You're listening to the Motherhood Unstressed podcast,
And I'm your host Liz Carlisle.
Thank you so much for tuning in and for taking the time for yourself and your well-being today.
So wherever you are right now,
Whether sitting at your desk,
Lying in bed,
Or walking through your day,
This meditation is an invitation to slow down,
To remember that no matter how loud life feels,
There's always a calm current moving quietly beneath it all,
Waiting for you to return to it.
Let's take a deep breath in together,
In through the nose,
And gently exhale through your mouth.
Again deep breath in.
So close your eyes if you can,
And I want you to start by noticing your breath,
Not changing it,
Just observing.
As you inhale softly through your nose,
I want you to feel the air expand your chest,
Your ribs,
Your belly,
And as you exhale slowly through your mouth,
Like a gentle wave leaving the shore,
Notice the sensation in those areas as the air leaves your body.
Now let's move through a slow grounding body scan.
I want you to bring your awareness to your feet,
Feel them anchored to the earth.
Let go of any tension you might be holding onto there.
And as you keep breathing,
Move up to your legs,
Strong,
Capable,
Carrying you through every season of your life.
Breathe in,
Bring your focus now to your hips and lower back.
If there's tightness,
Imagine it's softening,
Melting away like sand under warm water.
Anything you've been holding onto emotionally,
We hold it in our hips.
Let it go with every breath.
Come back to neutral,
To safety,
To love.
Now,
Up through your stomach and chest,
Where the heart and lungs meet.
Feel the rhythm there,
The pulse of life,
The rise and fall of breath,
Your very essence and aliveness that's always with you,
Which you might not notice.
Feel it now,
Tune in now,
And send gratitude.
Move up to your shoulders.
So often,
We hold the weight of the world here.
As you breathe in,
Expand,
Fill up your shoulders.
And as you exhale,
Imagine the weight dissolving into the sea,
Never to return.
Now move up your neck,
Into your jaw,
Your face,
The space between your eyebrows.
Soften it all.
Bring awareness and love and rejuvenation to every cell.
Let your whole body rest in this moment,
Like a pearl resting safely inside its shell.
Fully relax now in this space.
I want you to imagine yourself standing at the edge of a vast ocean.
The sky above is open and wide,
The water endless and blue.
With each gentle inhale,
The tide comes in.
And with each gentle exhale,
It flows back.
Now step into the water.
It's cool,
Soothing,
Alive.
As you wade in deeper,
You notice the waves around you.
Some calm,
Some restless,
Some powerful.
Each wave represents a thought,
A feeling,
A piece of life moving through you.
Now imagine a single,
Mighty wave rising high before you.
It's strong,
Beautiful,
But loud.
Like all the chaos and noise that sometimes fills your days and your heart.
Instead of resisting,
You let the wave wash over you.
You breathe through it.
And you remember,
This too will pass.
Keep breathing.
Beneath the surface,
The water is still,
Clear,
Silent.
You sink a little deeper,
Where peace lives.
Here you discover a soft glow in the sand below,
A pearl.
It's yours.
This pearl is your wisdom,
Your patience,
Your unshakable center.
It's been forming quietly all along,
Through storms,
Through stress,
Through every wave you've ever faced in your life.
As you reach for it,
And as you hold it,
You realize you don't have to control the sea to be at peace.
You just have to return to your depth.
Keep breathing.
Let this truth resonate through your entire body,
Through every cell.
Here are some affirmations that I want you to embody further.
Let them ripple through you like the rhythm of the tide.
I am calm,
Even when life feels chaotic.
I am strong,
Not because I fight the waves,
But because I know how to float.
I trust that every storm will pass.
I carry peace with me,
Always.
Still waters run deep,
And so do I.
Breathe these in.
Let them settle in your body like pearls,
Soft,
Luminous reminders of your strength.
As you slowly return to this moment,
The present,
Notice how your body feels soft,
Supported,
Safe,
Lighter.
You've returned to your innate stillness.
This is who you really are.
The world may continue to move and crash and roar,
But beneath it,
You are steady.
You are the calm beneath the waves.
Let's take one last deep breath in together.
Exhale everything out that doesn't serve you.
You can lie here as long as you like,
Or drift off to sleep if it's nighttime.
But carry this peace with you into whatever comes next.
