Welcome.
My name is Layla and today I'm here to tell you that you don't have to be sitting in stillness to meditate.
This is a movement-based meditation that is designed for people who feel more present and regulated when their bodies are moving.
To begin,
Find a comfortable seat and gently start rocking your shoulders from side to side,
Feeling the movement in your ribs,
Feeling how the weight shifts from one sitz bone to the other.
And as you're doing this,
Start to become aware of your body that is rocking from side to side.
Becoming aware of your feet,
Becoming aware of your legs,
Feeling your stomach,
Your chest,
Moving your awareness to your shoulders,
Your arms,
And your hands.
Allow yourself to notice the sides of your body,
The low back,
The mid-back,
And the upper back.
Allow your awareness to travel to your neck and to your head.
As you start to feel your whole body as it's moving from side to side today.
And if there is any other movement your body wants to do,
Maybe that's drawing some circles with your heart or finding an extension and flexion of your spine,
Allow that to happen as well.
And as you move,
See if you can notice the natural pattern of your breath.
Where in your body are you feeling your breath today?
There's no right or wrong answer.
Just noticing the natural behavior that your breath showed up with this morning.
And really gently start to deepen your breath.
Inhaling through your nose and exhaling out your mouth.
Allowing your exhale to be longer than your inhale.
So as you inhale,
You feel your whole body fill up with air,
Feeling the expansion.
And as you exhale,
Feel into the relaxation of your muscles,
The softness.
Keep moving,
Side to side,
Front to back,
In whatever way feels good for you today.
And as you're doing this,
Bring your awareness into your jaw.
Noticing any clenching,
Any holding in your jaw.
And take a moment to open and close your mouth a few times here.
And allowing there to be space in between your teeth,
In between your lips.
Move your awareness to your cheeks,
Relaxing the cheeks and the forehead.
Noticing any tension in the eyebrows and in the temples.
Allowing yourself to soften and let go.
Now move your awareness down towards your shoulders.
And pull your shoulders towards your ears as you inhale.
And with your soft,
Long exhale,
Relax your shoulders.
Let them go down towards your hips.
We'll do that two more times with your inhale.
Pull your shoulders towards your ears.
And with your exhale,
Gently release your shoulders towards your hips.
One more time,
Pulling the shoulders towards the ears.
And with your exhale,
Let them go.
And then start to lift your hands up from wherever they are and shake them.
Shaking your hands up and down,
Side to side,
Maybe adding your arms into it.
Allowing any tension that's been built up in the arm muscles and fingers to let go.
Keep shaking,
Inhale through your nose.
Big exhale out your mouth.
And two more times,
Deep breath in.
Can you add the arms,
The torso into the shake?
And big exhale,
Maybe let out a sigh this time.
One more time,
Breathing in.
And let it go.
You can gently let go of the shake.
Gently let go of the movement.
And just for three breaths,
See if you can allow your body to settle into stillness.
Inhale through your nose.
And open your mouth,
Let it go.
Two more times,
Just like that,
Breathe in.
And out.
One more time,
Inhale.
And big exhale.
Take a moment to notice how that movement meditation landed in your body today.
And if you are someone who struggles with sitting still,
Like I do,
Know that there is another way.
There is another way to feel presence,
To feel centered.
I hope to see you again,
And thank you for practicing with me today.
