Welcome to this morning meditation.
My name is Ellen Schilling.
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Exhale.
Ie.
This morning meditation is to help you to gain access to the sense of ease,
Stability,
Groundedness and centeredness.
And also to help you to connect in with an intention for your day.
So settle yourself into whatever is your preferred meditation posture.
Whatever is comfortable for you and easy for you to hold for the next couple of minutes at least.
Your posture is upright,
Engaged in the practice of mindfulness.
Your shoulders are open.
And you can gently close your eyes if they're not closed already,
Turning your attention inwards.
But with the eyes of compassion,
A gentleness,
As you check in with yourself today.
A very simple inquiry.
How am I?
What am I doing in this moment?
And then allowing whatever is there to be there,
Without story,
Without reasons why.
State knowledge is.
It's okay that I feel this way.
It's okay that this emotion is there for me today,
In this moment.
I give myself permission to feel this.
You don't have to figure your way out of it simply by no longer resisting or suppressing it or trying to intellectualize it.
Simply by allowing it to be there often helps it to begin to dissipate.
So checking in.
And you can put your emotions to the side for the moment.
And come to notice your breath.
Bringing curiosity to the sensations as you breathe in and breathe out.
The filling up of the in-breath,
The natural letting go of the out-breath.
The ebb and flow,
In and out.
Effortless,
Seamless transitions.
I invite you now to count the length of your in-breath.
And then count the length of your out-breath.
And then even them up.
If you can,
Even making the out-breath a beat or two beats longer than your in-breath.
So force it,
Just whatever is comfortable for you.
Whatever is easy.
So you either have a very even in-breath to out-breath or you have a slightly longer out-breath.
So you can count the length of your in-breath.
So you can count the length of your in-breath.
When your mind wanders,
Gently bring it back.
Coming down now into the body.
Coming down into the feet.
Bringing your awareness to your right toes.
To all of the toes in your right foot.
So breathing awareness into those toes,
Wiggling them.
And on the next out-breath just let them relax onto the ground.
Breathe awareness now down to the sole of the right foot.
And as you breathe out imagining the sole of your right foot just opening and any stress and tension from the body just flowing out of your right sole down into the earth.
You might even notice some tingling,
Vibrating,
Pulsating around the feet or around the body as we bring awareness to it.
Breathing into the sole of the right foot.
Breathing out letting go.
Right heel.
Right ankle.
Breathing in awareness.
Breathing out softening.
Right knee.
Right hamstring.
Right hip.
Awareness now from the right hip to the knee to the sole of the right foot.
And just really surrendering the weight of that right leg to the chair on the floor below.
Let it become heavy.
Trusting that in this moment you are supported and that it's safe for you to let go of the weight of your leg.
And safe for you to let go.
Gently moving to the left leg now bringing awareness down to the left toes.
Wiggling them on the in-breath.
The breath releasing them.
Relaxing.
And to the sole of the left foot.
Again opening the sole of the left foot as you breathe out.
Bringing awareness now down to your left heel.
Anchoring your awareness into your body.
Into your left ankle.
Left knee.
Softening.
Releasing.
Left hamstring.
Left hip.
And then there the whole of the left leg.
Again,
So that any tension and stress flow out the sole of the left foot.
Giving over the weight of your left leg to the chair.
The floor below.
Let it become heavy.
Trusting.
Surrendering.
Letting go.
Getting more and more into your body.
Dauphin' deeper.
Bring your awareness now gently into your belly and your chest.
Noticing the movements there.
And if you wish you can place your hand over your heart.
As you ask yourself,
How would I like to meet my day?
How would I like to encounter any challenges or obstacles that may come my way today?
Is it with grace or ease?
Presence or calmness?
Patience?
Or maybe it's with passion,
Creativity,
Compassion,
Joy?
What one word is jumping out for me today?
How I would like to contribute to the world?
Asking your heart.
And then thinking of a time when you were at your best.
Whatever that means for you.
Not always linked to accolades and achievements.
A time when you felt like you were at your best as a compassionate,
Loving human.
Maybe it was in a way that you responded to a situation or a moment of kindness that you extended to somebody.
An expression of gratitude that came your way.
The moment doesn't have to be big.
But when were you at last at your best?
That moment?
That's a feeling like within you.
Bringing that moment,
That feeling around that moment to mind as you breathe in.
And then letting those feelings just flow throughout your body as you breathe out.
Breathing in remembering that moment.
Breathing out letting that flow through you.
And now just contemplating for a moment or two on what you are most grateful for in your life right now.
What are you most grateful for in your life right now?
Calling to mind one or two things.
And then we seal this practice with the loving kindness,
Metta bhavana mantra.
May I be well.
May I be happy.
May I find peace within.
May I be well.
May I be happy.
May I find peace within.
Gently sealing this practice.
Rolling your shoulders a few times or wiggling fingers and toes.
Stretching your neck perhaps,
Moving in a very gentle way.
And reminding yourself before you open your eyes what your intention is for today and how you would like to meet it.
And perhaps reminding yourself of that moments throughout your day.
As a to-do list or as a thing to judge yourself against.
It's a gentle reminder.
Thank you for listening.
Namaste.
