Welcome to this meditation with Christine Lustick.
Life can be uncomfortable,
Whether we're dealing with physical pain,
Workplace stress,
Or outdoor bugs.
On so many levels,
Daily,
We are faced with discomfort.
Our practice can support us in managing the discomfort and learning to see beyond it.
Discomfort works in similar ways,
Whether it's physical,
Emotional,
Or mental.
Something is pushing,
Stretching,
Calling for your attention.
In today's meditation,
We use our practice to begin looking beyond the discomfort,
Acknowledging it for what it is,
And nothing more.
I invite you to settle in.
For you,
That might be settling back into a seated posture,
Balancing your shoulders over your hips and your head over your shoulders.
Or depending on your body today,
It may even mean lying down,
Taking a moment to adjust,
Feeling your spine straighten along the floor.
Either way,
Gently rolling your shoulders back and down,
Just to feel a little openness in the chest,
A little possibility.
I invite you to slowly begin coming into this moment,
Letting go of whatever has happened so far today.
We're not worried about what's coming yet today,
Just coming back and down.
I invite you to notice where today it's most easy to feel the breath with the body,
Perhaps the air moving in and out at your nostrils.
Or perhaps it feels possible to follow the breath and the movement at the chest or abdomen.
Choosing one of those places as your anchor point today,
Beginning to settle,
Feeling the softening of the body with the exhale,
The expansion of the body with the inhale.
With each exhale,
I invite you to allow yourself to settle a little bit more,
As if it was sand settling at the bottom of a river.
Your mind and body soften with each exhale.
In today's meditation,
We will touch on uncomfortable areas,
If at any point in time,
Whether it's physical,
Mental or emotional discomfort,
If it gets too much,
You always have a choice.
You can always choose to return sooner rather than later to the breath or another part of the body that feels okay,
That's neutral or positive.
The practice isn't about sticking anything out.
It's simply about curiosity and acknowledging where we are in any one moment.
So to begin,
I invite you to recognize a part of the body that's slightly uncomfortable.
Whatever you might call it,
There might be some discomfort or even some light pain.
If it allows you to do so,
Begin to study that area almost as if you were a researcher.
You're not looking into the story of why it feels that way.
You're simply noticing what is.
Does the discomfort come and go?
Or does it seem more solid?
Is it just a general ache or more of a pinpoint?
Can you feel the edges of it?
Taking a moment,
Acknowledging what you're feeling,
Noticing.
And if possible,
I invite you to breathe into it,
Especially with the exhale.
Almost as if with each exhale you were placing a hand there,
Letting it know it's going to be okay.
Allowing yourself,
If you haven't already,
With the next exhale to release that area of the body for a little bit.
Coming back to the weight of yourself in the chair,
Away from the mind if it started to go to any story.
And I invite you to search gently and slowly through the body and just identify another area of the body.
But this time an area that's neutral or feels good.
Might be a sensation that feels good,
Cool or warm air on the skin.
The weight,
The weight of hands on the legs or feet on the ground.
Noticing how the body has a lot of different dimensions.
Even if the discomfort is still in the background,
We can settle in.
Settle in on this positive dimension.
Breathe into the positive dimension,
Feeling the body soften into it.
Notice what it's like to settle there.
Just for information sake,
Is it easy or hard?
Whenever we realize we're distracted by something around us or thought,
Just lightly acknowledge that.
Knowing as human beings that's going to happen.
We gently return to the pleasant sensation that we're settling with.
Softening into it.
As human beings,
We know that each moment changes.
This practice encourages us to see ourselves as whole human beings at any one point in time.
We may have discomfort.
And we may have pleasant both at the same time.
Taking a few moments to resettle,
Feeling the weight of ourselves in this moment.
The movement of the breath as it flows out and back in.
You're Exercise We can use this same technique to support ourselves during multiple types of discomfort or challenge.
I now invite you,
Without getting into any story,
To notice if there are any challenging thoughts that have been going through the mind lately or emotions.
Perhaps there's been some fear or sadness.
Settling in on the feeling of that more than the story.
Understanding where it sits in the body.
At this point,
We're not getting caught up in why it's there.
Judgment on listening to too much news or separating from that situation.
We're just acknowledging it's there.
Noticing the weight of it in the chest or the throat or wherever it's settled.
With each exhale,
Softening it.
Knowing that it's okay as a human being to feel those emotions.
Noticing if the mind has wandered.
It gets uncomfortable settling with challenging things.
Just acknowledging that.
Gently returning slowly with the next exhale,
Releasing the challenging thought or emotion.
Returning for a moment back to the anchor spot,
Following the breath out and back in.
Feeling yourself back in this moment away from any story you've created.
You might take a moment to feel the weight of yourself or to take in the sounds of birds or your house to resettle.
Now,
As we did before,
Redirecting to the possibility that it's possible to have challenging emotions and thoughts at the same time as there are good.
I invite you to identify some positive thoughts or emotions that you can reach right now.
Perhaps feeling gratitude or love for family or friends that you can hear or animals.
Perhaps gratitude for the summer weather or the birds you hear or something you've recently done outside.
You might feel a light smile on the lips.
Some warmth or ease around the heart.
Notice where that good feeling or emotion sits in the body and settle there quietly for a few minutes,
Embracing it.
One more time,
Gently returning.
The feeling of yourself in this moment,
Noticing if the mind had wandered.
And without judgment,
Returning.
Returning to the weight of yourself right here,
The movement of the breath.
One more time,
Following the breath as it flows out and back in.
As you take in the sound of the bell,
Noticing it,
Allowing yourself to take it in,
Let it flow through the body.
Notice how the body reacts to it.
And when you're done moving into your day,
Taking with you this idea that we can have both.
We can struggle a little and have joy in the same moments,
In the same hours,
In the same days.
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