Hello and welcome to this meditation for embracing the changes that come with parenthood with a sense of grace,
Gratitude,
Compassion,
And acceptance.
My name is Julie Ilah Grace,
And I am honored to be your meditation guide today as you take this journey of self-care and self-reflection.
While this meditation is aimed specifically at new parents,
It can be used by any caregiver experiencing change at any time.
To begin,
Find a quiet,
Comfortable place to either sit or lie down.
Feel free to use any props that you like,
Such as cushions,
Bolsters,
Or anything else that may serve you.
And once you've found that comfortable position,
Close your eyes and take a few deep inhales through the nose,
And then exhale,
Either sighing or blowing the air out of the mouth.
Imagine that with every inhale,
You are bringing a sense of calm and peace into your mind and into your body,
And with every exhale,
Feel yourself releasing stress and tension.
Keep dropping more and more into this moment,
And allow your breath to steady you.
When you're ready,
Allow your natural breath to take over again.
Become aware of your body now.
Notice where it meets the earth.
Where does it press down?
Where does it rise away?
Does it feel the same from one side to the other?
Simply notice anything and everything without judgment.
Just be the witness to your experiences.
Start to notice where the fabric of your clothing meets your skin.
Become aware of the different textures and the sensations that they produce,
And notice where your body is warmer and where it is cooler.
Notice anything else there may be to notice about your body right now.
Without attaching any judgment,
And without being carried away by any emotions,
We will begin now to scan the body.
As we do this,
Notice any places that may be holding onto stress,
Tension,
Anxiety,
Grief,
Sadness,
Or any other emotions which may have overwhelmed you recently.
Allow for those feelings to make themselves known,
And notice if you have been resisting them or even attempting to ignore them.
Again,
Allow them to make themselves known to you,
And know that there is absolutely no need to judge or label anything that you find.
Simply notice.
Bring the awareness down to your toes now.
How are your toes and feet feeling?
What about your ankles?
Lower legs?
Knees?
Upper legs?
Hips?
Lower back?
Pelvis?
Your belly?
Your spine?
Your chest?
Your shoulders?
The upper arms?
Elbows?
Forearms?
Wrists,
Palms,
And fingers?
Your neck?
Your throat?
Your face?
And your head?
What did you find?
Often,
The body can act as a map for our emotions.
We may experience anxiety in the sternum or in the chest,
Grief in the lungs,
Pain in the feet or legs if we fear moving forward,
Or even a feeling of instability in the lower back when feeling unsupported in some way.
The body has a myriad of ways of communicating with us,
Though if you notice nothing at all,
That is absolutely fine too.
Choose one feeling that you found in your body,
Or again,
If you found nothing in the physical sensations,
Choose one feeling that has overwhelmed you recently.
And firstly,
Notice if you have been actively resisting that feeling.
Remember that whatever we resist,
Persists.
So give yourself a few moments now to truly feel that feeling fully.
Welcome it,
And remember that it is only a temporary state.
Darkness allows us to know the light,
So embrace the feeling and allow yourself to release.
If you need to cry,
Cry.
If you need to scream,
Possibly into a pillow,
Then scream.
Do anything that naturally comes to you to help you move through the feeling.
Having given yourself the space to experience that feeling,
Imagine personifying it now.
Do this with a deep sense of compassion.
Maybe you see this feeling like a small,
Scared child,
Or maybe it personifies in some other way for you.
Before engaging with this feeling,
Take a few deep breaths again.
With each breath,
Feel yourself filling up with a strong sense of calm and embodying a state of peace and tranquility.
Know yourself as the highest version of yourself,
The most compassionate,
Caring,
Loving,
And wise version.
And in a moment,
You will only hear the music as you have the opportunity to engage with this feeling in conversation.
Ask it why it is feeling the way it is.
Ask it what it needs to feel better.
What would it like you to know?
See yourself as separate from this feeling,
And respond to it lovingly with your innate wisdom,
The same way you would respond to anyone beloved to you.
Have that conversation now.
Coming back,
Notice if the feeling has shifted at all.
Having had this conversation with that feeling,
Were there any narratives that were particularly striking to you?
For example,
Anxiety might have told you that you will never sleep again,
Or that you will never work again.
Yet,
As the highest version of yourself,
You know logically that this is only temporary.
So now,
Becoming aware of the narratives that accompany the uncomfortable feelings,
What are a few sentences or phrases that you could repeat to yourself when next those feelings arise?
Put them into an affirmation rather than a negation.
For example,
Avoid saying something like,
Don't feel that way,
Or that's not true.
Instead,
Offer something like,
I see you,
I acknowledge you,
But this moment is a temporary experience,
And I choose gratitude for all that I have in this present moment.
Or something like,
I am so lucky to be alive and to be here with my child.
I cherish this moment.
Take a few moments now to bring into your awareness a few helpful phrases for yourself,
Then repeat them internally as the music plays.
Coming back,
Start to feel your physical body connecting to the earth again.
In this moment,
You are a deeply connected being in the fabric of existence.
You breathe oxygen and release carbon dioxide.
By this alone,
You connect with vast ecosystems.
There are trillions of cells in your body with enough DNA to stretch around the equator of this earth at least three times when placed end to end.
This DNA was gifted to you through an incomprehensibly long line of ancestors.
You are even cosmically connected in unseen ways.
For example,
In this very moment,
Muons,
Which are cosmic rays made of tiny particles of atoms,
Are raining down all around you.
They are completely harmless to life on earth,
But they remain a great mystery in the universe.
And yet,
That energy is all around you and has been all around you since the moment you were born.
So know yourself as a connected being in the universe and draw a sense of gratitude into your awareness.
Deepen your breath and imagine filling yourself up with more and more thanks with every inhale and then exhale into that feeling of universal connection.
Imagine strands of gratitude reaching to your child or children to your loved ones,
To all life on earth,
And even to the tiny microscopic particles of the universe.
Here you all are.
Here you are.
Stay in this visualization of connection and gratitude for a few moments now.
Know that you can practice pausing,
Breathing,
Visualizing,
Acknowledging your feelings,
Conversing with them,
As well as affirming your chosen narratives at any time,
Even if just for a few short moments.
Also,
Remember that whatever you practice,
You get better at.
So if you practice compassionately witnessing yourself,
You will get better at that.
If you practice shifting into gratitude,
You will get better at that too.
Take a few more deep breaths now and then begin to bring movement back into your fingers and back into your toes and allow them to dance.
Smile if it feels natural to you.
When you're ready,
Open your eyes.
Here you are.
You've got this.
Blessings for your journey.
Namaste.
While we have concluded the meditation,
Please know that if there are persistent feelings of depression or anything else that alarms you,
Particularly for postnatal women,
But true for anyone feeling unable to cope,
There are many resources available for help.
Taking the time to meditate is wonderful,
Important,
And one way to practice self-care.
However,
Sometimes there are more serious physiological concerns that may need further assistance and guidance.
You are absolutely wonderful and divine.
Seeking the help that you may need is always a sign of strength,
Resilience,
And courage.
Give yourself permission to explore all avenues of assistance that resonate for you.
Again,
You've got this.
