Welcome,
The following is a recorded mindfulness meditation meant to aid you when you're feeling really busy.
It can be really hard to make time for the mindfulness practice when we are leading busy lives,
But mindfulness can be really supportive to help us live busy lives without feeling constantly rushed.
So take a moment to find your position,
Whether that's seated or lying down or standing,
Trying to find some balance between uprightness and easefulness.
And then allow your eyes to either close or just gaze down at the floor in front of you.
Start to notice your breath,
And for these first few moments,
Deliberately elongate your breath.
You might even count them,
So inhaling for 1,
2,
3,
4,
And exhaling for 1,
2,
3,
4,
Again inhaling for 1,
2,
3,
4,
And exhaling for 1,
2,
3,
4.
And this is deliberately slower than your mind would like to go.
You are practicing moving deliberately more slowly,
Even as your mind resists it.
It's helpful to keep it embodied.
Notice the breath in your body.
Notice the rising of the chest,
The ballooning out of the lungs,
And the softening of the chest with the exhale,
Keeping these long,
Slow breaths.
With these long,
Slow breaths,
There's a natural calming of the nervous system,
A settling down.
See if you can soften your shoulders.
See if you can allow your arm bones to get heavier,
And your hands to unclench,
This radical acceptance of having nothing to do right now.
There is nothing to do right now.
And your mind might,
Again,
Resist that,
Come up with all the things that you should be doing or could be doing,
And that's just words across a screen.
Your thoughts cannot remove you from this elongated breath.
So when those anxious or fast-paced thoughts come in,
Acknowledge them,
Note them,
And then return to this slowed breath.
And with this slower breath,
See if you can hover at the bottom of the exhale momentarily,
So noticing a sensation of emptiness,
So exhaling all the way out,
And then noticing that sensation of being empty of air.
The inhale will naturally follow.
You don't have to make it come,
You don't have to avoid it.
Just taking an extra notice of the empty feeling at the bottom of the exhale,
And allow your breath to return to a natural rhythm.
Notice that its natural rhythm is still slow.
It's not purposefully slow,
But it moves very deliberately at a purposeful pace.
It doesn't skip around or jump from one thing to the next.
It just moves up and down,
Over and over,
Very effectively.
So notice that now,
This natural pattern of breath,
And then around the breath,
There's a sense of composure,
Stability,
Like an upright tree trunk.
You might even notice the upright stature of your body,
And the flow of breath within it,
And this embodied composure is what you'll be taking with you to face a busy day,
Knowing that each activity or task that you will face is asking for your full attention,
Your full engagement.
You can offer that by cultivating this calm,
Centered composure.
Knowing that this calm,
Centered composure can easily adapt as you switch from task to task,
But it maintains a sense of stability.
You might even take a moment to notice the soles of your feet,
And if you can,
Press them gently into the earth,
Gathering up the sense of stability,
Groundedness,
And at some point,
You might feel that your mind,
Your fast-paced mind,
Is taking over.
That's okay,
That's normal.
Just shift your attention back onto your body,
The composure and groundedness of the body.
There might even be this feeling that you're pretending,
That you're not actually composed,
You're just putting on a performance of some sort.
That's a normal way to feel.
In fact,
You're just practicing something new.
You are practicing attuning to the sense of composure amidst whatever busyness you have going on,
Like the trunk of the tree remaining steady when its leaves are blowing and falling.
You too are going to remain steady when you're facing the whirlwind of the day in front of you.
Take a moment to notice your hands,
Your primary form of engaging with your tasks,
Whether that's typing or changing diapers or opening doors.
Notice the energy in your hands.
They are ready to engage with the tasks in front of them,
And they too are connected to this centered composure.
Your hands and your mind will act effectively today,
But your primary attention will be on the sense of composure,
This persistent steadiness.
For a few moments here,
Just noticing this persistent steadiness.
Start to notice the space around you in the room,
Any sounds that are coming through.
As you move from this place of mindfulness meditation back into your day,
You might feel an increase in heart rate or a shakiness or a buzzing or nothing,
And all of that is okay.
It does not compromise the persistent steadiness that you are practicing.
So no matter what sensations arise or discomforts,
Just remind yourself that you are tethered to this persistent steadiness,
Allowing you to be busy but not rushed.
Start to open up your eyes,
Turning your attention to the room,
Maybe seeing if you can bring in a gentle smile as you take in the colors and the shapes with your fullest attention.
Even the simple shapes and objects around you,
Just take a moment to offer them your full attention,
And then offer yourself your full attention and thank yourself for making time for this practice.
It's a really big deal that you did so,
And I look forward to having you back here soon.
