Hi,
I'm Melissa from Meditation for Regular People and thank you for meditating with me today.
Today we'll be working on just softening your grip a little bit on any anxiety or depression you might be experiencing.
So first find a comfortable and quiet place where you can limit your distractions and disturbances.
Wherever it is,
Let your body rest comfortably there.
It's okay to sit up or recline.
Whatever's most comfortable for you today,
Right here,
Right now.
Some days we can get settled and comfy really quickly.
In other days it might take a little more to get things just right.
So take your time,
Be kind to yourself.
Meditation isn't about sitting up ramrod straight in a perfect posture with the perfect hand mudra.
It's about kindness and acceptance of where we are today and a willingness to just soften up a little bit.
So first let's check in with our bodies.
How's your body feeling today?
Sometimes our bodies aren't quite on board with sitting quietly and want to be on the move.
So let your body know it's okay to take a break.
Let's begin that break by taking a long,
Slow,
Deep breath in.
And just let it flow really gently out.
Let's take another long,
Slow,
Deep breath in.
And flow that breath out.
Let's take one more breath together,
But this time take it from the top of your head to the soles of your feet and invite your body to really slow down and take a break.
There's nowhere to be and your responsibilities are very limited right now.
So just invite your body to hang out and just be.
Let's begin to focus your attention on your breath.
Really pay attention on how your lungs expand and contract when you inhale and exhale.
Our lungs are made up of so much tissue that if we spread it out,
It could cover a whole tennis court.
So try involving every single one of those cool lung cells in your next breath.
Get curious.
Lungs are really amazing.
So let yours know that you are curious and interested today by paying some attention to them.
Invite your breath to flow however it wants to right here,
Right now.
Just hang out with it and see how that feels.
Begin to notice your jaw and if you feel any tension there,
Just first notice it.
Try not to change anything.
Now breathe into the sensations in your jaw and as you exhale,
Invite it to release a little.
You can place your tongue gently on the roof of your mouth and feel your jaw release a little more.
Let's take a couple of breaths and put some softness around your jaw.
As you inhale,
Imagine that you're breathing some gentleness,
Some softness.
When you exhale,
Exhale anything you might be holding.
Let's just take some breaths here and see what you might be holding.
Breathe in gentleness and flow out anything you're holding with each breath.
Notice if you're feeling a little bit more relaxed,
A little bit more gentle,
Maybe coming into some softness just by breathing in gentleness and breathing out anything you might be holding.
Just allow your breath to flow naturally and let's invite some calm and peace into your body.
There's no need to pressure up here to feel a certain way.
Just see what it's like to invite some calm into your body and accept whatever comes.
Of course our minds like to wander away even when you're listening to the sound of my voice.
That's natural.
Our minds love to be busy.
When you find that you're wandering,
Just nudge yourself back into that gentleness.
Let that calm come into your body.
Let's spend some time just breathing,
Coming back and inviting that gentleness in,
Flowing out what we're holding.
We're going to sit for about 15 minutes.
This might be a big block of time if you're just starting out.
This is a practice.
So you're going to find yourself drifting,
Maybe making lists,
Wandering down all kinds of paths.
That's okay.
Each time that happens,
Come on back.
Bring yourself back to gentleness,
Back to your breath and start over.
Stay with your breath,
Inviting that gentleness and keep reminding yourself gentleness and begin again.
I'll be sitting right here with you,
Keeping an eye on the time.
When you hear the chimes,
Just continue to breathe.
Drift back to your breath when you've wandered away and come back to gentleness.
Let's begin.
Let's go.
Let's go.
Let's go.
You you you you you you you you Begin to be aware of the sounds around you the room you're sitting in the world around you begin to come back into your space let's take a long slow deep breath in together and gently let that go let's take another long slow deep breath in together and gently release it thank you for your practice today thank you for shifting the world by shifting yourself this is how we change the world one breath at a time one sit at a time one person at a time for meditation for regular people thank you for practicing with us today keep breathing
