Hi,
I'm Stacey DeGiorgio.
Today I'm going to lead you on a short guided meditation for those who are new to mindfulness meditation.
And before we get started,
I just wanted to emphasize that mindfulness isn't about clearing your mind of thoughts.
It's about paying attention to whatever is happening in the present moment,
Without judgment,
With a little kindness and open heartedness to whatever might be arising.
So let's get started.
First finding a comfortable seat,
Planting your feet on the floor,
Elongating your spine,
Maybe softening your shoulders if you notice that they are a little bit tense.
You may close your eyes or soften your gaze.
So you're looking down at the floor,
Maybe two feet in front of you.
And then from here,
Notice what your body feels like sitting here.
So bringing attention to your body,
Your feet on the floor,
Maybe the bend in your knees,
The bend at your hips,
Noticing your torso and checking back in with those shoulders.
Take a deep breath in with me here.
Deep inhalation and deep exhalation.
And as you exhale,
Invite another bit of softening into those shoulders while maintaining the length of your spine.
Noticing also the bend in your elbows and the way your hands are situated.
There's no need to change anything.
Just noticing.
And from here,
Bringing your attention to your breath.
Noticing where you feel your breath most vividly in your body.
Maybe it's in your nostrils,
Noticing the air coming in and the air leaving your nostrils.
Or maybe you feel your breath most vividly in your chest.
Feel the expansion and contraction of your rib cage and all the muscles that are there.
Or maybe you notice the rise and fall of your belly.
Wherever it is that you're feeling your breath,
Allow this to be your anchor point,
Your point of focus for this meditation.
So just noticing that you're breathing in and breathing out.
And when your thoughts come and take you away from your focus of the breath,
That's completely okay.
It's just what our minds do.
Simply notice and redirect your attention back to your breath.
Even if you can't quite get through one entire cycle of breath without the thoughts coming in,
It's totally okay.
This is where the non-judgmental part of mindfulness can really help.
So without saying,
Ah,
I'm constantly thinking I can't do this right.
Instead of that,
Notice and redirect your attention as many times as you need to.
And if you find that your breath brings you a great amount of anxiety when you try to focus on it,
That's okay too.
You can choose another part of your body as an anchor point.
So maybe the sensation of your feet on the floor.
And that can be your anchor point,
Your point of focus.
So every time you get distracted,
Simply bring your attention back to your feet.
So we're moving here from constantly doing to simply being with whatever is.
You're training the brain to focus.
So breathing in and breathing out here.
And knowing that you're breathing in and breathing out.
And paying attention.
That moment that you catch yourself thinking again or being distracted,
Just bring your awareness back to the breath or wherever your point of focus is.
And if it helps you to concentrate,
Every time you inhale,
You can think inhaling.
And every time you exhale,
You can think exhaling.
And every time you catch yourself thinking,
You can simply say to yourself,
Thinking.
So I'll let you sit in silence,
Just paying attention to your breath for a couple more minutes.
And then I will ring a bell when the meditation is done.
Sidhu.
The trans surely Thank you so much for joining me.
Have a wonderful day.
