Hi,
I'm Colleen and I'm going to be guiding you through this meditation today.
You can do this meditation either seated onto a chair,
Cross-legged on the floor,
Or if you'd rather,
You can lie on your back,
Maybe on a yoga mat or on your bed.
Take a few moments to get yourself as comfortable as possible,
Wriggle,
Readjust,
Grab any props you might want to support yourself,
Maybe sitting up onto a pillow or a block.
If you're lying on your back,
You might want to take a pillow underneath the head.
Allow yourself to be as comfortable and as supported as possible.
Then you can gently close down your eyes,
Or if you'd rather,
Just take a soft gaze.
Start to become aware of the surface beneath you.
Feel the connection between your body and the surface,
Noticing the support,
The hold the surface has of your body.
Can you allow your body to release into that support a little bit more?
Noticing any place in your body that you might be gripping or tensing.
You can scan through your body,
Softening the space between your eyebrows,
Releasing the jaw,
Feel the shoulder blades melt down your spine,
Feel the length of your spine.
Release any grip you might have in the fingers or toes.
Soften any tension in the legs or glutes.
Can you release any hold you have in the stomach,
Creating a sense of softness through your whole body,
Then starting to guide your awareness towards your breath.
You don't have to change anything about the breath,
Just start to notice and watch as the air flows effortlessly in and out the body.
Where do you feel the breath?
Can you notice the air against your nostrils,
The coolness of your inhale,
The warmth of your exhale?
You might notice the breath in the throat,
The movement of your torso with the breath.
There's no strain,
No force,
Just a gentle coming and going,
Like a gentle wave lapping the shore.
And can you take a moment just to be with your breath,
The breath ever-present.
With each new breath comes a new moment,
A fresh start,
Letting the breath anchor you to the here and now.
Then we're going to take some full yogic breath,
Our full yogic breath is when we expand fully through the torso on the inhale.
You can pause briefly at the top of your inhale,
And then letting go with the exhale,
Feeling the torso soften.
You can imagine your torso a little bit like a balloon,
So as you inhale the stomach and ribcage,
Chest expands,
We pause,
And then exhale and feel the chest,
Ribcage,
Stomach soften.
We'll do some of these breaths together,
So let go of any breath that you have just now,
Then inhale through the nose,
Expanding through your stomach,
Ribcage,
Chest,
Pause,
Exhale,
Chest,
Ribcage,
Stomach softens.
Inhale deeply,
Pause,
Exhale,
Inhale,
Pause,
Exhale.
Breathing in,
Pausing,
Letting it go,
Breathing in,
Holding,
And letting it go.
You can allow your breath now to return back to a natural rhythm,
A natural pace.
We're going to practice a mantra meditation.
The mantra that we'll be working with today is Om Moksha Ritam.
Om Moksha Ritam.
If you'd like,
You can say this out loud.
Om Moksha Ritam.
Om Moksha Ritam.
Om is a powerful mantra in itself.
It's said to be the sound of the universe,
And this mantra here helps raise our life force energy,
Our prana.
Moksha means liberation.
Ritam is the rhythm of the universe.
Om Moksha Ritam.
Om Moksha Ritam.
You can start to repeat this mantra in your mind.
There'll be a bit of stillness and quiet here.
If you find that your mind drifts off from the mantra,
Know that that's normal.
It's okay.
Just whenever you notice that the mind has wandered,
Just coming back to Om Moksha Ritam.
Om Moksha Ritam.
Om Moksha Ritam.
Om Moksha Ritam.
Take a big inhale through your nose.
And a big exhale through your mouth.
Start to guide your awareness towards your surroundings.
Becoming aware of the different sounds you can hear.
Perhaps sounds within the space that you're in.
Notice any smells.
Feel the surface beneath you.
And you can gently blink open the eyes.
Taking in the different colours and shapes you can see.
Allow yourself to return back to the space that you're in.
Back to the world.
Hopefully feeling a little bit more grounded,
Aligned and connected.
Thank you so much for joining me for this meditation.
I wish you a wonderful rest of your day.
