Hi,
This is Paige.
For many of us,
Modern life is more fast-paced and fragmented than ever before.
That can make it really hard to shift from scattered to focused when we want to be.
Today's Embodied Meditation,
A short 7-minute reset,
Draws on classic yogic techniques to help you get out of your head and into your body and gather and settle your attention.
We'll do this whole practice standing.
It will involve some invigorating movement and then finish with some stillness.
Start simply by shaking out your arms,
Your wrists,
Your hands,
And then shifting from one foot to the other,
Your legs,
Your ankles,
And your feet.
Just shaking things off and meeting scattered fragmented energy where it is,
Sloughing off anything extraneous and coming into this moment and into your body.
And when you finish with that,
You can stand still again and then soften your knees and ankles and let yourself start to turn side to side,
Swinging your arms as you go.
You might find your arms and your hands gently tapping your body,
Reminding you that here you are in this physical form,
In this physical place.
And then let that swinging get still and begin some half neck rolls.
Drop your chin to your chest,
Roll one ear over toward its shoulder.
You could tip your chin up to the sky and drop your chin back to your chest,
Other ear toward its shoulder.
You could tip your chin up and let yourself move through those half neck rolls.
Another time or so,
Literally moving from your head all the way into the physical presence of your full body.
Then bring yourself back through center,
Back through neutral,
And we'll do some chair pulses to enliven the whole body,
Especially the back side of the body.
So your feet can be about as wide apart as your hips.
Sink your hips back as if they're trying to reach a chair that's a little too short,
A little too far away.
Move the energy into the backs of your legs,
Into your whole back side.
If you like,
Stretch your arms forward or maybe up alongside your ears and then press into your heels to come all the way back up to standing,
Letting the back side of your body lift you up and become engaged.
And we'll pulse like that a couple more times.
You can inhale and sink back into that imaginary chair,
Sinking your hips back,
Letting the backs of your legs,
Backs of your hips,
Your whole back side engage.
And then press into your heels,
Come all the way back up to standing,
Feeling strong and steady.
One more pulse like that.
Inhale,
Sink your hips back,
Stretch your arms forward,
Maybe up alongside your ears.
And exhale,
Press into your heels,
Strengthen your back body,
Get clear and present as you come back to standing.
And we'll finish the movement portion of this practice with a little bit of balancing work.
So if you would like to be near a surface or a wall to have a little support with balance,
You can position yourself there.
We'll simply rise up under the balls of our feet.
So lifting your heels,
Letting the arches of your feet engage.
And then if you like,
Maybe stretching one arm or both arms up alongside your ears.
So you're up on the balls of your feet,
Your arms are reaching.
And then as you exhale and lower your heels back down,
You can press your palms and your arms through the air,
Really landing yourself back down on the ground.
And twice more like that.
You can inhale and rise up under the balls of your feet,
Lifting your heels,
Engaging your whole body,
Maybe your arms,
One or both stretch up alongside your ears.
And exhale,
Press your arms and hands if they're lifted through the air as you slowly lower your heels back down to the ground.
One more of those.
Inhale,
Rising up under the balls of your feet,
Everything engages in your whole body.
Maybe your arms stretch up alongside your ears.
You might sigh out your exhale as you lower back down if your arms are lifted,
Pressing your arms through the air all the way back down by your sides as you get present and clear here where you are.
Notice if you're feeling a little bit more alive,
A little bit more engaged.
And we'll finish by resting our gaze.
So find a point in front of you that is still that you can softly rest your gaze on.
It could be out a window,
It could be something on a table or your desk.
Doesn't matter what it is,
Just a soft focused gaze on a single still point.
Laser sharp,
Soft around your eyes and we'll let our breathing focus us and settle us in with a gentle count.
When you're ready to inhale,
Inhale to the count of one,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Exhale four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Inhale one,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Exhale four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Inhale one,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Exhale four,
Three,
Two,
One.
I hope this leaves you feeling a little less scattered,
A little less frazzled and more able to focus on what's meaningful to you.
Thanks so much for making this time for yourself.
I look forward to being with you again soon.
