Welcome.
My name is Katie Chosett and I am glad you're joining me for this short guided meditation.
Go ahead and find a posture that is comfortable,
One that you can maintain for the next few minutes together,
Noticing your posture and how you've chosen to position yourself.
So whether you're seated or lying down,
Notice where your body meets the cushion or chair beneath you.
Notice the arms by the sides of the body and the legs.
Notice the feet making contact with the earth beneath you.
And begin to tune in to your breathing.
Simply inhaling and exhaling.
There's no need to alter the breath in any way,
Just noticing how the body is breathing on its own.
You'll feel the breath at the tip of the nostrils.
You may feel the breath at the back of the throat.
You may notice the chest expanding and contracting with each inhale and exhale.
And if you're breathing deeply enough,
You'll feel the belly expand and contract as well.
So just sit with your breathing here for a few rounds of breath,
Paying attention to the length of the inhale,
The pause between each of the breaths,
And then the length of the exhale.
Watching the exhale,
You may wish to connect your body with your breathing.
So as you inhale,
You bring awareness to your body.
And as you exhale,
See if you can let go of any tension or discomfort that you're holding onto in the body.
Any tightness,
Any stress or strain.
Exhaling,
Letting it all go.
With each exhale,
Visualize the body softening or melting just a little bit more.
You're still keeping the body nice and straight and still.
Let go of anything that no longer serves you.
Any facial expression,
Any tightness in the jaw or the brow,
Letting the shoulders back and down.
No need to keep the shoulders up by your ears.
Really relax into the breathing with each exhale letting go.
And then beginning on your next round of breath,
To visualize a color,
Any color you wish.
Breathe in that color into the body and watch as that color circulates throughout the body.
So you'll watch it at the tip of the nostrils and trace it down the back of the throat,
Swirling around the heart center and the belly,
Watching the color as it travels down each of the legs to the feet,
Down each arm from the shoulders to the elbows and the elbows to the wrists and the hands,
Watching your body as it fills with this color with this breath.
And then on the exhale,
Letting go,
Softening the body and releasing the color.
And we'll try that for a few rounds of breath,
Just observing the color,
Swirling throughout the body,
Filling the entire midsection of the body down into all of the extremities,
Not forgetting the head and noticing that color as it fills your body from the front to the back of the body,
From the head to the toes and from side to side.
And exhaling,
Letting your breath and your stress and strain and your color go.
And on your next inhale,
Breathing in that color,
Pausing at the top of the breath and exhaling,
Visualize that color being released from the body.
And as you do,
Notice that color as it travels from you to the people you'll come into contact with after this practice.
Perhaps somebody you're living with in another room now,
Perhaps a neighbor as you leave the house momentarily and go about your rest of the day.
Perhaps it's the people who work or shop in the stores that you frequent.
Notice this breath that you are breathing in and breathing out,
Letting go of stress,
Inviting peace and calm into your body.
Visualize that color as it travels from your body out into the universe,
From your body to your loved ones,
To your neighbors,
To the people you see in your town or city.
Invite that breath and that sense of calm to travel from you to all the people you'll come to contact with,
Sending that peace and calm from you to everyone else near you.
And come back to your breath and watch as those people that you've shared your color with,
Your family and your friends,
The clerks at the store,
The workers at the post office and the library and the grocery shop where you will go,
Sharing that color with each of the people you come into contact with.
And then watching as you share your calm and peace with those you come into contact with,
They too will breathe in that color,
Sensing your calm and your gratitude and your peace.
They will breathe in your color and then go about their day sharing that color,
Not only with themselves but with all the people that they come into contact with,
Their families and loved ones,
Their friends and neighbors and the people they see at their stores and their gyms.
Watching that color travel from you to your loved ones,
To your acquaintances,
Each of you breathing in and breathing out that sense of calm and gratitude through that color and watching as that color then travels from one person to the next throughout your city.
And then as people begin traveling more and more,
Traveling from city to city and state to state,
That ripple effect from you sitting on your cushion today,
Breathing in and breathing out that color,
That sense of calm and joy and peace.
Coming back to the space that you're currently seated in,
Coming back to your breathing and your color in and out through the nostrils,
Feeling that sense of calm as it washes over the body,
Your face and your shoulders,
Your belly,
All the way down into your feet,
Feeling your body coming back into the space that you're seated in,
Bringing your awareness back to where your body makes contact with the floor,
Maybe rolling the head from side to side,
Rolling the wrists and the ankles and bringing your full attention back into the space that you're seated in,
Opening up your eyes and inviting that sense of peace and calm to follow you and travel with you as you go about the rest of your day today and into the week ahead.
Thank you for joining me and I wish you a wonderful day and week sharing your peace and joy with all those you come into contact with.
