Hey everyone and welcome to Day 26 of our 30 Day Yoga Challenge.
My name is Candice and today's practice is a simple meditation technique that I use all of the time.
It's great for when you have a really busy mind and you just want to sit for a few minutes.
It's really simple.
We aren't going to be moving on our mat at all.
It's just going to be a meditation today.
So grabbing,
I recommend grabbing a meditation cushion.
I'm sitting on a bolster right now,
But if you want to grab a cushion,
A pillow,
If sitting on the floor isn't great for you,
You can even move to a wall to rest.
Your back onto,
You can sit in a chair,
On your couch,
Wherever is comfortable.
We're not going to be moving,
You don't need your mat.
So getting comfortable in any clothes that feel comfy and just grabbing what you need and we will get started in a comfortable seat.
So finding a comfortable seat that works for you,
Feeling the spine tall with minimal effort from the back.
This is why I like to grab something to sit on to elevate your hips because when your hips are elevated,
It allows for your pelvis to tilt slightly forward and your spine can have that natural curve that it's supposed to have so that you can sit tall without straining the muscles in your back.
Getting comfortable in your seat,
Resting your hands,
Either palms facing down or up,
Or maybe folded together in your lap,
Whatever you prefer.
Closing the eyes down.
And just taking these first few moments to just mentally scan.
Your inner landscape.
Noticing everything going on inside as you close the eyes down and feel that attention shift inside.
Resisting the urge to want to change anything or control anything or label as good or bad,
Positive or negative.
Noticing thoughts circulating the mind.
And knowing that.
No matter who you are.
No matter what meditation technique you're using,
Thoughts will always be there.
I really don't love the term of clearing your mind when it comes to meditation because That kind of paints a difficult picture because realistically your mind is never going to be clear.
Um,
When you establish the sense of concentration on one particular thing,
Like the breath or something like that,
Then it might feel like your mind is clear because you are focused on something.
But.
.
.
In reality,
The thoughts are always going to be there.
And it's a matter of being able to separate yourself from your thoughts and connect to something that grounds your attention into the moment that you have right here.
Because really that's what it's about,
Present moment awareness.
So letting go of the idea that you need to clear your mind or.
.
.
But you need to be good at meditation.
Just allow your thoughts to be there and it can feel frustrating when we're feeling extra distracted.
But no matter how seasoned of a meditation practitioner you are,
You are going to still have days where you're extra distracted,
Where you have extra thoughts in your mind with life becomes,
You know,
Busyness and stress or whatever else going on in your day that may or may not be circulating in your mind.
Just finding acceptance for whatever's there right now.
And the meditation technique we'll be using today will help you find a focus on something that is not your thoughts.
Beginning to draw the awareness into the breath.
Only into the breath for right now.
And notice where that attention falls.
Maybe that's at the tip of the nose or the nostrils,
Feeling the air enter the nose and as it leaves.
For you,
You might notice that the awareness falls to.
.
.
The sensation of the belly and the ribcage expanding and contracting with the breath.
Wherever that awareness naturally falls,
Wherever the breath is most prominent for you,
Just take a few moments to become aware of that.
Noticing if the breath is shallow or deep.
Even or uneven.
Not looking to change or control it,
Of course,
We are just noticing.
Mindfully aware.
And without changing or controlling the breath.
In any way.
On your next inhalation,
Simply count one.
Exhale to release.
Inhale three.
Exhale,
Four.
Inhale five.
Exhale,
Six.
Inhale,
Seven.
Exhale,
Eight.
Inhale 9.
Exhale 10.
Going back to 1 now.
Inhale 1.
Exhale to release.
In House 3.
Exhale,
Four.
Inhale,
Five.
Exhale,
Six.
Inhale 7.
Exhale 8.
Inhale 9.
Exhale,
10.
And returning back to one.
So counting on your own to your own pace of breath from one to ten and back to one.
And knowing that it's perfectly natural for thoughts to pull at your attention.
So if at any moment you notice that you've just lost the count and you're lost in thought,
Without any worry or stress or concern,
Just simply return back to one.
And if at any moment you notice that your mind starts to kind of multitask and you've gone past 10 in your count and your thinking thoughts at the same time,
No worries,
No stress,
No judgment,
Just return back to one.
Anytime you lose the count,
Anytime thoughts become loud and you become lost in them.
Knowing that you can always just simply return back to one.
And you may notice that it might be very difficult for you to reach 10.
Some days when I practice this,
I don't reach 10 at all.
And I thought about how many times you reach 10.
How many times you get lost in thought?
It's about the return.
And even if you only catch yourself lost in thought one or two times in a practice,
That's still practice.
You're still sitting,
You're still trying,
You're still.
.
.
Attempting to focus your mind.
And over time,
It's like a muscle,
It will grow.
And you will notice that your ability to remain focused off of your mat and in your day,
Your patience will grow.
Your presence will grow.
How attentive you are in every moment will grow.
Anytime you're lost in thought,
Returning back to one.
I'll leave you for a few moments here on your own.
And wherever you are in your mind,
You can let go of the count or let go of thought and bring the awareness back into the breath.
Softly bringing the hands to heart center,
Closing your practice here.
Feeling grateful for this time on your mat,
Your meditation cushion,
Your couch,
Wherever you are sitting right now.
Feeling proud that you gave yourself this time to connect and find presence in your day so that you can now move into the rest of your day with that same commitment to be awake in every moment and attentive in every moment as much as possible.
Go ahead and blink the eyes open.
Thank you so very much,
As always,
For joining me in practice,
And we will see you again tomorrow.
