Hello and welcome.
I'm glad you're with me today.
I'll be guiding you on this short meditation,
Simply to tune into your breathing and to connect with your body,
Take inventory of the mind,
And just settle in to the here and now.
So we'll begin by finding a posture that works for you.
You can lie down,
You can sit up.
Either way,
You want a nice straight spine.
You might slightly tuck the chin,
And then when you're feeling ready,
Go ahead and shut down the eyes.
And if that doesn't feel comfortable for you,
You can always just lower your gaze to a spot on the floor out in front of you.
And we begin just taking inventory of the body here in this moment in time.
So noticing what you bring to your mat or your cushion.
Starting at the top of the head and just making yourself aware of any sensations,
Tingling,
Maybe the slight beginning or end of a headache.
Just making yourself aware of what's going on at the top of the head.
And then letting your awareness drift down the front of the face,
From the brow to the eyes,
Down the cheeks,
And into the jaw and the mouth.
And just noticing if you're carrying any tension.
And if you are,
Maybe it's possible with your awareness,
You can just ever so gently release some of the tension you're carrying.
And then letting your attention and your mind travel down past your neck and throat,
And the whole midsection of the body,
The chest,
Down into the belly.
And then the back of the body from the shoulders,
Down the spine,
Into the lower back,
And the sitz bones.
And making yourself aware of your arms hanging by the sides of the body,
Hands,
Fingers,
And then the lower half of the body from the hips and the pelvic region,
Down the front of each leg,
And the thighs and the shins into the feet,
And the bottoms of the feet,
And down the backs of each of the legs.
And just noticing where there's tightness or tension and seeing if you can just soften by acknowledging.
And then coming back to your heart center,
Letting all of your attention rest right in the center of your being,
Right in your chest,
Your breastbone,
Letting the shoulders drop back and down.
And we'll just feel the body breathing right from the center of the heart.
And you might feel the inhale through the nostrils or the mouth.
You may notice the shoulders lifting and lowering as you inhale and exhale,
Just connecting your breath and your body.
That's all we're doing here.
Breathing into the body,
And then just relaxing your body and just relaxing your body and just relaxing your body.
That's all we're doing here.
Breathing into the body.
And if it's possible to soften,
Go ahead and soften or release any muscles that you're holding onto or gripping or tensing,
Like the jaw,
The brow,
Just let it go.
Settle into this moment.
And connect with your breathing and you may want to connect your breathing with a mantra.
You might breathe in and attach the words,
Breathing in,
I know I am breathing in.
And then on your exhale,
Letting go and attaching the mantra,
Breathing out,
I know I am breathing out.
And you may do this for a few rounds of breath in and out of your heart center.
Not changing anything or wishing anything was different,
Noticing thoughts coming into your awareness and letting them go.
And each and every time,
Letting your awareness come back to your body and back to your breath and back to the sensation of breathing in and out through your heart space.
And maybe on this next inhale,
As you breathe in,
You'll breathe in a sense of kindness and self-compassion and loving kindness for yourself.
Right through the heart space and then as you exhale,
Letting go,
Maybe you'll let that exhale go through the out breath,
Through the heart space and send that compassion that loving kindness out into the universe,
Out to the world.
Maybe to somebody specific who's needing some extra TLC today,
Maybe just out there.
Breathing in for yourself and letting go through your heart space,
Sending that love,
That compassion out to the world.
So just feeling into your heart center,
You might feel it opening,
You might feel a warmth or a sensation around that heart center.
Breathing in and offering yourself loving kindness.
Letting go,
Letting go,
Letting go,
Letting go,
Letting go.
Letting go,
Offering that same loving kindness to others.
Breathing in,
May I be happy.
Letting go,
May you be happy.
Breathing in,
May I be healthy.
And letting go through that heart space,
May you be healthy.
Breathing in,
May I be safe.
Exhaling,
Letting go and offering that to others.
May you be safe.
Breathing in,
May I live my life with a sense of ease.
And then on your exhale,
Offering this sense of ease to others.
May you live your life with a sense of ease.
Simply breathing out and offering that to others.
And coming back to that awareness of the heart space,
Noticing any sensations in the body,
Seeing if through this loving kindness practice,
You have been softer with yourself,
Kinder,
A little gentler.
Notice if the body is softened.
And then when you're ready,
Coming back to the sounds and the space around you and offering yourself the opportunity to go about the rest of your day with a sense of ease,
With a sense of ease.
And then on your exhale,
Offering that to others.
With a sense of ease,
With a sense of open heart,
Open mind and a softer body.
I wish you well.
