Hello.
Welcome.
Today's meditation is designed to help relieve stress by calming your body,
Focusing your mind,
And we'll use a combination of breath awareness,
A short body scan,
And a simple compassion practice.
This trifecta of technique is shown to reduce cortisol,
The stress hormone,
Activate the parasympathetic nervous system,
So this is our rest and digest response,
And even shift brain activity.
So we go from a place of survival mode to a place that is balanced,
Connected,
And calm.
And when we breathe deeply and become aware of the body,
We send a signal to the brain that we are safe,
And this allows the body to relax,
The mind to slow down,
And clarity to return.
As we practice,
Remember there's no getting it wrong.
Just notice,
Breathe.
If you lose your attention,
Just bring it back.
Give yourself permission to rest.
And with that said,
You can do this entire meditation lying down.
You can do it in a seated position,
Whatever is most comfortable to you.
So take a moment to get really cozy and comfortable.
Let your hands rest gently in your lap or by your sides.
And you can either close your eyes or just soften your gaze,
Letting the eyelids fall a little bit,
Taking a deep breath in through the nose,
And slowly exhale through the mouth.
Continue like this,
Letting your shoulders drop down,
And letting the air release from the mouth,
Coming in through the nose,
Letting heat release from the body,
And allow your jaw to soften.
And just focus on releasing through the face,
Letting this moment be exactly as it is.
Now bring your attention to your breath.
You can change it,
Closing your mouth,
Or continue to breathe the way that you have been,
If that feels good.
Our focus here is to really watch.
Watch the temperature of the breath as it comes in through the nose.
And out through the nose or mouth.
Feel the air enter and gently release.
Any judgments that come up,
Just release those too.
Being present with the breath and noticing what the breath does to the body.
How the body gently expands with the inhale,
And gently just settles down,
Deflating with the exhale.
If your mind starts to go off on a tangent,
Just bring it back.
Just keep returning to the breath.
Inhale and exhale.
Inhale and exhale.
Let the rhythm of your own breath anchor you.
And we'll take a few more breaths,
Really focusing on the full inhale and the full exhale.
Beautiful job.
We're going to now bring all of our attention to the body to help release any tension we might be holding on to.
So we'll start at the top of the head.
Allow any tension in the scalp to release.
Moving your attention down the face and the back of the head.
Noticing your forehead,
Allowing it to release and soften.
Letting your eyes soften.
Maybe close your eyes if they're not closed already.
And just feel into the cheeks and see if you can let them lighten and let go.
Move your attention down the neck,
Front and back,
Sides of the neck.
Bring your attention to the shoulders,
The shoulder heads,
The backs of the shoulders,
Allowing them to just drop and soften.
Bring attention to your chest.
Bring attention to your belly.
Feel from the tops of the arms all the way down to the wrists,
To the hands.
Noticing any warmth or tingling or tightness.
Feeling through the back and the sides of the body.
The hips,
Letting them sink down,
The upper legs,
The knees,
The lower legs,
The ankles and the feet.
Bringing all your attention to the very bottoms of the feet.
Feel gravity holding you up.
The ground or surface beneath you is supporting you.
Now settle in to this softness.
Let go and be.
And in this beautiful place of receptivity,
I invite you to bring your mind to a simple truth.
You are doing your best right now.
Stress is a sign that you care,
That you are alive and that your body is asking for rest.
You can stay where you are,
Or if you'd like,
Place a hand tenderly on your heart or belly.
And say to yourself genuinely,
Reverently,
May I be calm.
May I be calm.
May I be calm.
May I release what I no longer need.
May I release what I no longer need.
May I release what I no longer need.
May my body and mind find balance.
May my body and mind find balance.
May my body and mind find balance.
And breathe life into these mantras,
These intentions.
Let them land in the body,
In the mind.
And just take a moment to notice how you feel.
You can always stay here,
But if you'd like,
I invite you to take a nice deep breath,
A little deeper than you have been.
Let the belly expand and exhale through the mouth.
Find a little gentle movement through your fingers and your toes and a nice gentle stretch.
So you've just trained your nervous system to shift gears.
Send yourself gratitude for that.
This feeling is always available to you.
It's just a few breaths away.
Thank you for practicing with me today.
I am wishing you all good things.
