I would like you to think of today's meditation like an hourglass.
We will start with our general awareness of the thoughts,
Feelings,
Emotions that are occupying your mind.
Then we will gather our attention and draw it into each part of the body to see what is there.
We finish by expanding your attention and the field of awareness of the body as a whole.
So finding a comfortable position wherever you are and then closing your eyes.
Let's begin by taking three deep breaths in through the nose and then open the mouth to sigh it out.
Deep inhale through the nose,
Lift the belly,
Expand the ribs and then exhale,
Belly softens,
Ribs expand back out through the mouth.
Last breath,
Deepest of the day,
Inhale through the nose and then exhale through an open mouth.
Breathing normally now in and out of the nose,
Finding your own rhythm and pace and allowing the breath to be just as it is,
Serving you as it naturally does each and every day.
Drawing your attention and awareness now to your thoughts in a nonjudgmental way,
We are not here to label or categorize our thoughts today.
Just simply observing what's here,
What's surfacing,
Becoming aware of all your thoughts,
Emotions and sensations.
What is the one thought that is front and center?
What is the story that is playing on repeat over and over?
Is a certain emotion causing you any bodily sensation right now?
Do you notice the parts of your body that are warm?
Parts of your body that are cold?
Do you notice any parts within your body that are anxious or are you feeling at peace?
So as we continue to breathe here,
We notice the things that keeps our minds busy.
We notice the places in our body where we hold tension and store emotion,
And then we let it go.
Allow your awareness to scan through your body and wherever possible,
Soften and release obvious areas of physical tension along the way.
You might very consciously relax in the shoulders,
Soften the hands,
Relax the belly.
With each exhale,
Continue to move deeper into this time of stillness.
Let's bring our attention now into even greater focus as if we were adjusting the lens of our awareness in our body.
Let's move through the body,
Placing our breath into each area specifically,
Starting by sensing the breath as it moves into the nose,
Sensing the breath as it moves into the nose and in between the eyebrows towards the center of the forehead,
And then back down.
Sensing the breath as it moves up the nose,
Spreading over the eyebrows and up the center of the forehead into your third eye.
Sensing the breath moving down into your lungs.
Sensing the breath as it broadens across the collarbones,
Lifting the chest and filling the upper back.
Sensing the breath deep into the lower abs,
Anchoring the breath into your abdominal walls.
Sensing the breath touching your tailbone.
Sensing the breath entering and weaving through your hips.
And then sensing the breath in your legs,
Not just an image of your legs,
But the actual legs themselves.
Sensing the breath into your feet and beyond.
Let's expand our attention by breathing into the entirety of the body,
With one full breath in and one full breath out,
Attending to any other sensations as long as it captivates your attention.
And then coming back to total body awareness,
Sensing into your entire being.
Can you expand it even further?
Can you breathe beyond your body,
Beyond sensation?
Can you sense that you are larger than your body?
Can you breathe into the space around you so that you and the space become one?
Now begin to bring your breath back into your physical body,
Deepening with each inhale and lengthening with each exhale.
When you are ready,
Slowly bring yourself back into the room with open eyes.
