Hello everybody.
This particular meditation is something I do when my mind is busy.
And the reason I like it is because my mind isn't the problem,
My pace is.
This meditation slows everything down so you can actually hear yourself again,
Connect with yourself,
Be in your body.
It's a gentle sensory reset to help you feel calm and clear and fully here in your body,
In your breath,
In your life.
So let's get comfortable and take a nice long slow inhale in through the nose and then exhale it out slowly.
Allow your body to soften.
This is a mindfulness-based meditation and it's about noticing.
In a world that moves in 30 second clips,
You're giving yourself permission to pause,
To pay attention on purpose.
This isn't about emptying your mind,
It's about filling it with presence.
So let's take a slow breath in and exhale it all the way out.
Let your body know we're not rushing anymore.
Let your shoulders drop,
Your hands soften.
Your body's feeling just a little bit heavier here.
Right here,
Right now,
Nothing is being asked of you.
No one needs anything from you.
You don't have to perform,
You don't have to produce,
You get to simply be.
Now begin to deepen your breath.
We're going to inhale for 1,
2,
3,
4,
Hold.
Exhale 6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Inhale 1,
2,
3,
4,
Hold.
Exhale 6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Inhale for 4,
4,
Hold.
Exhale for 6.
Inhale,
Hold.
Exhale.
Inhale,
Exhale.
Now just find your breath here,
In through the nose and out through the nose.
As we move into this practice,
Remember mindfulness isn't about silencing the mind,
It's about noticing the mind.
It's training your attention to come back again and again,
Gently,
Kindly,
Like a friend guiding you home.
So with every exhale,
Let yourself arrive one layer deeper.
We're going to begin just by noticing the breath and following it.
There's going to be some pauses in this meditation where you're in silence,
And you're going to put your attention on either your breath or a sense and I'll walk you through it,
But remember that when your mind wanders,
Come back to that breath,
Come back to that sense.
So let's begin by following your breath in and out,
Focusing on that breath,
And when your mind wanders,
Just bring it right back there.
Remember that I am watching the time for you,
So just be in this moment.
Continue to breathe here,
But now open up your senses to the sounds around you.
Notice the closest sound to you,
Maybe it's the hum of a heater,
The faint buzz of a light,
Your own breath.
Find that sound now,
Connect to it.
Now widen your awareness.
What's beyond the room?
Distant traffic,
Birds.
Allow your hearing to open up a little bit more here.
What do you hear?
Allow each sound to pass through your awareness like ripples in a pond,
No judgment,
Just sound rising and fading.
And if your mind wanders,
Come back to the sound.
That gentle awareness is the muscle of mindfulness,
The return.
Now we're going to move on to sight.
If your eyes are closed,
You can still see fragments of light behind the eyelids,
Perhaps colors,
Or perhaps you want to visualize something like a candle flickering or leaves falling.
But right here,
Focus on sight,
On what you can see.
And if your eyes are softly open,
Choose one object to look at.
Observe it as if you're seeing it for the first time.
Notice every detail,
Color,
Movement,
Texture.
Be here and just notice what you're seeing or what you're visualizing.
Then when that mind wanders,
Come back to that sight.
Now let that go and shift your awareness to touch.
What's beneath your fingertips right now?
Maybe fabric,
The mat or chair beneath you,
The clothing against your skin.
Feel the texture,
The temperature,
The weight,
The subtle sensations you usually tune out.
Focus on this now,
Every tiny detail.
And allow it to pull you deeper into presence and away from distraction,
Into embodiment.
Now let that sensation go and move on to taste and scent,
Two senses that often anchor emotion and memory.
If there's a scent in the room,
Notice it,
Maybe your own perfume.
How does it make you feel?
Notice if there's any taste in your mouth or a temperature.
Just be here and now noticing any sense or any taste that you may be experiencing.
Now let all the senses blend together.
Sound,
Sight,
Touch,
Scent,
Taste.
All coming together.
Feel your body breathing in this present moment.
Following your breath,
Scan your body here and just notice every inch from the top of your head to the tips of your toes.
And if thoughts appear,
Let them.
You are not your thoughts,
You are the one watching them.
So take a moment to just be here with all of your body fully in this moment.
Now let's come back to the breath,
Your constant anchor.
Take a moment to thank yourself for slowing down.
Take a moment to thank yourself for choosing to be present in a world that rewards speed.
Feeling fully in your body here,
Take a nice long,
Slow inhale in.
Slowly release it.
Now gently start to bring yourself back,
Moving in a way that feels good to you.
Carry this mindfulness,
This awareness with you into the next conversation,
The next sip of tea,
Into the next conversation.
Your next step,
Feeling fully embodied.
Because mindfulness isn't about escaping the world,
It's about finally experiencing it.
To being in the present moment,
To being aware and to feeling that.
Take another inhale in.
Exhale out.
And when you're ready,
You can come back and open your eyes.
Thank you so much for meditating with me today.
Have a great rest of your day.
