Resiliency - Bending With The Wind & Coming Back Stronger

The definition of Resilience is the ability of a person to adjust to or recover readily from illness, adversity, major life changes, etc; buoyancy. It is not easy, AT ALL, to bounce back from some things in life ... or to BEND WITH THE WIND and not break. However, we CAN come back and come back stronger ... with self-compassion, awareness, confidence, and determination.

Transcript

Welcome.

Today's meditation is focused on resiliency,

Bending with the wind of our experiences.

Some things are easier to bounce back from than others,

There's no doubt about it.

Even though we practice resiliency,

That doesn't mean that what we go through and experience isn't distressing or difficult.

It does mean that even though some of what we experience in life is distressing and difficult,

We have the ability within ourselves to accept the absolute facts and modify our course of action.

The more we practice self-awareness and acceptance,

The easier being resilient through our experiences will be.

If at any time during this meditation you feel overwhelmed and want to quit,

Place your hands over your heart center first.

Use your sense of touch and sound as you breathe into this place.

Focus on the feeling of your hands and the sound of your breath,

And take slow breaths,

Counting to four for each inhale and exhale.

Do this as long as you need,

And then either return to the meditation or stop the meditation and try again at another time.

Let's practice this breathing together.

When you're ready,

Place both hands over your heart center.

Close your eyes.

Notice the sound of your breath as you inhale and exhale.

Feel the temperature of your hands over your heart center.

Feel the beating of your heart as you breathe in and out.

Inhale to the count of four.

Hold for two.

Exhale for the count of four.

Hold for two.

In two,

Three,

Four.

Out two,

Three,

Four.

In two,

Three,

Four.

Out two,

Three,

Four.

Continue with this pattern for a few more moments.

Feel free to open your eyes.

Turn your hands down by your side,

And we'll begin our meditation.

Go ahead and find yourself in a comfortable position,

Sitting on a cushion,

On a chair,

A kneeling bench with your spine upright,

Or reclined back if that's most comfortable.

Any position is fine,

As long as you remain comfortable and alert throughout the meditation.

Close your eyes or dim your eyesight by gazing downward.

Take a deep breath in through your nose as you raise your arms up over your head,

And exhale a long and audible sigh as you return your arms down by your side.

Let's set our intention for today's meditation.

You're invited to use mine,

But feel free to use your own if you'd like.

I'll repeat it now three times.

You can repeat it with me or state your own.

I am resilient.

I bend and flow with the wind of my experiences.

I am resilient.

I bend and flow with the wind of my experiences.

I am resilient.

I bend and flow with the wind of my experiences.

I'd like to go through a brief body scan to relax our muscles,

Ensuring a relaxed meditation experience.

Continue breathing in and out through your nose at a pace that's comfortable for you.

Bring your awareness to the sensations of the top of your head and scalp,

Back of your head and scalp,

Your face,

Relaxing everything from your forehead down to your chin.

Feel the sensation of your lips,

The top lip resting gently on the bottom lip,

Front and back of your neck,

Collarbones,

Left shoulder,

Arm,

Hand and fingers,

Right shoulder,

Arm,

Hand and fingers,

All letting go of tension,

Front of your torso,

Chest and sternum,

Lungs and diaphragm,

Abdomen,

Each of them expanding and contracting as your body goes deeper into relaxation,

Front of your pelvis,

Left hip,

Front of thigh,

Knee in front of lower leg,

Left ankle,

Top of foot and toes,

Right hip,

Front of thigh,

Knee in front of lower leg,

Right ankle,

Top of foot and toes.

Feel the sensation of all 10 of your toes,

Soles of both feet,

Back of both lower legs and knees,

Back of both thighs,

Both hips,

Back of pelvis and glutes.

Feel the sensation of the back of your torso,

Releasing tension in the low back,

Mid-back and ribs,

Between your shoulder blades,

Shoulders,

Letting go of tension even more,

Your neck totally relaxed,

Your face,

Head and scalp.

Feel the sensation of your entire body in a deep state of relaxation.

Everything is as it is,

Relaxed.

With your body in this relaxed state,

Feel your breath moving in and out with a calm rhythm.

Notice the pause at the end of your inhale and exhale.

