All right,
So if you are new here,
My name is Janet.
I have been teaching yoga and meditation for over eight years now and I have been particularly fond of slowing down.
So a lot of my classes and meditations will be focused on grounding,
Will be focused on slowing down,
Focused on the breath,
Focused on mindfulness,
Focused on strength,
Strengthening the body,
Strengthening the mind.
So if that is something that overwhelms you,
Then you should stay and give it a try.
But again,
I always like to remind people in my classes that if anything is ever doing you harm,
If you are feeling any physical pain,
If maybe we touch on something that kind of brings you into some mental pain that you're not ready to encounter yet or you know you need more support to be able to go there,
You can always come back to the breath,
Always come back to a child's pose,
You can always lay down.
Just do whatever you need to do for you.
Take a break,
Go to the restroom,
Drink some water,
Okay?
So just know that that's always an option.
And then from here,
Whenever you're ready,
I want you to get into a comfortable position.
Maybe you want to light a candle.
Maybe you want to light some incense.
Maybe you want an eye mask.
Maybe you're driving or at work so you need to stay more alert.
If lying down may make you fall asleep,
That's okay.
Totally okay.
Okay.
Just do whatever you feel your body needs.
And if throughout the meditation something else comes up that your body needs,
I want you to tend to that,
Okay?
This is not rigid.
I want you to stay present but not trapped.
So lie down,
Sit with your legs crossed.
You can go into child's pose.
And then I want you to just take a breath in and a breath out.
Maybe whispering a namaste to yourself and each other.
And just go ahead and take in what is happening around you right now.
Focusing more on the body.
And how do you feel?
Not judging anything,
Not critiquing anything,
Not changing anything.
Just noticing.
Maybe starting at the crown of your head.
And slowly moving down the body.
Maybe moving through your scalp,
Your temples,
Your forehead,
Your eyes,
The back of your head,
The front of your head,
The sides of your head.
Just noticing and taking a big,
Deep breath in.
Feeling that breath going down through your body.
Maybe as you exhale,
Giving your head a little tilt back and a little tilt forward.
And maybe just hanging it forward there for a moment and feeling this nice stretch in your neck.
Again,
The neck can be a very sensitive area,
Okay?
So if you are feeling any pain as you're bending your neck down,
Just ease up a little bit.
Do as much as you can the best you can,
Okay?
And maybe you focus your thoughts here on the point where your neck and your head meet.
And now maybe as you were focusing your energy on that spot,
Maybe it became very overwhelming.
Maybe you were thinking about how there's pain in your neck,
How there's pain in your throat.
Maybe you are grieving,
So you just feel a lot of tension there.
Maybe you have a lot going on in your head right now.
So just all of this,
The weight of your head,
The weight on your shoulders,
The weight in your throat,
The weight of just everything is coming to you right then and there.
I want you to take a big,
Deep breath in.
Gather all of that up.
All of the weight,
All of the emotion,
All of the thoughts,
All of the tension,
Everything you're carrying there.
Grab it all up and maybe just squeeze it as tight as you can.
And maybe physically squeeze it as tight as you can.
Taking that deep breath in,
Breathing in a little bit more and a little bit more and a little bit more.
And then go ahead.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Letting it all go.
And now taking a moment to send love to your mind.
Whatever that looks like to you.
Maybe it's a physical feeling.
Maybe it's a visual.
But however it is that you send love to your mind,
Do that now.
Feeling your head getting lighter in that spot where your head and neck meet getting stronger.
As the energy and tension has been released.
And maybe with this same kind of energy,
You move down into your shoulders.
And with your mind,
Feel the release of your shoulders.
Imagining you feel the tension easing right out.
Noticing if there's anything left.
Noticing the strength in your body.
Maybe you sit up a little taller.
Maybe you roll your shoulders back.
Moving your awareness to your spine.
And as you move down your spine,
Imagining it almost like a wave of water,
Easing your muscles as it moves down.
Kind of like a little waterfall.
And as you get down to the bottom,
The waterfall is crashing and all that energy is coming back.
It's coming out there.
And again,
Breathing as the waves flow out.
