Hey there,
This is Jen with Laughing Lotus Wellness.
Welcome to our meditation practice.
Well friends,
Here we are again.
Good morning.
This is a morning practice all about connecting to the breath.
I did a live version of this and I am going to continue to kind of add in a variation,
If you will,
Of the live meditations that I teach.
That way if you've attended a class and enjoyed it,
One,
You can return to it,
Which is lovely.
Right?
I love finding a meditation that just really resonates with me and knowing I can come back to it whenever I need it.
But also because I love anything that helps light us up to set a tone for the morning and connection is something that is one of my superpowers.
So for whatever your superpower is,
As a human being,
One of mine is definitely connection.
The other is energy,
Resilience.
And so I consider myself an resilience expert,
If you will,
A hope expert.
And with two decades of clinical practice under my belt and years and years of trainings and certifications and all sorts of things in healing and wellness,
I would come to you with this beautiful sense of hope and renewal and the idea of the Lotus,
Which is that we get to begin again in every moment.
And one of the best ways we ever,
Ever have accessible to us to do so is through the breath.
And we forget,
We get busy and we get in our heads about things and we forget that the breath is this magical tool.
So I welcome you into this practice.
And the first thing we're going to do is we're going to just take a nice big inhale in and bring your arms up,
Raising them up high overhead,
Stretching nice and tall,
Interlacing the fingers and reaching up to the sky and just taking a nice big inhale.
Let's do another one of those.
Again,
Reaching nice and tall with those hands,
Inhaling it again,
Exhaling it out,
Releasing those hands to the sides of your body.
Taking a moment to just plug into the felt sense of that experience where you are this morning,
Taking stock.
I really revel in taking a moment to check in with my mind,
Body and soul in the morning.
Where am I coming from?
I'm starting off in a great place and high energy and seeing opportunity or my kind of fatigued or stressed and not maybe not feeling it yet quite this morning.
So I just want you to check in with yourself.
Give your mind permission to just run for a moment here so that we can have some stillness.
And so we invite those thoughts in for a moment here.
Packaging up any sensations,
Thoughts,
Feelings,
Plans for your day.
I know it's hard.
And taking and setting those aside so that we can really be present here in this morning.
And so I'm going to read to you guys something from Sally Kempton,
Which I just think is really beautiful to get our day started.
So I love to give her kudos.
This is from meditation for the love of it,
Again by Sally Kempton.
And maybe if you're willing,
Taking your eyes and just gently closing them or softening your gaze two to three feet in front of you.
Just plugging into the inside of your soul for a little bit here.
And this is what she says to help you come inward as you start to practice.
And I think it's just really beautiful.
So she says here,
Dear body,
Please give me permission to sit quietly and turn my awareness inside.
Please help me to go into meditation.
Dear mind,
I ask you with love to support my meditation.
Please reveal your stillness and depth to me.
Dear inner heart,
I honor you.
Please open to the sweetness that is your real nature and allow my meditation to be filled with your grace.
My intention now is to meditate allowing my attention to flow inward and to rest in the depth of my inner being.
I invoke the grace and help of my body,
My mind and my heart.
And this is my own addition.
I hope that you invite the breath in.
I hope that you invite the ability to begin again into your meditation into your daily routine.
And I found some quotes that I always like to share some reading.
It's just kind of I'm a book lover anyway.
And I found these quotes and I thought they were really beautiful.
And the first one says,
And this was just online,
It does not have an author so forgive me for not being able to let you know who said this,
But it says sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest we take between two deep breaths.
And I do believe it might be Sally Kempton that said the idea that God,
A source,
Whatever it is that speaks to you that you believe might be bigger than yourself is actually found in the space between the breath.
And I love that idea.
And if that doesn't resonate friends again,
You always take what works and ditch the rest.
But I think that's a beautiful idea that there's something profound about the space between the breaths.
And another quote said,
I take a deep breath and sidestep my fear and begin speaking from the place where beauty and bravery meet within the chambers of a quivering heart.
Again making a lot of connections here between the heart and the breath and they sort of take up residence in the same space in our body,
You know,
Oddly enough.
That's where they're located sort of really closely connected.
And so thinking about that heart space,
Right that chest center space.
We're going to come back around to that today in our practice.
And the last quote that I really love was it said this,
Every sunrise gives you a new beginning and a new ending.
Let this morning be a new beginning to a better relationship and a new ending to the bad memories.
It's an opportunity to enjoy life,
Breathe freely,
Think and love.
Be grateful for this beautiful day.
And that's by Norton Juster.
And so I just want to invite you in,
Right?
I just want to invite you in.
Good morning.
