Good morning friend.
Thank you for choosing to start your day off with this meditation and for choosing to be with your breath and with yourself at the beginning of the day.
We will begin in a seated position with a nice long spine,
Finding a position that helps you to feel alert but also relaxed and at ease.
Your hands might rest in your lap or maybe they lie face down against your thighs.
And of course you always have the option to lie down as well.
And in these first few moments allow your eyes to stay open,
Resting your gaze on a point out in front of you so that the periphery blurs just slightly.
And give yourself just a moment to arrive in this space,
Arrive to your meditation.
Maybe taking in what you can see in your peripheral vision,
Taking in the room around you,
Maybe taking in the sounds around you.
Maybe there's birds chirping in the background or a distant rooster.
Maybe there's the sounds of traffic and people moving and starting their days.
And just allowing yourself to take it in,
Observe it all without necessarily being engaged with it.
And then when you feel ready you can let your eyes slowly close.
And now bring your attention to your body.
Just noticing how your body feels first thing at the start of the day.
Maybe it feels a little achy,
Maybe it feels energized.
Maybe you still feel that you're waking up a little bit.
And we'll begin our meditation with a breathing practice that's referred to as a physiological sigh.
And this breathing exercise can help us to feel calm,
Activating your parasympathetic nervous system.
And so how we do this is we start by taking a deep inhale and then we pause for just a moment.
And then take one more short inhale followed by a long exhale.
So again a deep inhale,
Short inhale followed by a long exhale.
So again a deep inhale,
Pause,
One more short inhale and now a long exhale.
And continue to do this on your own for a few moments.
Maybe even allowing yourself to let out a sigh instead of an exhale.
But just doing whatever feels best for you.
And in doing this practice we are calming the body and beginning to awaken the body with fresh oxygen.
With each exhale just allowing your body to relax a little bit more and sink into the seat below you.
And now you can let your breath return to its natural rhythm,
Releasing all control,
Just allowing it to be.
And bring your attention to the area of your body where you can most easily sense the breath.
Whether this is in the rise and fall of your belly or the rise and fall of your chest.
Maybe you can sense into the sensation of the breath as it is coming into your body.
Or maybe you can sense into the sensations of air as it passes in and out of your nasal passage or along your throat.
Wherever you can sense it,
See if you can rest your attention there for a little while.
And with each breath imagine that you are breathing in the highest quality of oxygen that the day has to offer.
That the oxygen at this time of day has the same energy of the freshness of the air and the energy of a brand new day.
And with each breath you are nourishing and cleansing and energizing your body before beginning the day.
And it's a natural tendency of the mind to wander,
Especially at the beginning of the day.
And you might have a tendency to think about all of our plans that we have for the day.
So if you notice your mind wandering,
Just notice that it's wandered and then gently bring your attention back to the breath.
Noticing how good it feels to create this space at the beginning of the day to invigorate your body.
To be in touch with your breath.
To create space for yourself.
And for a moment you might just take stock of the body once more.
Noticing if there's any tension that feels ready to be released.
Maybe any tension in the forehead or the jaw.
Letting your shoulders soften.
Letting there be an easefulness in your hands.
Maybe opening your palms so that there's a sense of receptivity to the day.
To all that it has yet to bring.
Once again,
Finding a nice long spine in the body.
And then once more returning to the breath.
Noticing the rise and fall of your belly or the sensations of the air in your nose.
I have a poem to offer you by Mary Oliver.
It's called,
Why I Wake Early.
Hello,
Sun in my face.
Hello,
You who make the morning and spread it over the fields and into the faces of the tulips and the nodding morning glories.
And into the windows of even the miserable and the crotchety.
Best preacher that ever was.
Dear star,
That just happens to be where you are in the universe.
To keep us from ever darkness.
To ease us with warm touching.
To hold us in the great hands of light.
Good morning,
Good morning,
Good morning.
Watch now how I start the day in happiness and kindness.
I'm just taking one last moment to let that poem sink in.
Maybe bringing a hand to your own heart and offering yourself a kind message,
Maybe little words of encouragement before moving on with the day.
