Hello,
My dear friends.
It is so good to see you.
Today,
I have a 15 minute practice for us to get grounded and settle our minds,
Hearts,
And bodies.
If we haven't met before,
My name is Amber and I teach people how to meditate and use mindfulness to manage their stress and anxiety.
And if you're ready,
We'll go ahead and come to our comfortable position for practice today.
You can gently lower your gaze or close your eyes completely,
Whatever feels most comfortable for you.
Maybe you've been pretty busy lately,
Right?
Maybe you are starting to feel a little overwhelmed with all the rushing around or maybe you're simply ready to shift into a slower,
Calmer gear,
Right?
This is the perfect time to give yourself permission to slow all the way down.
And I'll invite you to kind of loosely interlace your fingers and rest your hands together on the lower belly,
Finding a spot where you can feel it sort of expanding and contracting as you breathe nice and deep.
And as you inhale,
Perhaps you'll feel the hands move just slightly outwards.
The belly presses gently on the palms.
And this sensation may be pretty subtle at first,
And as the breath continues to deepen breath by breath,
Perhaps you'll start to feel the belly expanding just a little bit more on each inhale.
And perhaps that will cause the fingers to separate from each other very slightly.
And as you exhale,
See if you can observe as the belly deflates and the hands shift inwards,
Sides of the body contracting as well.
And bringing your awareness to the rest of the body,
Make sure that you've planted both feet evenly on the ground far enough apart from each other that you can feel the support of a wide base,
Feeling the solidness of the ground beneath you trusting that it's more than solid enough to hold you up.
Knowing that the earth's got you,
One by one,
Breath by breath,
By breath,
We'll start to relax each muscle of the body,
Starting with the feet.
See if you can let any tension release into the earth,
Left and right feet,
Relax the tiny muscles of the ankles,
The lower legs,
Including the calves,
And the front of the shins.
Relax also the larger muscles of the thighs,
Quads and hamstrings,
Letting them get nice and heavy.
Relax the glutes,
The sides of the glutes,
Those muscles that wrap around the sides of the body and connect to the front of the pelvis.
Feeling a comforting solidity in the body,
Almost like the pressure of a hug,
Giving you permission to let go of any tension you may be holding.
And relax into the support of the earth.
And now continuing northward,
Up the landscape of the body.
Can you sense into the place the plains and fields of your back muscles,
The mountain ridge of your spine,
Bringing awareness to the stomach,
Where the hands continue to gently rise and fall with each breath,
The ribs and chest,
And this area that can hold so much sensation?
Feeling the muscles of the chest and the heart relax,
And the heart relax,
Allowing your kind,
Gentle attention to soften any tension in the chest cavity.
Perhaps taking this opportunity to connect back with the breath.
Your gentle inhales and long,
Slow exhales.
Moving to the shoulders next,
The front and back of the shoulders,
Melting downwards towards the ground.
Resting the arms,
The forearms,
And the hands.
And finally,
With the entire body feeling comfortably heavy and grounded now,
Go ahead and empty the mind.
Relax the jaw.
The ears.
The back of the head.
Top of the head.
And finally,
Your forehead and the muscles around the eyes and the eyebrows.
Relaxing completely.
No longer needing to hold yourself together anymore.
Allow the earth to hold you.
And let the force of gravity keep you safe and held.
All right,
My dear ones,
It's time to take a few lovely deep breaths,
Deep as you like.
And when you feel ready,
Slowly open the eyes,
Bring some movement back into the body and make your way back to us.
Thank you so much for your practice today.
If you feel called,
Feel free to leave a comment,
Tell us how you're feeling,
As always,
I appreciate you so much for being here today.
Have a wonderful rest of your day and I'll see you again very soon.
