Let's start by making sure that we are in a comfortable seated position with our spine straight,
Shoulders relaxed.
It's okay if you want to shift to move during the meditation,
Just making sure that you are doing so slowly and mindfully.
Taking a moment now to set an intention for your practice.
What's most important is that you are showing up for whatever arises without judgment,
Criticism,
Or trying to change your experience in any way.
We'll begin with our eyes open with a soft gaze in front of you,
Starting with a few deep breaths,
Breathing in with your nose and out with your mouth.
With your next out breath,
Just gently closing your eyes,
Seeing if you can fully arrive here in this moment,
Knowing that you can always come back to your breath as an anchor,
A safe place to rest in if sensations or emotions arise that become too uncomfortable.
Now moving your attention to the feet,
Just going down the legs down to the soles of your feet,
Placing your attention to the left and right side,
Seeing if you can notice any fabric,
Perhaps if you're wearing socks or any feeling,
A tingling,
Taking in the inner arch and outer edges of the foot,
Moving up to the toes,
To the heels and ankles,
Moving up the legs all the way to the knees,
Exploring the temperature,
Fabric,
Weight,
Any sensations,
Noticing if there's a tensing in the knees,
Breathing into any places of tension and relaxing those places as you breathe out.
Now moving up from the knee to the hip and from the inner thigh up to the genitals,
Taking in the entirety of this area,
Perhaps you feel nothing at all,
Not trying to change anything,
Just being with whatever arises,
Remembering that there is no right or wrong experience.
It's just showing up for what's here.
Moving to the base of the spine,
To the left and right buttocks,
Perhaps noticing the weight of the body against the mat.
Now moving your awareness to the whole of your hips,
To the pelvis,
Feeling the whole of this area,
Letting your breath guide you to the felt sensations.
When you're ready,
Moving your attention to your lower back and further up on the ribs,
Moving up your back to your shoulder blades.
This is where we usually hold our stress,
Taking your awareness to the whole of the back,
Moving to your stomach,
Noticing if you can feel hunger or fullness or something in between.
Maybe nothing is experienced and that's okay too.
Moving up slowly to the ribs as they make space for the heart and lungs,
Perhaps noticing if you can feel your heart beating,
The air through your lungs,
Then moving to the upper ridges of the shoulders and moving down the arms through to the hands.
Now moving to the back of the neck,
Then the base of your head.
What's the experience?
Is it tight,
Loose,
Changing,
Or constantly staying the same?
Moving to the base of the head and then to the entire back of your head,
To the forehead.
Is there a holding,
Attention,
Or a smoothness?
Noticing the eyes,
See if you can feel behind the lids,
Feeling your cheeks,
Your nose,
Noticing the breath through your nostrils,
Your mouth,
Your tongue,
And the warmth in your mouth.
Now imagining that there's a hole in the top of your head and now breathing into that hole,
Down your body,
Through your legs,
And out your toes.
Then breathing back in through your toes,
Up your legs,
And out through the top of your head.
If your mind should wander,
That's okay.
Just bringing your attention back to your breath.
Now notice the earth beneath you.
Feel where you are sitting in your chair or mat,
Wherever you are connected to the earth.
Now moving your attention to the base of your spine.
See if you can imagine a light at the end of your spine pulsating with energy.
Extend this light and energy downward from your spine,
Just like the roots of a tree extending through your spine,
Down through your body,
Down the floor,
Just going down,
Down,
Down,
Until you reach the center of the earth.
Feel your body relax as you connect with the earth.
Let this light expand as wide as your body,
Letting this light root you strongly into the earth,
Feeling your energy pulsating throughout your body,
Perhaps noticing if you can feel any energy pulsating in your hands,
Your feet,
Or even in your heart.
Noticing any thoughts that arise and just bringing yourself back to your breath.
Now doing a small scan from head to toe and noticing any tension that might still be holding inside your body.
Let it release now down into this light and into the earth,
Seeing if you can relax your body even further with every breath,
Releasing any anxiety,
Worries,
Or pains,
Just letting them release now,
Feeling any doubts that you might have about yourself,
Releasing,
Feeling the strong earth energy beneath you,
And letting that nourishing energy travel back up this light and into the area around your heart,
Filling your heart space with light,
Now shifting to imagine a golden light above your head,
Bringing you nourishing energy into your heart space,
Taking a moment to notice these energies flowing up from the ground and down from the sky,
Culminating into the beauty and peace of your heart,
Softening the belly,
The chest,
And shoulders as you become more settled into this present moment.
And should your mind wander,
That's okay.
Just simply notice and return your attention back to your breath.
Let's just rest in silence in this space with whatever arises.
Should your mind wander?
Just practicing bringing yourself back to your breath.
When we return back to our bodies and listen to its wisdom,
We can return home to ourselves,
Embracing what is happening so we can inherently experience our wholeness and live in more peace and grace.
Remember that you can always return to this sense of peace throughout your day by returning back to your breath.
You are worthy.
You are capable.
You are exactly where you should be.
Thanking yourself for returning back home to yourself today.
Starting now to slowly shift and move,
Noticing the sounds around you.
And then slowly opening your eyes whenever you're ready.
May this practice benefit you,
Those around you,
And the world at large.
