As you begin this practice,
Make sure that you are in a quiet place without distractions.
Feel free to find any position that feels comfortable for you.
Sitting in a chair with your feet flat on the floor,
Or cross-legged on a cushion,
Or even lying down as long as you can remain awake and alert.
Simply support your body.
Take a moment to check in with the physical body.
Can you comfortably stay in this position until the end of the meditation?
Remember to be kind to yourself.
If you find that you need to shift or move,
Do so slowly and mindfully.
You are in control here.
We are simply asking the body to melt away from the mind.
Inviting ease and relaxation as our breath just naturally slows down.
When you meditate,
It's okay to have thoughts.
Our brain is designed to think.
So allow the thoughts to rise up,
Notice them,
Welcome them,
Then allow them to float away,
Not attaching any emotions to them at all.
As we shift our awareness back to the rise and fall of our breath,
Do not try too hard.
The fact that you noticed the thought means that you are doing this right.
You are practicing awareness.
So be gentle.
Each time you notice that you have drifted off into thinking,
Lovingly guide the awareness back to the rise and fall of your breath once more.
No judgment,
Just awareness.
Letting go of expectations.
There is no goal here.
No need to judge this practice or any outcomes.
Your only job for this little sliver of time is to stay fully present and aware as the breath falls in and the breath falls out.
The hardest part of this practice is simply showing up,
Making this time for yourself.
You already did that.
You have come to your chair or your cushion ready to do the work.
Allow yourself to settle into this practice.
You deserve this time of calm and peace.
There is nowhere else you need to be.
There is nothing else you need to do.
Give yourself the gift of your total awareness.
If you haven't already,
Gently close your eyes.
If that is not comfortable,
It's okay.
Simply allow the gaze to lower and soften.
Following the relaxed breath with a soft,
Unfocused gaze or with the eyes closed,
The choice is yours.
Begin to notice the different sounds around your body.
Attempting first to notice sounds outside of the building.
Then move the awareness to sounds outside of your room.
Sounds inside the room.
Sounds right around your body.
All of these different sounds make up your surrounding area.
Each time you hear these sounds or even different sounds,
They are simply reminders to keep your awareness within.
There are no distractions,
Just reminders of peace,
Stillness and calm within.
Now begin to follow the breath into the body,
Observing the muscles of respiration.
Exhaling through the nose all the way into the belly.
Filling the belly like a balloon.
Exhaling squeeze out every last drop of air to create even more space for the next inhalation.
Inhaling openness.
Exhaling stress.
Inhaling openness.
Exhaling.
Exhaling openness.
Exhaling stress.
Opening to the gentle rise and fall of the breath.
Notice when the thoughts begin to wander,
That is part of the process.
Thoughts are okay,
They will always come.
Simply notice the thought,
Then allow it to float away.
Without judgment,
Lovingly guide the awareness back to the relaxed breath once more.
Be kind to yourself and let go of judgment.
By noticing the thoughts,
You are doing this right.
Take a moment now to set your intention for practicing.
We all come to meditation for different reasons.
Allow a word to float to your consciousness that describes what you need from your practice.
It could be peace or strength or anything else your heart desires.
Once you find your intention,
Imagine you can breathe it into your heart and breathe your intention into every cell of your body.
Now become curious about your relaxed breath.
Noticing the rise and fall.
And become aware.
Does the inhalation round into the exhalation?
Or is there a pause in between?
There is no right answer.
Just notice.
After the inhalation,
Is there a pause before the breath falls out?
Or does it naturally round into the exhalation?
After the exhalation,
Is there a pause before the breath falls in?
Or does it round effortlessly into the next inhalation?
Just become curious without changing your slow,
Relaxed breaths.
Now,
We will begin to notice sensations in the body.
Bring your attention to the top of the head.
Relax the muscles at the top,
The sides,
And the back of the head.
Move to the forehead and ask it to soften.
Notice sensations in the eyebrows,
The eyes,
Ears,
And cheeks.
Allow the bottom jaw to fall heavy and relaxed.
Notice the tongue,
Lips.
Observe sensations in the throat.
Allow the muscles of the neck to soften and melt.
Move the attention to the shoulders and do the same.
Now focus on both upper arms,
Elbows,
Forearms,
Wrists,
And hands,
Relaxing each as you go.
