Hi,
I'm Kelsey Abbott and today's meditation was inspired by my friend,
Lissa Mahalik,
Who taught me that with every single breath,
Our lungs hug our heart.
I think that is just the coolest thing I've learned in a long time and I'm really excited about it and I decided to create a meditation around it.
So here we go.
Find yourself whatever position feels good for you,
Whether it's sitting in a chair,
Lying on the floor,
Lying on a couch,
Sitting in a formal meditation position,
Whatever you want.
Close your eyes and breathe.
Bringing yourself right here,
Right now.
Nowhere else to be,
Nothing else to do.
Just going to sit here and hug your heart with your lungs.
If your feet are on the floor,
Really plant them on the floor,
Be aware that your feet are on the floor.
Notice where each toe makes contact with the floor.
Your big toe,
Your second toe,
Your third toe,
Your fourth toe,
And your baby toe.
Notice where your heel makes contact with the floor.
And notice where your foot doesn't make contact with the floor.
Now notice where your butt is making contact with the chair,
The floor,
Wherever it may be planted.
And notice your back.
Is your back leaning against a chair?
Is it standing strong on its own?
Is it leaning against the wall?
Is it lying on the floor?
Or on a bed or on a mat?
Just notice.
Bring your attention to your lungs.
Take a few big breaths,
Breathing in and as you breathe in,
Breathing with your entire lung.
Feel that expansion,
Feel your ribs expand,
Feel the back of your ribs expand,
You feel your belly push out,
Breathing in.
And simply releasing it as it feels natural.
Feeling your lungs contract.
Again,
Breathing in and noticing what changes in your body as you breathe in.
Do your shoulders move?
Does your chest move?
What softens?
What contracts?
And release that.
Just breathe normally now.
Noticing each breath.
Each breath is unique.
Notice how they differ from one another.
Is the inhale longer on one,
The exhale longer on another?
Is the space between your breaths longer or shorter?
Our bodies breathe all by themselves.
We don't have to think our way through breathing.
This is a way our lungs are just doing it for us.
So many parts of our lives,
We try and think our ways through.
Trying to fix things,
Trying to force things and look at our lungs just doing it for us the whole time.
There's no thinking required.
Notice again your lungs,
The space your lungs take up.
They take up a huge amount of space in your torso and they sit on either side of your heart.
Your heart that like your lungs operates without us telling it what to do.
We're not thinking through it consciously.
Our body is doing it all by itself.
With each breath,
Our lungs hug our heart.
With each breath,
One part of our body loves another part of our body.
Most of the time we have no idea this is going on.
This is the moment in your day you can sit and notice and be grateful.
Totally be inspired.
If one part of your body can love another part of your body so much that it hugs it all day.
How could you show your body some love?
Breathing and hugging,
Hugging and breathing.
Breathing,
Pausing right now to enjoy the love that is your body.
To enjoy the love that is your natural state.
Perhaps asking yourself what would be possible if I allowed my body to lead?
Learning more perhaps how is my mind getting in the way of what my body already knows how to do?
What is my body trying to teach me?
Breathing,
Hugging,
All day your lungs are hugging your heart.
Let's take one big breath in and out.
One last hug of your heart and slowly bring yourself back to the present.
Perhaps you wiggle your fingers and wiggle your toes.
Circle your shoulders,
Maybe circle your wrists and your ankles.
Allow a smile to come across your face and when you're ready open your eyes.
