Notice your inhale as it travels down through the torso,
And then we exhale out.
Maybe you're just going to focus on the nostrils specifically,
Noticing the inhale there,
The exhale there.
And so what is the most accessible for you this evening?
Just breathe and watch it.
And even just as you're breathing,
If you do not feel comfortable,
Please move that thing that is in the way,
Or cover up,
Or do anything you need to do to get yourself really comfortable.
And then I want us all to now lower our awareness into our belly.
And so we're going to focus all together with our breathing specifically in this area.
And so when you are inhaling,
You're going to notice that the belly is going to fill up with air.
When you exhale,
The belly is gently going to fall.
Sometimes when we are stressed,
Or we have dealt with trauma,
Some of us are reversed breathers.
And so the opposite is going to happen for you.
You will inhale and suck in,
And then you will exhale and your belly expand.
So if it's comfortable to breathe with the inhale expanding,
And then the exhale releasing,
Stay there.
If you feel like you're struggling to do that,
Then stay with what feels comfortable for you.
The main point is just to focus on the belly and the breath.
And now let's all begin to expand our awareness to the physical body.
Seeing what there is to notice.
And for most of us,
When we first start to notice the physical body,
We tend to notice the areas that are uncomfortable.
And so for as we notice those areas,
I don't want you to define why you think it feels a certain way,
Or even analyze it.
I just want you to keep it real.
Simple with just noticing.
So noticing if an area maybe feels pressure.
Is it a large space that feels a certain way?
Is it just a point?
Is it heavy?
Is it gripping or frozen?
And so maybe you are just noticing one point only,
And that's fine.
You can just stay with that.
Or maybe as I asked you the question,
You noticed a couple areas.
And both are correct.
So whatever you did is absolutely perfect.
But I want you to hold your awareness to either that one area or those areas.
And this is the opportunity that as you're holding your awareness to this area,
If all of a sudden another part of the body needs to just move or shift,
Or maybe you just start rocking gently,
Just kind of let the body do what it needs to.
So oftentimes our emotions are held in the physical body.
And just by bringing awareness into the physical body,
We can begin to release it.
Trauma is also held in the physical body.
And we can do the same by just letting the body lead the way.
And if it starts getting too complicated or too much,
Just go back to your breath.
Keep it very simple.
Also noticing as you're focusing on the physical body,
If an area maybe changed.
Maybe it felt really heavy or a lot of pressure.
But maybe you just moved your finger and that pressure released just down slightly.
So again,
We're not analyzing,
Just noticing.
And then we're going to begin to finish up where we are with the physical body.
And I want you to call to mind something right now that brings you joy.
So that could be a person or maybe a situation that happened recently.
Or a thought or an object,
Anything that brings you deep joy.
Even a pet or a plant that you love.
And as you think about that specific area or person,
Et cetera,
Noticing what happens in the physical body.
Maybe your belly just released or you felt heavier,
Your shoulders drop.
Maybe you felt more open.
Maybe that area that was tight before had pressure,
It lowered down again.
And let's hold our awareness in that joy within the physical body,
Feeling it.
And as you hold that joy,
Let that spark the start of this affirmation or mantra.
Silently repeating to yourself,
I radiate peace,
Love,
And light.
And maybe as you say,
You also link it to your breath.
So maybe he's using the inhale to say,
I radiate peace,
Love,
And light.
Or you could even split it in half if it feels too long.
And as we're continuing to say this mantra,
Noticing how we're feeling inside.
And then releasing the mantra.
We're going to begin to transport ourselves into an area with trees.
Maybe some of us connect to a forest.
Maybe it's a grove,
An open field with trees surrounding.
And you are barefoot.
And you feel the ground beneath you as you slowly walk through this area of trees.
And with each step,
You can feel the solid ground underneath of you holding you up.
And as you walk,
You feel the staying power of trees.
You feel how stable they are.
Strong yet unmoving.
And maybe you're within oak trees or evergreens.
And maybe even it's one specific tree near your home that you drive by that you really like.
And as you continue to walk,
Beginning to connect to one specific tree.