Begin to bring your awareness to your arms.
And let that same release course through your arms,
Through your fingertips.
Feel how your body lets go of the tension,
The tightness,
The pressure,
Simply by placing an intentional focus on it.
Your mind is very powerful.
And if you're starting to feel,
Well,
No,
I don't feel any different.
It's all the same.
Even shining a light on those areas of your body where you're holding tension immediately allows your body to start to assess the situation.
Is this true?
Is this helpful?
Is this something I want to hold on to?
Breathing in and breathing out.
Allowing ourselves to make a choice.
Focusing our attention on the tension and giving it the space,
Giving it the respect,
Acknowledging that it's there,
Acknowledging that we may need to at some point go deeper.
But instead of forcing the pain,
Instead of forcing the tension,
Instead of forcing the stress,
Instead of forcing the anger,
Instead of trying to fight it out,
Instead of trying to ignore it,
Acknowledging our pain,
Taking a moment to be still,
And recognizing its place in the body.
And every time our body alerts us,
Acknowledging it and doing our best to let it go.
Coming back to those feelings of sending love and sending love to that feeling of being.
Of stress,
Tension,
Anger,
Frustration,
Pain.
Releasing it,
Sending it love,
Letting it go.
And if you're unsure where to send that love,
Send it back into yourself.
Back into those feelings that are sitting within you.
This wave of love that is gently washing over the heaviness and starting to make you feel a lot lighter.
Maybe placing a blanket or a pillow or your arms onto your hips and allowing your hips to sink deeper into a relaxing position.
We also hold a lot of tension in our hip area,
A lot of memories,
A lot of feeling.
Taking a moment here to let go of any weight you've been carrying and allow yourself to fully release in whatever way that looks like for you today.
Feeling this wave wash all the way down through your legs,
That wave of love washing over you.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Allowing love and calm to flow all the way through your body again.
Breathing in and breathing out.
There is so much more to us than this body.
We are surrounded by energy and that energy flows around and within us.
Above the crown of your head,
There is a bright white light and I want you to visualize it pouring over you like that waterfall of warm water,
Warming your head,
Your neck,
Your shoulders,
Your back,
Your hips,
Your legs,
And pushing that heat right out of your toes,
Out of the soles of your feet.
Imagine your whole body now glowing with this light and you are airy,
You are calm,
You are full of peace.
And maybe here you create an intention for yourself.
Whatever this intention is,
You can carry it with you throughout your day,
You can carry it with you throughout your life,
Throughout the next hour,
Whatever it is.
There is nothing too big or too small.
As you go about your day,
Try to keep this same focus.
Before reacting,
Observe.
Noticing your surroundings,
What's going on without attaching any emotion to it.
Create the intention for how you want to approach life.
Rewrite the script for your reaction.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Approaching everything and everyone with love,
Peace,
And kindness.
Observing every moment with observation and knowledge that you can have a choice.
Love yourself,
Choose love,
Love what is.
Breathe in and breathe out.
Try to let your expectations take the day off.
And today,
You be love,
You be present.
You have lightness within you.
And just see what happens.
May you be happy,
May you be healthy,
May you live with ease.
Breathing in and breathing out.
And maybe you repeat this with me.
May I be safe,
May I be happy,
May I be healthy,
May I live with ease.
May I be safe,
May I be happy,
May I be healthy,
May I live with ease.
May I be safe,
May I be happy,
May I be healthy,
May I live with ease.
Taking away the idea of what life has to be and simply just following our intention in our present moment today.
Maybe bringing your hands to your heart center,
Dropping your chin down into your chest,
Maybe closing your eyes if they weren't already closed.
And taking a moment to thank yourself for showing up for you today.
Taking a big inhale through your nose.
Breathing in a little bit more air and a little bit more air and a little bit more air holding it there at the top and maybe letting out a nice,
Big,
Audible exhale.
Ha.
Breathing in and out of your nose.
Taking a moment to thank all the teachers before me who have given us this knowledge to be able to practice here today.
And then bringing your thumbs to your third eye center.
As always,
The light in me honors the light in each and every one of you.
Thank you so much for practicing with me here today.