I hope you're kind of just snuggly out of bed and ready to do this and sitting quietly somewhere where you've got peace and quiet.
And I want you to just plug into the breath here.
Noting to start where your body expands and contracts through the breath.
And so as you do this,
Just really paying attention to the body space.
Giving yourself a moment to notice where your body expands and contracts with the breath.
Perhaps paying attention to that heart center chest space,
Your back,
Your ribs,
Your belly,
Right?
There's all kinds of places that are engaged in our breath.
Maybe doing yourself a favor here as you begin to pay attention to expansion and contraction and also consider allowing the breath to come in and out through the nostrils and only the nostrils for this moment.
Just feeling that breath move in and out fluidly through the nostrils.
If you're stuffy today,
Then just feel free to breathe through the mouth if needed.
But we're going to do that next.
I wanted to have you take a few breaths just in and out through the nostrils.
And as you sit here thinking about the fact that your breath is always with you,
And so much of it happens when we aren't even paying attention,
Right?
Our body just knows what to do.
That's the magic,
The sacredness of our bodies.
Contemplating as well the lesson of expansion and contraction as human beings,
Right?
How we show up in our lives from a space of expansion and sometimes pulling inward and contracting.
There's all kinds of incredible lessons for life in yoga teachings.
And that's a really beautiful one.
How does it feel to you and your mind to consider what it's like to expand as a human being through the breath but through your growth,
Right?
And growing and learning,
Becoming who you are going to be,
Who you want to be,
Contracting,
Right?
So coming inward and I think sometimes we have to do that.
We have to come inward,
Hunker down a bit if you will,
To really be in a place of peace and quiet,
Respect,
Boundaries,
Boundary setting.
So rather than looking at expansion and contraction as rather a good or bad thing,
Which is just our minds wanting to plug a little black and white meaning into something beautiful,
Just sitting with that idea.
How are you expanding and contracting both in your breath and in your life?
And now shifting gears in the breath and instead of just nostril breathing,
Giving an effort to inhaling through the nostrils and exhaling audibly,
Gently.
So inhaling through the nose,
Exhaling out.
And inhaling in through the nostrils,
Exhaling out.
Let's do three more of those in your own pace.
Beautiful inhales and exhales out through the mouth,
In through the nose and out through the mouth.
And now we're going to shift gears once again with the breath.
We're going to inhale in a little bit more quickly,
In through the nostrils,
Nice and slow out through pursed lips like we're blowing out a candle.
Again,
Inhaling in,
Exhaling that out as if blowing out a candle.
And now we're thinking and settling again here,
Neutral breath,
Fluid inhale and exhale,
Same length of the inhale and exhale,
Dropping any effort.
And what I want you to do is just sit in that vibration,
Sit in that vibration.
How are you feeling now compared to when you began your practice today?
And noticing it doesn't take a lot for us to make a shift and how amazing that is,
That just simply sitting with our breath and modifying it a little bit,
If you will,
Can make a change for us.
As you sit here today in this nice and even breath now,
I'd like you to go inward again and pay attention to the quality of the breath.
Is it fluid and easy?
Hitching or ragged?
Is it shallow or deep?
Without placing any judgment,
I know this is tough,
Right?
Without any judgment,
Just paying attention,
Sitting in that breath.
And now having spent time with the physicality of the breath,
Right,
The actual movement,
The physical component of it.
And I want to shift gears here as we welcome in a week,
Welcome in the day,
We welcome in this moment with breath,
This quiet place of breath.
Our effort is to just pay attention and be present,
Making space for the beauty of this unfolding moment.
Much like a lotus opening and blooming,
Right?
I love thinking of a beautiful flower blooming and blossoming before your eyes as if on fast forward.
And that's the way that this moment is,
This moment in the breath invites in a blossom,
A blooming,
If you will,
Of opportunity,
Stillness,
Quiet,
Growth,
So much opportunity to create space and energy that feels good to us.
And seeing the breath as a guide.
In any moment,
We can return to the breath sensing where our breath is in the body,
But also where it is in our mind,
Our souls,
Spirits.
And you might imagine in your mind,
Inside your head,
That as you inhale,
You bring in a beautiful,
Radiant healing white light and energy.
So right now,
Where you are just seated,
Relaxed in this state,
Just take that breath in as if you were breathing in through your head,
Through your mind.
And imagine that the inside space of your head fills with light and energy,
An airy,
Beautiful quality as you inhale,
And as you exhale,
It contracts slightly and returns back to normal.
So with this idea here,
Just for a few moments,
A few breaths,
Expand that mind with healing light and radiant energy,
Filling it full of beauty and joy and peace.
