This guided meditation practice supports us in cultivating and feeling into the subtle qualities of strength that reside within the essence of who we are.
And allowing us to hold these qualities with all that is present in here right now.
Giving ourselves permission to gently turn towards and acknowledge our inner strength and stability.
Along with the areas that feel fragile and weak.
Encouraging a release from the grip and the limitations of the mind.
Taking a moment to arrive here and settle in.
Coming into a comfortable easy seat.
And allowing yourself to be held here.
Lifting and reaching the crown of the head towards the sky.
And allowing yourself to acknowledge your deservedness to be here fully alive.
Engaged with a sense of acceptance and compassion towards yourself.
Closing your eyes or softening your gaze.
Allow the jaw to release.
Draw the shoulders down and away from the ears with intention.
Sensing the natural curve of the spine,
Lifting and extending.
Your seat in contact with the mat or a chair.
Your hands resting comfortably.
Sensing the stability,
The rootedness,
And the strength that is in this body.
Drawing a deeper inhale through the nostrils.
Allowing a slower controlled exhale through the mouth.
Couple of breaths just like that.
Now sealing the lips.
Inhaling and exhaling.
Feeling the body breathing itself.
Observing the breath.
Noticing any areas of constriction or tightness.
Is the breath full,
More expansive?
Simply paying attention to the inhalations and the exhalations.
Inhale,
Filling the body.
Exhale,
Resting and opening space.
Feeling the vitality and vibrations.
Encouraging the breath to return to its natural pace.
For a moment,
Focusing your full attention on this feeling of your breath.
Moving through your body,
Just noticing.
Allowing the body to slow down and release.
Softening the jaw,
The throat,
Any tension in the neck.
Releasing and softening those areas.
Softening the shoulder blades down the back.
Investigating the heaviness of the hips,
The pelvis,
The feet grounded and steady.
And allowing the mind to recognize the breath resting in the body.
Perhaps noticing the temperature of the air on the skin.
Any coolness or warmth.
Areas in the body where there is some pressure or heaviness.
Any tightness or soreness.
Perhaps lack of sensation.
Numbness.
Just noticing without layering on the judgment.
Perhaps guiding the breath into those areas.
Encouraging more space and expansion.
And as we scan through the body,
Can there be an investigation?
And a noticing in the areas that feel vital and strong.
Observing and feeling into those sensations also.
Taking a moment now and resting your awareness on a point in the body where the breath is more prominent.
The tip of the nostrils.
The rise and fall of the heart space.
The navel.
Perhaps a sensation in the body,
In the hands or the feet.
And when the stories and narratives begin to play in the mind,
Very slowly and gently,
With intention,
Guide your awareness back to your focus.
Resting in the body.
The mind will wander.
Perhaps a narrative or a story.
Consider meeting whatever is here with compassion.
Knowing that you can begin again at any moment.
Allowing yourself to shift out of the thinking mind,
Drawing your awareness back to the body.
There can be a cultivating of this gentle strength to begin again.
Slowly beginning again and shifting your focus back to your anchor in the body.
Using the steadiness of your breath to guide you.
If you feel yourself clenching or gripping in any way,
In the mind or in the body,
Consider if you can release and return your attention to your breath.
Releasing the neck area,
The shoulders,
And the area around your heart.
Touch in lightly on these sensations.
Using your breath,
Inhaling and exhaling with this invitation to explore.
Allowing yourself to fully feel a gentle strength and empowerment.
Holding these qualities that lie within you.
Holding these qualities together and including all the others.
Perhaps loss,
Grief,
Regret.
Breathing into all of it,
Being fully present with kindness and openness to what is here.
Allowing a loosening of the grip from the mental stories of the mind.
Can there be the slightest bit of letting go?
In the body and in the mind.
Acknowledging our deservedness to be fully alive.
Vital,
Stable and strong with a felt sense of determination.
Beginning to draw some deeper,
Fuller breaths.
Hold breathing.
Sensing the vibrations.
Extending and lengthening your spine.
Bringing your palms together,
Balanced in self-connection.
With your eyes closed,
Observe how the body feels.
Opening space for this felt sense of strength.
This vitality and empowerment that lies within.
Touching in with the essence of who you are without the layers of the story.
Perhaps affirming here to bring this balance and strength of the mind,
The body and the spirit,
To your intentional action throughout your day.
This concludes our meditation.
