Hi,
My name is Ellen Schilling and you can access more of my meditations on my email list at www.
Exhale.
Ie.
This is a short meditation to help you to check in with and bring some healing to your heart.
When our heart is open and we're connected to it we make better decisions.
We can bring presence to all that we do in a day and we have a better relationship with ourselves and so too with everyone and everything in our life.
First we start by creating a space for yourself.
So setting yourself up in whatever posture is comfortable for you whether that's sitting on the chair or cross-legged on the floor.
You might want to perhaps light a candle or burn some incense if you wish or perhaps have a blanket around you if you're cold.
Make it your space and a comfortable space for you to sit in for the next 10 minutes or so.
And then once you're settled you can close your eyes turning your attention inward with gentleness with openness of what you might find as we journey through this meditation.
Bringing your awareness first to your breath.
The gentle inhalation and exhalation is an over-ending cycle following it from the beginning of the in-breath all the way around to the end of the out-breath.
And as you do that introducing some softness and gentleness making it a little bit longer if you can.
And forced to it just opening a gentle opening of your breath.
And of course your mind will wander.
Every time it does just gently bring it back.
Following the breath,
The sensations,
The movements,
The temperature even of the breath.
As it moves from the inhalation to the exhalation.
And as you slow down your breath you might find that your attention becomes more present.
That you are able to come more into the here and now.
And then bringing your awareness to focus purely on the out-breath.
So following the out-breath from the top of the in-breath all the way down to the very end of the out-breath.
And as you do this you might notice that at the end of the out-breath there was a pause and place where there is no breath,
There is no movement before you begin to breathe again.
So allowing the body to breathe in.
And then a very long slow gentle out-breath.
And as you breathe out you can place the words letting go on your out-breath.
Dropping those words into your body and into your breath.
Knowing how it feels to say those words to yourself every time you breathe out.
It's not necessary for you to know what it is that you're letting go.
At this moment it just means you're letting go of your breath and perhaps you're letting go of your body.
Letting it relax.
If you wish to visualize your breath like a child's slide.
So as you breathe in you're climbing up the slide and as you breathe out you're sliding down a very very long slide into that pause before you breathe in again.
And then you can let your breath resume its natural rhythm.
Just let it go to whatever pace and tempo it wishes to go to.
Watch it and observe it as it does so.
Now you can bring your hand to your heart if you wish.
Gently placing your hand on your heart in the center of your chest.
Your heart energy center,
Your chakra.
And asking yourself a simple question.
How am I?
How am I today?
And you might get the words in,
Or the answer in words,
Pictures.
You might get a scene in nature.
You might get a number of words or a number of emotions.
What we tend to do as human beings is when we find an answer that we don't like we tend to deny it or push it away.
Whatever is there for you,
See if you can bring some acknowledgement to it.
Some acceptance of it's okay for me to feel this way.
It's not good,
It's not bad,
It's not right,
It's not wrong,
It just is.
Every emotion passes and the more that we can bring acknowledgement or acceptance to them the more they will pass,
Sooner,
Easier.
How am I today?
And it's okay for me to feel this way.
And then offering to your heart whatever it needs in this moment.
Gentleness,
Encouragement,
Love,
Kindness.
So offering that to you in a way that feels right for you.
Then asking your heart,
What can I do to support myself today?
What can I do to support you today?
And the answer again comes from the heart.
And don't worry if you're not getting any answers or any visualizations from this experience.
We have a muscle that brings us from our head to our hearts and often times we have to walk that path as such a few times before we can arrive there.
But the more that we do it the easier it becomes.
Sometimes we need to do this practice a couple of times before we can get into the heart.
And that's okay,
It doesn't matter,
It's the intention of wanting to connect with our heart is the most important part of this.
So gathering up whatever answers that you find or who have found and bringing them back with you.
Thanking your heart for showing up in whatever way I needed to show up to you today.
Thanking yourself for taking the time out to do this meditation,
To offer yourself this time today in this moment.
Sometimes the hardest thing that we can do in the day is to actually sit down to practice our meditation.
So really honoring that effort and thanking yourself.
Thank you from me to you for listening to this practice also.
So slowly coming now back to your breath.
The temperature of your in-breath and your out-breath.
Once again in your body,
The fact that you are a physical body sitting in this space.
And taking your time to come back into the room.
You may want to sit here for a while.
You may be ready to open your eyes.
Honor whatever is there for you,
Whatever feels natural.
Namaste.
