Take your easy,
Easy seat someplace that you feel comfortable in.
It can always be in your bed still.
It can be supported with something behind your back or sitting on a bolster or a blanket.
And take a few deep breaths in through your nose.
An open mouth exhale.
Allow your eyes to close if they haven't already.
And allow your body to soften.
So notice right away where you're holding tension.
Maybe you slept funny or you woke up with some anxiousness.
Use your breath to soften.
And in this meditation today,
I'll be giving you more space,
More silence to explore your breath and your meditation practice.
Drop into the natural rhythm of your breath.
And take some awareness,
Some moments here to just notice your physical body.
Where are you holding tightness?
Where is stress manifesting itself in its body,
In your body?
Or maybe where are you carrying joy and lightness?
Just noticing.
And with that,
Gentle inhale and exhale through your nose.
Bring your awareness to your mind.
Check in how are you today?
What was your intention,
Your motivation for getting here?
For taking time for your day today?
I find it helps to get clear on why you found yourself in this seated posture.
Doesn't have to be groundbreaking or mind-blowing.
And now start to bring your awareness to your feet.
Notice your feet touching the surface.
Can you bring softness to your feet?
Can you bring your awareness to your feet?
Can you bring softness to your feet?
And bring your awareness to your hips,
Your sit bones.
Noticing where you are seated.
Nothing to do,
Literally.
Nothing to fix right here.
Be seated,
Be rooted.
And gently bring your awareness to your solar plexus.
The space right beneath your ribcage.
The root of your self-confidence.
Maybe you bring in your sankalpa here.
As you breathe evenly and maybe a little bit more deeply.
And allow your awareness to shift up to your heart center.
Today welcoming in loving kindness for yourself and loving kindness for all people.
Allow your shoulders to soften.
And bring in a gentle reminder that everyone is doing the best that they can with what they have.
And bring your awareness up to your throat,
Your neck.
And keeping your awareness here and noticing your breath.
It's okay if your mind wanders into thought.
It's what it's made to do.
This practice gives us the opportunity to check back in.
To practice coming back,
Resetting our awareness each time.
And bring your awareness to your forehead,
Your third eye center.
And let that awareness soften your jaw.
Bring some space between your teeth,
Top to bottom.
Let the muscle in your face soften.
And with each breath you take,
Let that softening travel down your spine or cross your shoulders,
Softening into your abdomen.
Even the space between your toes becomes softer.
And bring that awareness up six inches above the crown of your head.
Allowing your awareness to rest intentionally outside of your body.
And know that there's no way you can get this wrong.
You don't need to measure the space in your mind.
Just let it float above you.
And now gently walk your awareness back down those points on your body.
Noting them in your own mind.
Your forehead.
Your throat.
Your heart center.
Your solar plexus.
Hips.
Feet.
And then start to use that body scan to turn your breath into a natural rhythm that takes up the full expansion of your body.
Your inhale traveling from your feet,
All the way above the crown of your head.
And back down to your feet.
Noticing each time your mind starts to wander,
Come back to your breath.
And start to add a count to your breath if you are finding your mind wandering this morning.
Inhale is one.
Exhale two.
All the way up to 10.
Starting again at one.
And noticing when your mind drifts,
You can start where you left off or simply start again.
And then start to move on.
There is nowhere else you need to be right now.
This space.
Skyshade.
In this season of new beginnings.
Taking time to slow down and breathe.
Recall to your mind a time of transition,
A time when something changed and you did not have control over it.
And if that starts to tighten your chest or constrict your throat,
Use the tools of your breath to come back into this present moment.
Using that memory,
Remind yourself that you can do hard things.
Your journey is a unique one.
And you have the tools to make it through transitions.
Whether the season is changing,
The job is changing,
The country is changing,
Your family is changing.
Allow your shoulders to soften.
And welcome in change as a beautiful part of our life,
Our human experience.
And if you've drifted off into thought,
Come back.
Come back into the rhythm of your breath,
Your body scan,
With a counting of your inhale and exhale.
And for our last few minutes together,
Allow your awareness to remain on your breath and bring your awareness to your heart center.
Bring back in that loving kindness for yourself.
Do you find the natural joy of being alive?
And let that joy,
Like a pinprick of light that you just discovered inside your heart,
Start to expand that light.
Let it softly grow inside of you,
Being willing to share this light.
And let this light radiate out of your body,
Making its way to someone that needs your loving kindness today.
Trust that they receive this loving kindness,
And trust that you have enough to share.
Continue your deep natural rhythm of your breath,
While allowing your natural joy of being alive to radiate out.
And now gently bring your awareness above the crown of your head.
And let go of any control of your thoughts or your breath.
Just let your mind do what it will naturally do in the next few moments.
Bring your hands to your heart.
And now gently bring your awareness to your fingers and press open palms up to the ceiling to the sky.