Find your awareness at the tips of your fingers,
Noticing any sensations there.
Relax both thumbs,
Index fingers,
Middle fingers,
Ring fingers,
And both pinkies.
Relax the palms of your hands,
The back of your hands.
Bring your awareness to the chest.
Soften all the muscles of the chest,
Softening your heart and breaking down the wall you built around it.
Relax the belly and the lower abdomen.
Move to the top of the back and soften the muscles around the shoulder blades,
The middle of the back,
The low back,
All the way down to the buttocks.
Relax both thighs,
The muscles around the knees,
Lower legs,
Front of the legs,
Back of the legs,
Both ankles,
Feet,
And toes.
Rest your awareness on the tips of the toes,
Noticing any sensations there.
Imagine you can open up the tips of your toes and allow all stress and tension that was hiding out deep within the body to begin to move down the body,
Down the legs,
And simply drip out of your toes.
Bring the attention to the whole body,
Noticing all sensations at once.
Bring the gentle attention to any area that you would like to relax further.
Can you soften just 5% more?
Scan the entire body as you breathe.
Let your whole being settle into this relaxing practice.
Now let's imagine that it's early morning.
It's okay if you're practicing later.
Together,
Let's just picture a beautiful,
Quiet morning.
The rest of the world is sleeping peacefully as we watch the sun rise.
Feel its warm rays of light infusing you with beautiful,
Healing energy.
Allow the ribbons of golden light to surround your body,
Allowing you to relax and soften even more,
Observing the calm,
Peaceful breath.
Can you find that your thoughts take you somewhere else?
Come back to the breath.
Feel the belly rise with each inhalation.
Notice all parts of the body that gently move with the breath.
Notice the chest and the abdomen as the breath falls out.
Feel all parts of the body that move.
With each breath,
Allow the morning energy to gently awaken the entire body.
Breathe in sending oxygen and healing light to the head and face,
Exhaling any resistance.
Breathe and send life-giving air to the neck,
Shoulders and chest muscles.
Allow them to take in the air,
To charge up and get ready for the rest of the day.
Breathe and send oxygen to the entire back.
Allow all of those muscles to awaken and soften.
Breathing in,
Send the oxygen to the abdomen and thighs.
Exhaling energy to the legs to power you through the day.
Allow the sun's rays to infuse you with all the energy you need to begin your day over.
Wiping the slate clean.
Now allow the energy from the air you breathe and the warm rays from the sun to begin to power up your whole body for the day ahead.
Breathe into the heart.
Send golden energy to the heart center in gratitude for the beginning of this new day.
Even if it's already midday,
We can choose at any time to reset our day,
To start again on a better note,
Letting go of negativity as we fill up with healing golden light.
Keep the eyes gently closed or the gaze softened as we near the end of this meditation.
It's important to come out of meditation slowly,
Effortlessly.
Keep the awareness on the gentle rise and fall of the breath as you begin to wiggle fingers and toes,
Rolling the wrists and the ankles.
Take a big stretch,
Reaching your hands above the head as if we are greeting our day for the very first time.
Slowly and gently come to a seated position if you are not already there.
Once we arrive in our comfortable seat,
Allow the eyes to close for just a few moments longer.
Take some time to check back in with your body,
Observing how you feel after your practice.
Observe the quality of your thoughts.
Notice the feelings in your heart.
Remember your intention for practicing.
Allow your intention to guide you throughout your day,
Not allowing your awareness to end with this practice.
When you are ready,
Slowly open your eyes with a soft downward gaze,
Keeping your focus inward.
Open your eyes fully as you are ready,
Returning to your day with a whole new perspective,
A whole new way of being,
Fully present and aware of all of your blessings.
I wish you happiness,
Joy,
And peace.
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti,
Meaning peace,
Peace,
Peace.
May we all know peace within.
May we all be surrounded by peace.
May we bring peace to all those we encounter in deep gratitude to each other and all of our teachers.
Namaste.
I want to extend a very special thank you to my supportive listeners.
My supportive listeners empower me to continue to make quality healing meditations that are free for all.
You can become a supportive listener through the Anchor app,
Or there's now a link on my webpage www.
Kalyaniyoga.
Net.
Thank you so much for all of your support.