Feel the space around you moving with your breath,

Expanding with you as you inhale,

Coming back toward your center as you exhale.

Keep following this pattern.

Inhale,

Expansion,

Exhale back to center.

You're invited to return to your natural breathing pattern.

Bring your attention to the first thing coming into your awareness.

Hold your awareness on this sensation without forming an opinion or attachment to it.

Now bring your attention to something else around you.

Hold your awareness on the second sensation without forming an opinion or attachment to it.

In your mind's eye,

Hold awareness of that first object of sensation in one of your hands.

Now hold awareness of the second object of sensation in the other hand.

You're now holding awareness of both objects simultaneously.

Holding awareness of both the first and second objects at the same time,

Without attachment to either of them.

By practicing holding awareness of these seemingly different things,

We're practicing the ability to be awareness,

Holding the sensations of things without attachment or judgment.

The more we practice this,

The less our thoughts,

Emotions,

Fears,

And anxieties will have a hold on us.

They'll have less and less power over our lives,

And allow us to move forward with greater ease,

Motivation,

And confidence.

Bring your awareness back to your breath.

Focus on the area of your mind's eye.

Visualize in your mind's eye a time when you had plans to do something you were really looking forward to.

Become a distant observer of this moment without attachment.

Notice where in your body you feel the sensations of this joyful expectation.

Now visualize those plans being canceled at the last minute without reason.

Become a distant observer of this moment without attachment to it.

Notice where in your body you feel the sensations of this unexpected disappointment.

Breathe into these places,

Acknowledging and witnessing them.

With each breath,

You become more aware of a feeling of radical acceptance,

Accepting the fact that your plans have been canceled without a need to know why.

Simply accepting the fact of canceled plans.

Breathe in and exhale this radical acceptance out to the world.

You're invited now to breathe in,

Counting to four.

Hold for two.

Exhale for four.

Hold for two.

In two,

Three,

Four.

Out two,

Three,

Four.

In two,

Three,

Four.

Out two,

Three,

Four.

Repeat this for a few more moments on your own.

Now go back to your normal breathing pattern,

Becoming aware of any thoughts that come and go around the acceptance of your plans being canceled.

Just become a witness of your thoughts.

Notice if any of these thoughts turn into ideas of something else you could do instead of your original plans.

You're practicing acceptance and resilience.

You have plans.

They're canceled without notice and without reason.

You accept it.

Acknowledge and witness any sensations surrounding it.

Breathing into the experience so you're more able to respond and bounce back with fresh ideas.

The more you practice these steps,

The easier you'll be able to bend with the wind of experiences,

Not allowing them to break you.

Bring your attention back to the sensations of your body.

You're feeling the sensations of your body as you rest on the surface beneath you.

The bottoms of your feet,

Your legs,

Hips,

Your bottom,

Front and back of your torso,

All 10 of your fingers,

Your hands,

Arms and shoulders,

Head and neck.

Take a breath in from the base of your spine up to your heart center,

Exhaling out to the world around you,

A new freedom of acceptance and resilience.

Inhale from the top of your head down to your heart.

Exhale compassion out to the world around you,

Surrounding yourself with compassion,

Acceptance and resilience.

Let's repeat our intention for today.

Feel free to repeat it now with me three times.

I am resilient.

I bend and flow with the wind of my experiences.

I am resilient.

I bend and flow with the wind of my experiences.

I am resilient.

I bend and flow with the wind of my experiences.

Going forward today,

I offer you these remembrances.

You'll acknowledge experiences that happen.

Become a witness of sensations that surround these experiences,

Learning to quietly listen to them.

You'll take a few or a lot of deep cleansing breaths,

Allowing your nervous system to slow down and reset.

And then you'll bend with the wind of experience,

Coming back with increased strength,

Motivation,

Confidence and compassion for yourself.

Your sense of resilience is strong and unwavering.

You can and will bounce back from anything that comes your way.

In a few moments,

I'll count down from five to one and our meditation will be over.

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Open your eyes.

Stretch out your body.

Use the sounds you hear and what you see around you.

Our meditation is over.

May your day be filled with peace,

Compassion and resilience most of all.

I'll see you next time.

Bye.

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