So just beginning to walk over to that one tree and taking a seat.
With your back supported against the bark.
And you're sitting on the grass knowing that the roots are just underneath of you.
Or maybe even you can feel some of them popping up out of the earth.
Allow yourself to be supported,
Heavy,
Stable,
Solid.
Maybe even allowing the head to tilt back and lean back.
Or even allowing the sit bones and legs to become heavier.
Starting to connect to the energy of the tree,
The grounding sensation that it empowers within you.
And as you sit here supported,
Heavy.
I want you to gently recite this mantra to yourself.
I am grounded,
Yet I flow.
And again,
Maybe the whole inhale is the I am grounded,
Yet I flow.
Or you split it in half.
Inhaling,
I am grounded.
And then exhaling,
Yet I flow.
And as you continue to state this mantra to yourself,
Feeling the support,
The connection,
And the heaviness of the body.
Allowing that tree to give you everything that you need right now so that you fully feel supported and steady.
And at any point if the mind starts to get busy,
Just coming back to the imagery.
Feeling the tree.
I am grounded,
Yet I flow.
And then letting go of the image of the tree.
Bringing yourself back into the room where you're located.
Or continuing to recite,
I am grounded,
Yet I flow.
Feeling the parts of your body that are connected with a surface below you.
Feeling that solid surface supporting.
Allowing the body to become heavy so that you connect a little bit deeper to that surface.
I am grounded,
Yet I flow.
Releasing the mantra.
Finish it up wherever you are.
Locating where your root chakra is located.
It is located at the base of the spine,
Right where your perineum is located.
The word chakra means wheel.
This is an energy center.
And when it is open,
We are stable and steady.
The color associated with your root chakra is red.
And so you can imagine a red ball in this area,
Spinning just like a wheel.
And from this area,
Roots from the tree,
Or a tree,
Begin to grow.
And these roots lock you into the foundation where you are located.
Eventually making their way down into the earth.
They travel through each of the layers of the earth.
Rock,
Sediment.
And eventually reaching the core of the earth.
Which is another sphere,
But it's silver.
And your roots grow down.
And wrap around that sphere.
Energetically grounding you.
And as you inhale,
You can pull up the energy from the earth into your physical body.
And as you exhale,
You can release out anything that is not serving you right now.
Anything that's keeping you from not being steady and stable.
And then starting to bring your awareness back into your physical body.
Noticing how you're feeling right now.
Keeping it simple.
Staying connected with the physical sensations.
And this time I want you to be open to also noticing areas that might feel grounded.
Or just that,
Just needs connected to the surface below you.
Or maybe areas that do feel open.
Or fluid,
Or soft,
Or settled.
And maybe even those points that were heavy or had pressure are still there.
But as you expand your awareness,
Maybe you can also notice other points of the body.
The ones that feel comfortable.
The ones that were probably already there.
And then again,
Calling to mind that area or person,
Whatever brought you joy.
Noticing how you physically feel.
Feeling gratitude for that joy.
Feeling connected and peaceful and calm when you connect to that joy.
And maybe even placing that area that brings us joy into our heart center.
And so that when we do leave this meditation practice,
We can tap into it if we need to.
And reminding ourselves that we can always take even those little moments to pause,
To just ground into the earth.
Using the imagery or the mantra.
If you are lying down,
Stack one hand on your heart center,
The other hand on top.
If you are seated,
You can bring your hands into prayer.
Or even if you're seated and you feel more connected with stacking the hands,
Go ahead and do that.
Somehow just connect to your heart center.
The space that sends love to others as well as yourself.
And so first,
Let's begin in this place to send love to somebody else.
Sometimes it's easier to start there.
Sometimes it's easier to send love out.
And with just as much love,
I now want you to send yourself a message.
And as you said that to yourself,
Feel it.
Maybe your shoulders dropped or you even smiled or your belly released or you got heavy.
Knowing that it's true and believing it.
And from my heart center to each of yours,
I'm deeply grateful that you have joined me this evening.
Wishing you a peaceful rest of your evening and week.
Namaste.
