Evening Meditation
This meditation is designed for daily use: Settle yourself after a long day reflect on your day, heart, and values, and prepare yourself for sleep. If you practice both the morning and evening meditations, each day you'll feel differently and set new intentions for yourself. You'll be inspired to notice, observe, and be attuned to the subtleties and uniqueness of each day. It helps break up repetitive routines of each day and allows you to reflect on authenticity, courage, and the small wins.
Transcript
3.
Welcome to this mindful meditation.
This mindful and heart centered evening meditation by Gabriella D'amore.
Find a comfortable and quiet place for you to do your evening practice.
Placing your hands on your heart or your belly or wherever you feel is comfortable.
It's now the end of the day and it's time to wind down.
It's time to ask that busy mind to step aside.
Allow us to come into the body,
Into our heart space as we start to soothe and relax ourselves preparing for sleep.
Start to breathe deeply and slowly.
Inhaling through your nose and allowing your belly to expand out like a balloon gently.
Nice,
Long,
Smooth exhalations as you breathe out fully expelling the air in your body and gently bringing the belly in towards the spine.
Continue to lengthen the breath,
Breathing in through the nose allowing the belly to come out.
Exhaling deeply through the nose or the mouth bringing the belly gently in towards the spine fully expelling all of the breath in your body.
As you continue to breathe deeply at your own pace for a few moments.
With each exhalation allow the body to rest and become a little bit heavier.
With each exhalation drop the shoulders,
Relax the muscles in your face,
Settle the belly and allow your body to become heavy and comfortable in the chair or the floor.
Focusing on your exhalation,
Exhale all of your worries and stress from the day.
Release everything you've been holding on to throughout this day with your exhalation.
Exhale your stress,
Your to-do list,
Your responsibilities,
Your roles,
Everything you do for others.
Use your exhalation to let go of all of these things we have to do and be for others.
And let them go through the exhalation as you breathe out through the nose or the mouth.
Dropping the shoulders and allowing the body to become a little bit more comfortable with each exhalation.
Breathing out all of your unfinished tasks,
All of the things that went wrong today,
All of the things that were challenging or confronting.
Let them leave the body now using your exhalation.
Lastly,
Emptying the mind as much as you possibly can with your exhalation.
Allow any last distractions,
Thoughts,
To-do list,
Worries to move out of the body,
Out of this moment through your exhalation.
Now I'm going to invite you to focus on your inhalation,
Breathing in deeply through the nose.
And now I want you to breathe in nourishment for your body.
Breathing in nourishing and relaxing energy into the body with your inhalation.
Breathing in a sense of calmness and stillness and completion of the day.
Breathing in a sense of peace,
Breathing out anything heavy or undone or difficult with your exhalation.
Let today be what it was and simply focus on your breath now in this moment.
And I'm going to invite you now to move into a body scan.
So using your awareness,
Scan your body from the top of your head to the tips of your toes.
Very slowly.
Paying particular attention to all of those parts of you that may start to feel tense or painful or numb as we start to increase our awareness of our physical body.
You may like to start first with the head,
The scalp,
Your hair.
You may down to your neck,
Front and back.
Over the shoulders and down the arms.
Scanning for any pain or sensation or emotion.
Scanning now down the front of the body,
Chest,
The belly,
The pelvis.
Taking your time here as typically emotion swells here in the front of the body.
Scan your heart,
Scan your belly,
Scan your gut.
Without coming into a story or getting distracted,
We are simply noticing the physical sensations in the body.
Scanning the back,
Back of your shoulders,
Slowly moving down each part of your spine.
From the top of your neck down to the back of the pelvis.
Using curiosity,
Gently and slowly scan the back of your body.
Moving now to the legs,
Front and back of the thighs.
Moving over the knees,
Front and back.
Down to the calves and the shins,
Ever so slowly.
Through to your ankles now,
Inside and outside the ankles.
Over the top of the feet,
Your toes,
Soles of the feet.
Scanning the legs for any tension or numbness,
Sensations or emotions.
Simply noting them and letting them be there.
