My name is Elise Loren.
I'll be guiding you through today.
Come to a comfortable seat.
Sit yourself up on either a blanket,
A towel,
Or a block so that your hips are lifted higher than your knees.
You can sit cross-legged or bend your knees so your heels travel back towards your hips.
Find a tall seat.
Stack your shoulders back over your hips.
As you root through your sit bones,
Through your seat,
Reach up through the crown of your head.
Feel length through your spine.
Draw your belly button towards your spine just slightly so your core supports your seat.
Close down your eyes and start to connect with your breath.
Start to become an observer of your breath.
Notice the temperature of your breath.
Usually,
The breath is colder on the inhale and warmer on the exhale.
Just start to notice.
Notice where your breath goes once it enters your nostrils.
Does it land a bit more shallow in the throat or the upper chest?
Does it fill your chest,
Your upper back,
Your belly,
Your low back?
Can you feel the breath in your head flushing your mind,
Your third eye?
Follow your next breath out through your nostrils.
Let's start a moment before it exits your body.
Where does it come from?
Does it exit from your belly,
Your low back,
Your rib cage,
Your lungs,
Your upper back,
Your chest?
Do you only connect with the exhale as it arrives in the throat?
Does the inhale last longer than the exhale?
Does the exhale take longer than the inhale?
Notice if your breath includes pauses at the top of the inhale,
At the bottom of your exhale,
Or if your breath moves more fluidly,
Like a wave in the ocean.
Inhales flowing into exhales,
Which lead back into your next inhale.
Almost as if your entire life you've worked on the same breath,
Without forcing the breath,
Start to deepen your breath,
Using the air to create more space in your physical body,
More space in your mind,
So your spirit feels lighter.
As you feel your sit bones root into the ground,
Feel lighter,
Less heavy,
Less dense,
Inviting the breath into your blood,
Your bones,
Your tissues,
Your muscles.
As if you were creating your own breeze to awaken the body,
To refresh the body.
It's been said that your inhale is received as a gift from the divine.
And your exhale gives that gift right back.
The breath creates this beautiful dance between you and the divine,
Bringing each other up,
Giving the gift and then receiving it back,
With gratitude,
With grace.
Continue to keep your focus on your breath for the next few moments of silence.
Just being an observer.
Just sitting in silence.
Just being an observer.
Just being an observer.
Just being an observer.
Just being an observer.
Start to deepen your breath.
Receive a deeper breath in.
Release a deeper breath out.
Invite small movements back into your body.
Draw your palms to touch in front of your heart,
Anjale Mudra.
Lift your sternum,
Your heart space up to meet your thumbs.
We'll end our meditation together with one final breath.
Inhale through your nose,
Fill up.
Exhale,
Let it go.
Namaste.
