Hello there!
Welcome to this guided meditation on training focus and mental strength.
I love this quote from the tennis player Novak Djokovic.
One of the biggest lessons I have learned about mental strength is that if you lose your focus,
If you're not present,
Things start to go the wrong way for you,
It's fine.
Accept it and then come back.
And he goes on to say,
I think that recovery of how long you stay in that emotion is what differentiates you.
The recovery is more important than actually working hard to stay in the present.
And so this is what we'll practice together today,
This idea of recovering our attention when it drifts away.
So let's begin by closing the eyes.
Let's just pause here for a moment.
Taking your time to settle in and fully arrive.
Bringing attention to the breath,
The body,
Your environment,
And the sounds around you.
Settling in and allow your mind to land here in the present.
And throughout this practice,
I want to encourage you to be attentive to your mind.
And while there's no need to scrutinize it in any intense,
Effortful way,
Rather just bring a light and gentle interest to your thoughts and the quality of the mind.
And sooner or later,
When you notice the mind has picked up the thread of a thought,
With gentleness and without judgment,
See if you can recover.
Come back to the sensations felt in the body.
Scanning through from the feet.
Gradually moving upwards towards the top of the head.
Noticing the feeling of your body in space,
The front,
The back,
As well as the left and right sides of the body.
And from here,
Your attention might come to the breath.
Noticing how the breath is today.
And noticing one by one,
Each inhale and each exhale.
Listening to the sounds you hear around you.
Noticing if they're near or far,
Jagged or smooth.
And just like when we're in the gym,
This muscle of recovering our attention also strengthens with use.
So any time you notice the mind wandering is actually an opportunity to practice.
Practice the skill of returning to the present moment quickly and with kindness.
And just for a few moments at the end of this meditation,
Allow your mind to be free.
Let it do anything that it wants to do.
And then gradually start to move the body around a bit again.
And when you're ready,
Slowly opening the eyes.
Thank you so much for practicing recovery with me today.
Very,
Very well done.
I hope you feel just a little bit stronger and I'll see you again very soon.
