Hi,
I'm Laura Hayes.
We're here together for a 10 minute meditation that you can use when you sort of just need to check in and find your presence,
Get grounded to the present moment.
Maybe you're worrying about some things or ruminating over some things that may have happened already and you just need to reset and come back to you.
So find a comfortable position.
Place your feet on the floor to allow yourself to feel grounded.
You can rest your arms down by your sides or place your hands in your lap,
Whatever feels good for your upper body,
Just go ahead and do that.
Now allow your eyes to gently close or cast your gaze downward as that helps to eliminate any visual distractions for your practice today.
Take a deep breath in through your nose.
Exhale it out.
Now do that again,
Another big,
Deep breath in and a slow,
Smooth exhale out.
Relax your shoulders away from your ears,
Create some space there and start to bring your attention to your breath.
If it feels good,
You could place your left hand over your heart and your right hand over your belly.
And as you breathe,
Feel the rise and fall of your chest with each breath in and out.
Feel your right hand moving on your belly as it expands and contracts as you breathe naturally,
Allowing yourself to arrive right here in this moment.
You have nowhere else you need to be,
Nothing else you need to be doing or checking off your to-do list.
Just be here now.
Now as your thoughts start to wander,
Which they will naturally,
Just simply acknowledge those thoughts.
Try not to judge them,
You're not doing anything bad or wrong.
And as quickly as they come into your mind,
Let them just drift away.
And if you find your thoughts wandering a lot,
Which may happen,
Then I invite you to bring your attention back to your breath.
Your breath can be your anchor for this practice.
I'm going to ask you to bring to mind an intention.
This can be an intention just for this brief practice,
Or an intention for the rest of your day or your week.
And this can be anything,
Maybe it's to feel more peace today.
To invite more focus into your day,
Less distraction,
More happiness,
Greater connection.
Whatever it is,
Take a moment to bring it to mind,
And then on your next inhale,
I want you to inhale that intention in with your breath.
And as that intention takes time to land,
We're going to start bringing attention and awareness to the physical body and the sensations around and within it.
So starting at the top of your head,
Noticing how your head feels.
Does it feel heavy?
Does your scalp feel tight?
Are you holding tension across your forehead?
Try to soften through your eyebrows.
Relax the space between your eyes and the muscles around your eyes.
Noticing the muscles in your jaw,
Are you clenching your jaw?
If so,
Try to release that.
Maybe your tongue is pressed up against the roof of your mouth,
And if it is,
Try to let that go,
Even just momentarily.
Coming back to your breath as your anchor,
Letting your thoughts drift in and drift out.
Now bringing your attention and awareness to your neck,
Around the back of your neck,
Releasing any tension you may be holding onto in your shoulders.
Noticing any sensations around your arms.
Maybe there's a cool sensation or the feel of the fabric of your clothes.
Whatever it is,
Just noticing.
Moving this awareness over to your chest,
Your upper back.
Maybe acknowledging how your back feels,
Pressed against the chair.
Then with your breath as your guide,
Shifting attention down to your hips and your pelvis.
It's thought that we hold a lot of our emotion in our hips,
So maybe you can release any tightness that you're feeling,
Or just shift ever so slightly into a more comfortable position,
Noticing your hips,
Making contact with your seat.
Now moving down to your legs,
How do they feel?
Do they feel heavy?
Do they feel relaxed?
Are you holding on to any tightness anywhere?
Now as you bring your awareness down toward your feet,
Feel your feet making contact with the floor.
Push down through all 10 toes,
And then release them.
From head to toe,
Connected to your body,
Connected to your breath,
Connected to this present moment.
From here,
Start to bring some tiny movements back into your fingers and your toes.
Begin to deepen your breath,
Taking in some bigger inhalations,
Filling your body with new energy,
New light,
New awareness.
And before you open your eyes and we close this practice,
Bring to mind the intention that you just experienced.
The intention you set at the start of your practice today.
Whether that was an intention for this brief time,
Or an intention for the rest of your day,
Let your mindfulness practice settle in here,
And take that intention with you as you move throughout your day.
Take a deep breath in,
And as you exhale,
Float your eyes open.
Thank you for sharing your time and your energy with me.
Until next time.
