Hello my friends,
It's so good to see you.
Have you ever fallen into the trap of thinking,
If I don't meditate for 30 minutes,
Then I might as well not do it at all?
I definitely have.
The truth is that five minutes or even five mindful breaths can dramatically make a difference in our awareness and help us develop a habit that will serve us for the rest of our lives.
And so to combat this perfectionism,
I'm a big fan of chunking things down into easy actionable steps.
As Stephen Dunier says,
If you don't make the right decision when you're on the couch,
There is no decision that occurs at the top of the mountain.
If you can relate to what I'm saying,
Then today's five minute meditation is for you.
And so with that,
Let's begin by coming to a comfortable position.
Place your feet flat on the ground,
Toes facing forward,
Place your hands in your lap,
Palms can face up or down,
And start to settle into your space,
Taking a few moments to get grounded and situated wherever you are,
And then go ahead and close your eyes whenever you're ready.
Now let's begin to notice the breath,
Perhaps for the first time today,
And take your time to settle into your breath,
Your inhales and your exhales,
And without judgment,
Just noticing how the breath is today,
Whether it's deep or shallow,
Jagged or smooth,
It's totally okay,
Allowing it to be however it is.
And then from here,
Let's bring our attention to the muscles of the face,
Check if there's any tension present in the eyebrows,
The space between the eyebrows,
And what about the cheeks and the jaw?
Can you separate your top and bottom teeth and release any tension which might be there?
And then you soften the tongue,
Letting it rest on the bottom of the mouth,
Continuing to observe the gentle in-breaths and the out-breaths as you soften the muscles of the face.
And now moving the attention downwards to the shoulders,
Are they tense and riding up close to your ears?
On your next exhale,
See if you can let that tension go,
Dropping the shoulders down in a relaxed,
Neutral position.
Notice how that feels in your upper back and shoulder blades,
And we'll return the attention to the breath for a few moments more,
Observing as your inhale fills up the lungs and observing as the air falls out of the nose or the mouth.
And now,
As we come to the end of this meditation,
On your own time now,
Opening the eyes.
Thank you so much for meditating with me today.
I would love to hear from you,
What's a habit that you're working on incorporating into your life?
I always read and reply to every comment.
Take extra good care,
And I'll see you again in the next one.
