Good morning,
And welcome to The Daily Insight.
My name is Elisha Goldstein,
And today's meditation focuses on starting your day with nourishing presence,
Balance,
And happiness.
As you're settling in,
Welcome to this new day.
And beginning the day with acknowledging yourself for creating space and time for your own health and well-being.
And now,
Settling into a comfortable position,
Either seated or lying down,
And with a straight spine to allow your body to breathe easily.
Think by checking in.
How are you feeling as the day's beginning?
If you're noticing any tension in your body,
Just allow that to soften.
Do a gentle stretch,
Or adjust it as you need to.
With awareness from the beginning of the day,
You have the choice to do so.
And so allowing awareness to fill your body,
Like a gentle mist saying good morning to all parts of your body as they're waking up.
Understanding how your body is naturally breathing.
Breathing in,
Good morning.
Breathing out,
Releasing,
Relaxing into this precious experience of being alive.
Breathing in,
Good morning.
Breathing out,
Softening,
Relaxing into the morning.
And now,
Warming up the attitude of attention.
If you'd like,
Playing with placing your hands on your heart or another part of your body.
And if you choose to do this,
Just feeling the gentle touch of your hands.
The warmth of your hands,
The feelings,
The sensations.
Bringing this tender awareness to the beginning of your day,
To your breath,
And to yourself.
This is your body waking up.
It's like this.
Now,
On the next inhalation,
Sensing your breath coming in and feeling into the nourishment of this breath.
How each breath brings oxygen and energy into your body.
The nourishment you need for being alive.
Breathing out,
Softening,
Relaxing into the morning.
You might also consider what you're needing in this moment,
Or in life in general.
Just layering that in on the inhalation.
Maybe it's inhaling love,
Strength,
Calm,
Ease,
Or acceptance.
Just breathing in whatever it is that you're needing,
Anything that's nourishing.
Breathing out,
Softening,
Relaxing,
Letting be.
Bringing a sense of tender presence to this moment.
Do you As you're breathing,
Let's expand this moment beyond yourself,
Considering someone in your life who's easy to love,
Easy to care for.
Maybe it's a family member,
A friend,
A teacher,
Or even a pet.
Start by with directing the out-breath to this person,
Sending something good to this person,
A sense of warmth,
Kindness,
Or nourishment on each exhale.
So breathing in,
A sense of nourishment for you.
Breathing out for this other person,
Feeling your breath,
Sensing your connection,
In for me and out for you.
One for me and one for you.
Just savoring this morning's breath,
Feeling the nourishment of your in-breath or whatever you need in this moment or today,
Love,
Strength,
Balance,
Ease.
And then also feeling the goodness of breathing out,
Giving that same thing for the other person.
Breathing in for me,
Breathing out for you.
And at any point during this practice,
You can choose to breathe more in for you if you want,
If that's what you need.
A few breaths for you,
And then out for the other person or the other way around,
Whatever feels best for you.
And finally,
Settling into what's here this morning,
Right now.
Knowing the energy you cultivate in your practice today has ripple effects across the people you come in contact with.
So as we bring this practice to a close,
Just notice how you're feeling right now.
How's your body feeling?
Is there a softening,
A warmth?
Whoever you chose to send the nourishing elements to today,
See if you can reach out to that person and share your well-wishes directly and let the ripple effects unfold.
And most importantly,
Just as we started,
Acknowledging yourself for taking this time,
Making sure to take this energy you've cultivated into the rest of your day.