If you notice anything that is particularly painful or tense,
Spend a few moments now to send your breath specifically there.
Allow this part of the body to receive a little bit of extra attention,
Using the calming and nourishing breath to settle that part of the body.
When you're ready,
Return your awareness to the centre of the body with your breath.
Continue to let the day go,
All that you did,
All that you didn't get to do.
Knowing that what has been done is done.
The day is over and you've done your best.
Taking time to make sure your critical inner voice has settled.
Leaving you in peace as you come into a loving and compassionate place within yourself.
Focusing on the centre of the body,
Your heart space and your belly.
Allow yourself to find a kind,
Understanding and forgiving way of being with yourself in this moment.
Taking time to hold yourself gently.
Forgive yourself for anything that was imperfect today.
Forgive yourself for anything that you weren't happy with.
Forgive yourself for any time you became unsettled or unscented or angry or distressed or upset or triggered.
Leave all of those things in the past now.
Leave them in the past using your exhalation to breathe any of those memories out through the nose or through the mouth in those long,
Smooth exhalations.
Start to call to mind now all of the things that you did well today.
All of the things you were able to complete,
Succeed in,
Do well,
Do easily,
Do kindly.
Notice the moments when you remembered to breathe and to take a moment to yourself.
When were you mindful today?
When were you mindful and present?
When were you authentic and honest today?
When were you courageous today?
When did you overcome a challenge,
Confusion,
A setback or distress?
When were you courageous today?
Where did you excel today?
Where did you do something exceptionally well,
Even if it was something very small?
Where were you exceptional and skilled and talented today?
When were you vulnerable today?
When were you vulnerable and honest and open and sharing?
When were you vulnerable today?
And lastly,
When were you heart-centered today?
When were you heart-centered today?
When did you make decisions from the heart or speak from the heart?
When did you tune into your heart and tend to your needs?
When were you heart-centered today?
Remembering all of these beautiful moments of the day,
Even if they were small or unnoticeable by others or seem insignificant to others.
Notice these small and beautiful moments of your day,
Reminding yourself that all of these qualities are far more important than the doing,
The outputs,
The endlessly giving to others,
The endless rushing around from place to place.
Remembering that our presence with ourselves and with others is the most important measurement of a beautiful heart-centered day.
Remembering that our presence with others and ourselves is the most important measurement of this beautiful day.
Now you may like to set an intention for tomorrow,
Something that you want to embody or bring forth or emulate for your day tomorrow.
Set something small and authentic and achievable,
Perhaps it's even a lesson from today that you don't want to repeat tomorrow.
Perhaps it's just bringing these values forward more in your day tomorrow.
Set yourself an achievable intention.
Something that is heart-centered that at the end of the day tomorrow will make you feel proud and nourished and grounded.
Once you've set your intention for tomorrow and you've held it in your mind,
Before you sleep tonight you may like to send yourself a well-wish.
Something you feel you need to bring into your heart or your body in this moment,
On this evening,
Into this sleep,
Something that you need to give to yourself.
A well-wish that may help you transition gently into tomorrow.
Don't think too much about this,
It can be anything you like,
Just allow it to come to you intuitively.
And you may like to just gently repeat this to yourself a few times,
May I be,
May I be nourished or hopeful or grounded or strong or courageous or patient.
Whatever comes to mind just choose one well-wish and complete the sentence,
May I be,
May I be.
Hold your well-wish close to your heart.
Using your breath once again send this well-wish throughout your whole body.
From the centre of your heart all the way down to the tips of your toes,
Send this well-wish all the way up to the top of your head,
Over the back of the head,
The neck,
The back of your body.
Send this well-wish all the way down the back of your legs.
Send yourself this sensation of this quality,
The feeling of this quality,
Of being and feeling this well-wish for yourself.
Know and remember that you are loved,
That you are love,
That you are enough,
You always have been.
You always will be.
You are enough,
More than enough.
Taking a few moments for some more deep breathing now,
Taking as long as you need but for now I wish you a restful and beautiful sleep with loving kindness for yourself.
Good night.
