If this is the first time you've decided to do an exercise,
A meditation,
Maybe you've heard about it from your friends or read about it,
Congratulations.
This is the beginning of a lifelong journey to gain resources and tools to help with self-care and to improve your life.
We'll start simply.
So find yourself sitting in a comfortable position,
Feet flat on the floor,
Hands at your side.
Don't worry about closing your eyes unless it feels comfortable and natural.
This morning,
We're going to focus on our breath and relax our body and we're going to invite kindness to ourselves and to others.
Always remember there is no right or wrong way to do this.
The idea of meditation is paying attention on purpose to the present moment in a particular way without judgment.
That comes from the mindfulness-based stress reduction theory of Dr.
Jon Kabat-Zinn.
So when you're ready,
Exhale all your breath out,
Inhaling deeply through the nose,
Maybe for the count of four or five,
And exhaling just slightly longer,
Letting all the oxygen out.
Take a couple more deep breaths on your own and if your mind wanders to other thoughts,
Come back to the physical sensation of the breath.
How does it feel going in the nose and how does it feel leaving the nose?
Paying attention to our body sensations can help us stay in the present moment.
Breathing,
Softening,
Settling,
Feeling these sensations,
Allowing muscles in your body to relax and now noticing any sensation or feeling you have in your chest or heart area.
Noticing what comes up,
What thoughts arise as we sit and breathe,
Allowing our body to soften and our mind to relax.
Your heart generally tells us something.
Be brave and listen.
Let's take two more breaths together,
Inhaling deeply and as you exhale,
Relaxing completely.
One more time,
Breathe in and breathe out.
Breathing naturally for yourself,
If your eyes are closed,
Go ahead and open them.
Bring some movement to your fingers and your toes.
Thank yourself for trying something new.
Mindfulness is a practice,
So a few minutes here and there to begin is all you need.
Thank you so much for allowing me the precious gift of your time.
Until next time.
