Namaste and welcome to this meditation for grief.
Find a comfortable seat and close the eyes if that works for you.
Or keep the eyes at half mast,
Gently resting on one spot.
If closing the eyes does not work for you.
Ensure that your spine is straight,
Head,
Neck and torso in one line.
You can also take this meditation lying down.
Take a moment to feel the earth beneath you.
Feel your sitting bones descending down into the earth.
Feel the earth rising up to meet you and support you.
Connect now with the space and air element all around you.
Visualize an invisible force wrapping itself around you,
Holding you upright.
Connect now with the water element and the watery realm of emotions.
Perhaps visualizing your favorite body of water.
This could be a river,
The ocean or a pond.
Take a moment to find your breath and for the next few moments,
Simply follow the upward and downward motion of your natural breath.
Nothing to change here.
Simply observe the dance between the inhale and the exhale.
Notice the effect this is having on the mind.
Set an intention for your practice.
What do you wish to receive from this time spent in meditation?
Visualize yourself sitting down,
Supported by all the elements around you.
As you stand at the threshold of your meditation for grief,
Begin to scan your physical body now,
Starting from the crown of the head or the tips of the toes,
Whatever calls to you the most.
Scan your body temple slowly and notice any areas of tightness.
Notice also any areas that feel open and spacious.
Open and spacious,
Nothing to judge here.
Simply observe.
Begin to scan your mental and emotional body now,
Simply observing what are you arriving to the mat with.
Acknowledge each and every emotion and choose one chief operating emotion right now.
As you have chosen this meditation,
The likelihood is that that emotion is grief.
Continue to breathe smoothly and naturally in and out of the nose and bring the emotion of grief into your mind's eye.
Bring into your mind's eye the circumstances,
People,
Events and actions that led to this grief.
Allow yourself to feel all the feels,
But always come back to the breath.
Take a moment to notice if your spine is still upright and readjust if you need to.
Visualize a grounding core,
The golden rod,
Coming down through the crown of the head,
Anchoring you down into the depths of the earth and allowing you to stay upright.
Visualize a crystal at the center of the earth.
Visualize wrapping yourself around the jagged edges of this crystal.
Let this be your anchor throughout the practice.
And now come back to the grief.
Take a moment to notice if this grief lives in any particular part of your body.
You may not consciously recognize this,
But is there a part of your body that's been recently speaking to you?
If you've identified any part of your body where this grief may live,
Start to breathe into it.
Feel this area of your body expanding and contracting with each inhale and each exhale.
Allowing this grief to move,
Loosen and disperse.
If this grief were a color,
What color would it be?
If this grief had a texture,
What texture would it be?
Would it be smooth,
Would it be rugged?
Just naming things,
It's enough.
No need to overthink.
No need to overanalyze.
Does this grief feel heavy or is it light?
Is it constant or does it come in waves?
If your mind starts to wander,
Bring it back to the breath and I'll bring into your mind's eye a joyful occasion.
Perhaps relating to the same circumstances,
Events,
People and actions that you may have experienced in your past life.
Circumstances,
Events,
People and actions of your grief.
Take a moment to notice if this joy lives in any particular part of your body.
Now consider for a moment if you can find enough spaciousness in your heart center to hold both emotions with equal reverence and respect.
Joy follows grief and grief follows joy.
It is the eternal dance of the two beloveds and it is from the interplay of these two seemingly opposing forces that life gets its unique flavor.
Continue to breathe smoothly and naturally in and out of the nose as you do this work.
Perhaps leaning and surrendering into the paradox that it is to be human.
Allowing and welcoming each and every emotion as a gift from God.
Leaning with equal devotion into either grief or joy.
Remembering that each emotion is God or Goddess.
Continue to sit here for a few more moments allowing these words to sink in.
And as you're ready blink your eyes open if they're closed and just notice what's changed,
What's shifted.
Take a deep breath in through the nose and exhale out of the mouth.
Do this again.
Exhale out of the mouth.
Do this again.
Take a deep breath in through the nose and exhale out of the mouth.
Bring your hands in a prayer in front of your heart in Anjali Mudra.
Take a moment to notice the peace that you created through the practice.
Bow your head to the heart.
Thank yourself for practicing.
Namaste.
