This morning we're easing into the day.
We'll be using gentle breathing techniques,
Mindful body awareness and some soft intentional movement.
We're going to start with a gentle breathing technique that helps regulate the nervous system and stimulate the vagus nerve.
We're going to make the exhale a little longer than the inhale.
Let's try it together.
Inhaling through the nose for a count of four and exhaling gently through the nose or the mouth for a count of six.
Eyes open or closed,
Keeping the body relaxed as we breathe in two three four.
Breathing out two three four five six.
Breathing in two three four.
Breathing out two three four five six.
Breathing in two three four.
Breathing out two three four five six.
Doing a few more breaths like this in your own time and dropping the count if the count doesn't feel helpful.
Just making sure that the out-breath is nice and slow.
We're finding our own rhythm,
Letting the breath be easy.
Each exhale is like a reset,
A small signal to the body that it doesn't need to be on high alert.
Not yet.
Not now.
We're not trying to force anything.
We're just giving our system some space to settle.
Okay,
Good.
And now,
Whenever you're ready,
We can allow our breathing to return to its natural rhythm.
And notice how the body's breathing.
Is it a slow breath or is it a rapid breath?
Is it a deep breath or a shallow breath?
Maybe we're breathing into the chest or perhaps into the stomach.
Is the inhale longer than the exhale or is the exhale longer than the inhale?
We're just noticing.
Now we're not so much watching the breath,
We're experiencing the breath,
We're feeling the breath.
So what does it feel like to breathe?
Perhaps we can feel the cool air coming in through the nostrils as we breathe in,
As the lungs,
The chest and the stomach expand.
And then we might notice a short pause as the breath changes direction,
As the body softens and relaxes and the warm air leaves the nostrils and the body sinks deeper into the chair or into the bed.
We breathe in and the body expands and we breathe out as the body softens and relaxes and sinks deeper.
Now if you notice your mind drifting off into thought,
Thinking about the day,
Making plans or running through your to-do lists,
That's completely normal.
This is the mind's way of trying to help us by anticipating and solving potential problems.
But this type of thinking can end up creating stress.
So when you catch yourself lost in thought,
Please don't be hard on yourself.
Instead,
I want you to gently and patiently guide your attention back to the breath and simply pick up where you left off.
Back to that next inhale.
Back to that next exhale.
And now we're going to gently scan through the body,
Slowly waking it up,
Part by part,
Using gentle awareness and little movements to ease our body calmly into the day.
Let's bring our awareness all the way down to the feet.
What sensations can we feel in the feet?
Perhaps tingling,
Warmth or just the weight of your heels resting.
Maybe there's a gentle urge to wiggle your toes.
What's the smallest,
Most relaxing movement you could make?
Just enough to gently let the feet know the day's begun.
Allowing your awareness to move into the ankles and lower legs.
Maybe there's a tiny stretch or the softest rolling of the ankles.
Gradually drifting our awareness into the knees and thighs.
Noticing any sensations here.
If it feels good here,
Maybe straightening the leg,
Slightly flexing the thigh muscles.
Bringing our attention now to the hips and pelvis.
Allowing this part of the body to feel heavy,
Grounded,
Supported.
We're welcome to make any slow,
Gentle,
Tiny movements we like as we move through each of these body parts.
Allowing our awareness to move into the belly and chest.
Noticing the gentle rise and fall of the belly.
The chest expanding and softening.
Noticing that we don't need to do anything here.
The body knows exactly what to do.
If it feels good,
Maybe resting a hand on the chest.
Perhaps one on the belly.
Moving into the shoulders now.
Maybe there's space to drop the shoulders slightly.
Or maybe not.
Just noticing.
Moving our awareness into the arms,
Upper arms,
Elbows,
Wrists,
Hands.
Perhaps letting the fingers stretch.
Or gently wiggle.
Or simply rest.
Moving up through the neck,
The jaw,
The face.
If it feels natural,
Maybe softening the corners of the eyes or even letting a small,
Gentle smile form on the face.
And now,
Let's expand our awareness to include the whole body.
From the top of the head to the tips of the fingers and toes.
Noticing what it feels like to have a connected,
Calm,
Gently energized system.
We're not forcing wakefulness.
We're simply meeting the day with quiet presence.
Now before we wrap up today's meditation,
Let's use a technique called the three-part energizing breath,
Which helps to gently build energy in the body without overwhelming the nervous system.
This breathing shouldn't be intense,
Just enough to gently lift our energy and prepare us for the day ahead.
We'll breathe into the belly,
Feeling it gently expand,
Then the ribs,
Widening softly,
Then into the chest and then exhale slowly.
Now don't worry about getting it perfect and if you're wondering whether or not you're doing it right,
Just take the pressure off yourself and simply take a deep breath in and a slow breath out.
But if you'd like to join me in the three-part breath,
Let's try it now.
Inhaling into the belly,
Now into the ribs,
Now into the chest and then exhale gently.
Again,
Breathing into the belly,
Ribs,
Chest and breathe out slowly.
And allowing the breath to return to normal.
And noticing how the body is breathing now.
Not changing anything,
Just noticing.
Noticing the body now,
More awake,
More present but still grounded.
Congratulate yourself for taking the time to start the day in a different way.
Instead of jumping into your to-do list,
Instead of letting your thoughts run the show,
Instead you paused,
You breathed,
You gave your body the message it rarely gets first thing in the morning.
You told your body it was safe.
You told your body that it's ok to start slowly.
And as this meditation comes to an end,
Let's bring our awareness to sounds.
Sounds inside the room,
Sounds outside the room.
We can gently wiggle our fingers and toes,
Having a little stretch if we need to and whenever we are ready,
Gently opening the eyes if they were closed.
Let's take one last deep breath in and a slow breath out.
And now you can take this calm,
Steady energy with you as you move through the rest of your day.
