Welcome to today's morning meditation.
Thank you for joining me to start your day with intent and purpose.
Today's topic is how to have a mindful day,
How to cultivate mindfulness into your everyday life.
Remembering that how we start our morning and our day sets the tone for the rest of the day.
We are in control.
We create the life we want to live.
So let's start by sitting upright,
Closing our eyes,
And if you're still lying in bed make yourself oh so comfortable.
Allow yourself a few moments to settle in,
Bringing your awareness to your body,
Feeling the sensations that arise.
And now let's focus on our breathing,
Exhaling all our breath out,
Inhaling deeply for the count of four,
Two,
Three,
Four,
And exhaling completely for the count of five,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Two more times just like this,
Inhaling deeply through the nose,
Feeling your chest rise,
Stomach expand,
And then exhaling just a little bit longer than the inhale,
Signaling to the body that it's time to rest and relax and do a little practice for rejuvenation.
One more time,
Inhale and exhale,
Letting your body settle into the chair or the bed.
Allow your body to soften and as we go through the body,
Noticing where there's any tense areas or tightness,
Allow yourself to be kind and gentle with no judgment as we do this quick practice to cultivate a mindful day.
Starting at the top of the head,
Breathing deeply,
Allowing the muscles around the eyes to soften,
Noticing any tension in the back of the head,
And with the exhale letting it go.
Allow your cheeks and your mouth to loosen,
Creating space if your teeth are grinding or clenching,
Noticing if your jaw is tight and allow the muscles around the jaw and the ear to just soften and expand.
Breathing deeply,
Exhaling completely,
Being mindful and noticing the sensations of the throat and the chest,
Not judging yourself,
Not trying to change the experience,
Just noticing it.
Remembering that mindfulness is paying attention on purpose to the present moment in a particular way without judgment.
That's Dr.
Jon Kabat-Zinn's definition of mindfulness.
He created MBSR,
Mindfulness-based stress reduction,
A systematic way to bring mindfulness into your life,
Into your world,
No matter what religion or spirituality you believe in.
So breathing deeply and softly,
Allowing muscles to relax,
Noticing if your belly is tight or the muscles in the back and the spine,
Allowing your hands and feet to soften,
And allow a wave of relaxation to wash over you.
Now ask yourself,
How can I be more mindful today?
Where is one area of my life that I can bring a mindfulness practice today?
Maybe it's while you're drinking your tea or your coffee,
Committing to spending 30 seconds to one minute,
Just noticing your senses as you enjoy the cup of coffee.
What do you smell,
Taste?
What do you hear around you?
What do you see?
And what do you feel physically and emotionally?
The same can be done while you're in the shower,
Driving to work,
Preparing a meal,
Taking a walk.
Commit to 30 seconds to one minute today with a mindful activity.
Breathing,
Softening,
Noticing if your mind has wandered,
And if it does,
No problem,
That's what our mind does.
Just be kind to yourself and bring your awareness back to your breath,
Back to body sensations.
Let's take two more deep breaths together before we close our practice,
Exhaling everything out,
Inhaling deeply through the nose,
The biggest breath you've taken all day.
And as you exhale,
Let something go,
Release some tension,
Release a negative thought.
One more time together,
Inhale through your nose,
And this time as you exhale,
Say something kind to yourself.
Be your own cheerleader,
Have confidence,
And breathing normally,
Commit to one thing you're going to do today for 30 seconds to one minute where you can practice being mindful.
When you're ready,
Open your eyes,
Come back to the present moment,
Look around your surroundings,
And again,
Remembering you can create the life that you want to live.
Thank you so much for allowing me the precious gift of your time.
Until next time.
