative. Found my way back to gratitude and wonder. What a gift!

Making me smile, Thank you!

Excellent before bed. Perfect voice,nice flow. Namaste!

S wonderful ⚡️💕

I look forward to listening to this again 🙏

Enjoyed it. It felt like a new riff on the idea of a loving kindness meditation. Bookmarked.

Uplifting! Great way to start a busy day ahead