Welcome to your meditation.
The meditation in this series works together to support you in feeling,
In healing,
In acknowledging the uncertainty that is here and from this place gently shifting through mindful,
Skillful and intentional action.
Today we're going to relax into our safe space and place for meditation.
Make yourself comfortable sitting upright in a chair or on your cushion with your spine lengthening upward towards the sky,
The neck straight.
Do any adjusting that you need to feel good in your posture.
Before you close your eyes we're going to do a visual practice of establishing your meditation space and safety.
This space,
This time,
It is for you to explore and relax into.
Take a deep breath and then open your mouth.
Take one more deep breath like this all the way in and then let it go.
Look out at your meditation environment.
Where are you?
Are you outside?
Are you inside?
What room are you in?
What city or town are you in?
Take a moment to flash the answers in your mind.
I am in my living room in Portland,
Oregon beginning my meditation practice.
Or maybe I'm in San Francisco,
California on my balcony beginning my meditation practice.
Look down to notice what you're sitting on.
What's unique about this chair or the ground beneath it,
Around it?
What do you notice?
I'd like you to now look over your right shoulder.
Take in your environment.
See that there is no one behind you lurking and look up,
Look down.
Establish your space.
And then turn to look over your left shoulder.
Just looking as far as you can comfortably look over your shoulder.
Looking up,
Looking down.
Taking it in.
And then bringing your chin back to face forward.
Look out again and see if you can notice three things in your space.
I am here in my space beginning my meditation practice.
So it's like you've taken a snapshot in your mind of your place of meditation.
You can close your eyes knowing that this time is yours,
This space is yours.
And with every breath you're able to consciously choose calm,
To consciously choose grounding.
It is from here that you'll manage any challenge on your path with grace,
With poise.
So become aware of your breath.
And for a few minutes we'll watch this breath,
Seeing as your breath flows into your body and without you needing to do anything special at all,
How it so easily flows out of your body.
Noticing the breath flowing in and noticing the breath flowing out,
Allowing yourself to be breathed.
And if your mind has wandered,
Simply bring it back,
Watching the breath,
Knowing that you are in your space,
Your place.
And this is your time for you.
If there are thoughts playing out on the movie screen of your closed eyelids,
Take a moment to recognize that there are thoughts playing out.
And as you're ready,
You can breathe back into your center.
We'll just take one more minute here.
And take a big inhale.
Fill up and then open the mouth.
Take one more deep breath like this.
Fill up and let it go.
You can wiggle your toes.
Open and close your hands and feel the awareness of movement bring aliveness back into the body.
And as you're ready,
You'll open your eyes.
Take a look around.
Notice your space,
Maybe seeing it again as if it is the first time.
I hope you've enjoyed this meditation.
Thanks so much for joining me.
Go ahead and let me know in the comments.
What's something that makes your meditation space special?
See you soon.
