Hello!
Welcome!
This is Jax,
Your meditation teacher,
And today we are going to do a meditation on finding your voice.
Before we really get into it,
I want you to find a position that feels supportive for you today.
Chair,
Couch,
Floor,
Bed,
Standing,
You name it.
I want you to start to already take up space that feels intuitively right for you.
And when you get there,
Just allow things to soften about 2% more.
Hands,
Shoulders,
Face.
And before we become completely still.
Let's do a little bit of movement into the body.
Very gently begin to lower your chin down to your chest.
Let's inhale together.
Exhale,
Bring your right ear over towards your right shoulder and then allow that left side of the neck to open.
Don't have to force it,
Just enough to feel this soft stretch through that side of the neck.
Take an inhale breath.
Exhale,
Chin comes back to the chest.
Other side.
Inhale together.
Exhale,
Left ear over towards that left shoulder.
Pause.
Feel that opening.
Feel how you're already creating space around the places where we just hold a lot of our words back.
And then for these last breaths,
Any movement,
Maybe you're rocking the head from side to side,
Maybe you're stretching out the hands and moving and wiggling the toes and fingers.
And then just pause here for me.
Take a moment to just notice how you're feeling right now.
Allow your lips to part ever so slightly.
Bring one hand to your heart and the other hand to your belly.
And we're just going to take three slow,
Deep belly breaths.
So every time you inhale,
I want you to feel your hand lift as your belly expands on those inhale breaths.
All right,
Let's begin.
Inhale into the belly for one.
2 3… Hold it here for 3… 2… 1… Exhale for 3… 2… 1… Inhale for 3… 2… Hold the breath for three.
And exhale for three,
And then do this last round on your own.
And then you can just let the breath be.
And with every breath in,
I just want you to become a little bit more aware of this present moment.
So every time you breathe in,
You're breathing in any noise you might be hearing right now.
As you breathe in,
You're noticing anything you can touch right now on your clothing or surface around you.
And every time you exhale,
I just invite you to just get a little bit more comfortable.
Today,
We're going to focus on making room for your voice and letting go of the pressure to make everyone else comfortable.
And then just allow your breath to settle in its own natural rhythm.
So there can be so many reasons that we struggle to stand up for ourselves.
Maybe you've learned that keeping the peace was safer.
That staying quiet avoided disappointment.
And that maybe saying yes meant that we'd be accepted.
And maybe at one point in your life,
Those things protected you.
You don't need to judge that version of yourself.
They were doing their best.
I don't want you to think that version of you.
They were just doing their best.
However,
What if for today,
In this moment?
You didn't need to disappear to belong.
And as you breathe here,
Once again,
Just breathe in the present moment.
And as you breathe out just create a little bit more space inside your chest.
A little bit more room for honesty and truth.
So let's start to visualize.
I want you to bring to mind a recent moment where you wish you would have spoken up.
And it doesn't need to be anything too overwhelming,
Just something small.
So maybe you said yes.
Maybe somebody asked you,
Do you want to do something?
And you said yes.
Or maybe somebody said something that just really rubbed you the wrong way,
But you just stayed silent instead of saying something.
And I want you to see that moment,
Whatever it is,
From a distance.
So it's kind of like a movie.
You're sitting in the movie theater and you're watching this movie in front of you.
And you're simply observing it.
So I want you to notice how your body responds.
Without changing anything,
Without trying to fix it,
Just noticing.
And as you imagine that version of you once more,
I want you to notice that this time,
This version of you isn't alone.
You're there.
Near beside them.
And you are calm,
Grounded and steady.
I want you to place a hand on that version of you's shoulder.
And gently remind yourself you don't have to earn your place here.
You're allowed to take up space.
Your needs matter too.
You can be kind and clear.
Does anything change?
Perhaps that version of you,
Their shoulders soften.
And maybe their breath slows.
Or maybe nothing changes at all,
That's okay too.
I just want you to stand there beside that version of you offering the support that they may have needed in that moment.
And as this practice begins to come to a close,
I just want you to ask yourself quietly,
What would it feel like to trust my own voice?
And not tomorrow,
Not when you're feeling confident,
Not when all the circumstances are going right.
I want you to think about today.
What would it feel like to trust my own voice?
Maybe it feels like sending that message or asking the question or just taking a pause before saying yes.
I'll get back to you.
You don't have to say yes right away.
I'll get back to you.
Let me check my calendar.
Ha ha ha.
Remember,
Standing up for yourself,
Standing up for yourself doesn't always look like speaking louder.
Sometimes it sounds like a really gentle,
No thank you.
Or,
That doesn't work for me.
Or,
I need some time to think.
Thanks.
Strength is measured by authenticity.
And every time you choose to honor yourself,
You strengthen that voice a little more.
I want you to take one final deep breath in to breathe in this moment.
And a big slow breath to let it all go.
Begin to notice the feeling of the air around your skin.
The surface beneath you.
Perhaps you're gently wiggling your fingers or rolling your shoulders.
We're moving the neck.
And before you leave this practice,
I just want you to offer yourself one quiet promise.
Maybe it's I'll meet myself with honesty.
Or simply my voice matters.
Carry these words with you today,
Not as something that you need to become,
But just as something you've been all along.
This was just a remembrance.
When you're ready,
Gently blink the eyes open.
Welcome back and congrats!
It's always such a woohoo moment when you finish a meditation because you completed something and a little bit of dopamine is there.
Thanks so much for listening to this meditation.
Let me know how you found it.
Check out my other content here on Insight Timer to support you.
Once again,
This is Jax.
Peace.