As you inhale and exhale,
Expand and contract,
Preparing the mind for the day to take in new lessons,
New information,
New stories,
Memories,
Sensations and experiences.
Growth and learning and being aware of that process is one of the beautiful things of being a human being.
Our brain was meant for growth and lighting it up as we are here with the breath,
Filling it full of beautiful,
Healing white light.
It expands us.
It prepares the mind.
It creates a sacred space for the thoughts to be clear and loving and radiant as well.
Right thought.
Right thought.
And now the spirit,
Bringing that breath into the spirit and I think of that as that heart space.
We talked about earlier that the lungs space and the heart space and so we're going to pull beautiful,
Healing energy right into that heart space and imagine if you will that much like your lungs expand as you inhale in,
You're pulling in that same beautiful healing light to expand that heart space,
To grow your heart,
To grow your breath,
Creating sacred space for the white,
Beautiful spark of energy that you are that encompasses your soul spirit,
The light of who you are on the inside.
Wisdom and insight,
Intuition,
Love,
Grace,
Joy,
Laughter,
Lighting up that space as you inhale and exhale,
Again,
Preparing for your day.
I hope you have the opportunity to have a good belly laugh today.
It makes us feel so alive and so in this moment as you breathe here,
I want you to take that spark of idea and put it right inside that heart space,
Seeking out some joy and silliness and playfulness and laughter today.
Just see what happens inside your soul.
That blooming flower we mentioned earlier,
Right?
That blooming flower grows as we grow the inside space of our heart filled with light and for a moment calling that imagery up and imagining a beautiful flower,
Maybe one of your favorites and if you're unfamiliar,
You might think of a daisy or a rose or something beautiful that,
Lotus is my favorite,
That resonates with you and imagine that as you breathe,
As you inhale,
That flower opens up with its face shining into the sun,
Smiling and taking in the sun and that's like your heart.
So with that idea in mind,
For a few breaths here,
Heart smiling,
Soul shining and just breathing.
Bringing that breath front and center,
In your mind's eye you might say,
Inhaling I am,
Exhaling living joy,
Inhaling I am,
Exhaling living grace,
Inhaling I am,
Exhaling living laughter.
I'm going to go for a few breaths.
I want you to fill in the blank for yourself.
Inhaling I am and exhaling whatever it is that you want for your day.
Taking a few breaths here for yourself,
Sacred quiet space,
Listening to your inner wisdom and insight.
What do you need for your day?
This moment maybe.
Breathing I am,
Exhaling whatever you need.
And feeling that intention fill every single cell in your body.
That sense of connection expands with each and every breath.
Breathing in your words and insight here for a few moments.
Grateful for this moment,
Grateful for this this morning,
This day,
This opportunity.
And around out our breath practice what I'd like you to do is begin to combine all of those things together.
That very physical visceral part of breath and the mind and the soul and pulling them all together making that connection.
We get the ability to begin again over and over and over again and our breath is the guide for that and we're going to do that here.
So as you inhale pulling that light that healing radiant light into your mind space your heart space and every cell in your body and then exhaling out again and again pulling that idea of light and energy moving into the body as you inhale inviting in this moment inviting in this breath this grace this beauty this incredible joy.
And with each breath you take expansive space opens up inside your heart your mind preparing you for this day,
Invigorating you for this day,
Putting a smile on your face.
Feel that this opportunity this space is literally available to you in every moment.
Our breath fuels our bodies and spirits.
It is an anchor.
The space which directly roots us to our knowing our wisdom our experience.
We can easily forget and be disconnected from the strength of being in tune with the breath.
It is right there to root us again and again.
The breath the breath taking this moment to steep in the vibration of your energy as you step into this day this moment full of light and your own intention taking that connection to the breath with you wherever you go.
Slowly now bowing your chin to your chest slowly fluttering the eyes open wiggling fingers and toes coming back into your space.
And we're going to take another good morning stretch of course because like we're just starting our day right so we're going to take our arms up reaching again high overhead nice and tall good morning stretch.
We might put those fingers together again interlace them and stretch out nice and tall juicy and just sitting here in this felt sense of your breath.
Your shared space in this practice for you set off into this moment and day from a place of blessings love and light I'm grateful to share this connection and breath with you.
I welcome you to come back again and join me to follow along for my meditations grateful for any donations you can you feel comfortable parting with as teachers were incredibly grateful for any support to continue creating content for you and if not that's okay you're here and that's all that matters.
I'm grateful for our time and practice together and feel the incredible energy and send you off today with your breath and light.
Until next time this is Jen with Laughing Lotus Wellness.
