So if you'd like to get in your comfortable seated position and close down your eyes please.
See if you can slow down your breathing.
Start to prepare your body and your brain for your meditation.
So slow down your breathing.
Take a nice big deep breath in through your nose.
So breathe all the way down into your abdomen.
And then breathe out through your mouth.
Once again a nice big deep breath,
Bigger than last time.
Big deep breath all the way down to your stomach.
Pull the air in so that your tummy is big and full.
And then breathe out and release,
Let go until you're completely empty.
Setting the stage for our day.
Starting to focus first of all on the center of your chest.
So feel that space and start to just breathe in to the middle of your chest.
What does your heart and your heart chakra feel like this morning?
Just taking some breaths there into that part of your body starts to bring awareness to it.
So as you feel into that space,
What does it feel like?
Sometimes it's difficult to actually feel an emotion straight away or feel a sense of mood where you're at just by feeling this part of your body.
The first thing you might get is a feeling of fullness,
Maybe you'll feel the weight of that space.
But actually diving into any emotion that's in there can be quite difficult.
So to help you out,
What color does your heart space feel like?
Colors hold energy and vibration.
Metaphorically they all have a different meaning to the frequency that they are.
So just take note of what color your heart and your heart space feels like,
That might be easier.
Sometimes it's pretty obvious,
If it's gray or brown or black or blue,
Your heart space may be moving more towards like a sense of heaviness or sadness.
Maybe you're just in a quiet space,
Lower in your energy.
If you get more of a bright,
Vibrant color,
That could indicate the obvious,
That you're happier,
Lighter.
Move your attention up into your throat and take a few breaths into your throat.
What does your throat feel like?
Does it feel tight?
Does it feel open?
What color does your throat feel like today?
Just feel the energy and vibration of that color,
Whatever comes to mind.
That's where you're at with your throat,
With your communication in this moment,
With what needs to be said,
Or maybe silence is needed,
But your throat is very closely connected to your heart space.
Wherever your heart is at,
Your throat can express that through talk,
Through communication.
That's why when we get upset,
Our throat gets super tight.
When we cry,
Our throat gets tight.
Our heart hurts and our throat gets tight.
They go along with each other very closely.
It's like it's tight because it hurts and it wants to communicate,
But there's sadness and there's pain,
And that tightens and constricts the throat.
For a lot of us,
That metaphorically means that we clam up.
We don't say what we need to say.
We shut down.
We probably learned that in childhood as a protective mechanism.
If you're ever in conflict or your heart is in pain,
Even in your own space,
A lot of the times we shut down.
It reminds me of a part in that bunny rabbit movie,
Is it Watership Down?
There's a part where,
I believe I've got the right movie,
I might have got a wrong movie.
I'm going on a tangent,
Guys.
There's a hedgehog crossing the road and the other one says,
Don't roll up,
Don't roll up,
And the hedgehog rolls up,
And it's a bad ending for that hedgehog.
And that stuck with me my whole life.
It's so sad.
I'm laughing,
But it's so sad.
I'm sorry.
Don't clam up is the point that that comes to me.
Don't roll up.
Don't roll up on life.
But when we are in any kind of emotional stress or pain,
A lot of us roll up.
And sometimes that's the smartest thing to do.
And sometimes,
Unfortunately,
That is kind of like a form of procrastination for us and it keeps us where we are.
If you were to do a little exercise right now and you thought about the things that needed to be said to certain people in your life that you don't say or you haven't said,
And your exercise was,
If I loved myself fully,
Completely,
Would I say it?
If I loved myself fully and completely,
Would I say it?
If I knew what needed to be done,
If I knew what needed to be said,
And I loved myself fully and completely,
Would I say it?
Would I do it?
And this isn't about shaming yourself.
This isn't about feeling bad about your decisions or rolling up.
Because like I said,
Sometimes that's the smartest thing to do in certain situations.
But on reflection,
Is there any whittle room for change?
And if you could change,
Could you do it?
Whenever we do self-awareness meditation,
It's not about looking down on yourself for areas that seemingly appear to be negative.
That's never the point,
And if that's the point that you take it to,
Then your meditation practice isn't something that's going to be very nice or fun for you.
So this is not about finding something and then discovering and feeling bad about it.
This is about discovering a part of yourself and giving it understanding and love.
Understanding that this is a self-defense mechanism.
Understanding that maybe,
Maybe there's a part of you that knows the right time to speak or not to speak,
And trusting and believing in that part of yourself.
Give yourself grace,
No matter what your discoveries are.
Yes,
Sometimes,
Maybe in situations,
We feel as if we're supposed to speak up and say something,
And we don't.
Give yourself some grace,
Because maybe next time you will.
Everybody rolls up.
And maybe,
You know,
Maybe that's part of self-love.
Self-love doesn't have to be all the good things,
Like we can self-love when we're brave.
We can self-love when we speak up.
We can self-love when we're doing the right thing.
Because then that's kind of backwards,
Right?
Maybe rolling up.
Maybe be nervous and afraid.
Maybe freezing in flight or fight is all part of self-love too.
Because it's all in divine timing,
Right?
I truly believe that everything happens when it's supposed to happen.
And with that,
I think we can give ourselves a little bit of love,
Some self-love.
If it feels right for you,
Do me a favor and just put your hands over your heart,
Either your physical heart or the center of your chest.
Take a nice,
Big,
Deep breath,
And breathe into that precious space there.
There's a very simple book out there in the world called Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends Upon It.
And in the book,
A lot of the exercisers are very simple,
I love yous.
I love you.
Talking to myself.
I love you,
Kori.
Can you all do that with me?
Just use your name,
Take a breath in,
And a breath out,
I love you.
You can say it internally,
Or you can say it out and use your voice,
I love you.
And see if you can say it like you mean it,
Like you really feel it.
Just keep repeating it on every breath.
Notice what comes up for you when you do this little tiny exercise.
Maybe you're uncomfortable,
Maybe you think it's silly,
Maybe it feels really good and natural.
Just notice,
It doesn't matter whatever it is that you're feeling,
Just notice your feelings.
Become aware.
Does it get any easier or does it start to feel more uncomfortable the more you do it?
Can you believe it when you do it?
I'm going to count to five,
And then when I get to five,
You can open your eyes and bring yourself back into your beautiful space.
And in your meditation.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Opening your eyes.
Coming back into your space.
Namaste,
My friends.
