You're listening to the Motherhood Unstressed podcast,
And I'm your host,
Liz Carlao.
Thank you for joining me for another guided meditation,
For making the decision to carve out a space of peace and calm and connection in your day.
I know how hard it is.
I know how many things can come up.
I know that it takes actually more than people think to do this,
Even if it's just for five minutes or so.
So the fact that you're sitting and you're listening to my voice right now,
And you're in a comfortable seated position or lying flat on your back,
Or whatever position you've chosen for this meditation already speaks volumes about the desire that you have for your life and for your own mental and physical well-being.
Now,
This is a meditation that you probably needed today.
It's one I need almost every day,
And it's to quiet the racing thoughts.
It's to quiet the monkey mind,
Which is a term that a lot of meditators use for that constant feedback,
Constant talking,
Opinions,
Critiques that always seems to be going on.
But I think what most people don't realize is that you can actually quell that.
You can redirect those thoughts.
You can find peace and center from within,
And we do that with our breath.
So let's begin.
Let's take a deep breath in and let it go.
Deep breath in and let it go.
Let's go back to in through the nose and out through the nose.
Deep breath in,
Out through the nose.
Deep breath in.
Longer exhale through the nose.
Let's do one more together.
Deep breath in and out through the nose.
Now,
Keep that ujjayi breath going,
That audible breath.
You don't want to be forcing anything,
But you also want to be very intentional with your breath.
This isn't just sitting here peacefully.
You're doing something intentional.
You're connecting to source.
You're connecting to who you really are beyond the thoughts,
Beyond the monkey mind,
And you're connecting to your body and your breath.
And sometimes we forget that we are part of our body,
Our biology,
And our personality are intertwined in a lot of ways.
And we can get back into a parasympathetic nervous state when we intentionally breathe and when we bring our focus just to that piece of our biology.
It's fascinating,
And it's been proven in thousands of studies.
So keep breathing and keep focusing on that sensation of your breath.
It has to be the most fascinating thing in your in your moment,
In your day to day right now.
So keep focusing on that.
And I'll be here to bring you back in a few minutes when you have fully embodied your body and you're feeling tingly from the connection of your brain to your extremities,
To every cell in your body.
And I can't tell you how beneficial this is,
Not only for your mind to give your mind a reprieve,
But to also get centered and to start looking at the world from a place of more calm.
And when you do that,
Your decisions are better,
You sleep better,
Your health is actually physically better because you're not pumping out cortisol,
You're not pumping out stress hormones from your amygdala,
Or tamping down that part of your brain that wants to fight or wants to flee.
So keep breathing,
Keep doing that work.
And when it's time,
I'll bring you back.
If you're ready,
You can start to bring some movement back into your fingers and toes.
If you'd like to stay here and go deeper,
Simply press pause and stay for as long as you need.
Let any emotions that you may have been suppressing or ignoring flow free.
Let everything out.
Or if you have to go into your busy day,
Or perhaps drift off to sleep,
You can bring some movement back.
If you'd like to stay and meditate longer,
You can simply pause this meditation,
Stay for as long as you need.
But if you're ready,
You can bring some movement back into your fingers and toes.
Do some gentle neck rolls,
Maybe get into pigeon pose or child's pose where your knees are splayed open,
Your arms are outstretched in front of you,
Your fingers wide,
Your hips back.
This is a great stretch to open everything up,
Especially if you are sitting for large portions of the day.
Now that your mind has connected more fully to your body,
Listen to what it's telling you.
Does it need to stretch here or there?
Does it need hydration?
Does it need a hug?
Whatever is coming up for you,
Listen,
Listen,
Because now your heart is fully open and you're calm so you can fully see what's really going on with you from a place of non-judgment.
From the bottom of my heart,
Thank you for joining me and I look forward to our time together next week.
Namaste.
