Settle into your space.
Take a deep breath in and an audible exhale out.
One more time.
Take a deep breath in and an audible exhale out.
Bring your shoulders up to your ears,
Back around and down.
Imagine you're taking off a really heavy backpack and you're setting it down on the ground and the backpack holds all the things that you don't need right now because you have nowhere else to go and nothing else to do but to be here in this space right now.
You are always supporting others.
Let yourself be supported.
How does it feel to be fully supported by the ground rising up to meet you beneath your seat,
Beneath your chair?
You're fully grounded.
You are supported right now.
Gently smooth your forehead.
Relax the space behind your eyes.
Relax your jaw.
Unstick your tongue from the roof of your mouth.
Relax your shoulders away from your ears.
Your arms relaxed.
Your hands resting on your lap.
Hands relaxed.
Your torso relaxed.
Your upper thighs relaxed.
Your lower legs relaxed and your feet relaxed,
Supported by the ground.
When we feel anxious and ungrounded,
Our bodies can actually create tension in an effort to support us.
Find those places where tension is sitting and holding inside your body and gently send your breath there.
You are supported.
The tension no longer serves you.
Gently breathe into those spaces.
Our minds are filled with thoughts and it's amazing.
Our minds are amazing,
Thinking thousands of things at one time.
Our thoughts are like the glitter inside a snow globe that's just been shaken up.
Thoughts swirling all the time.
But right now,
Let those specks of glitter settle like the snow globe settles after it's been shaken.
Slowly,
Gently,
Thoughts swirl.
They slow.
They swirl down and gently calm down.
Let's now do a four count breath to help calm our nervous systems.
So breathe in for four counts.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Hold for four counts.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four.
And gently breathe out for four counts.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four.
And hold empty for four counts.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Continue this four count breath on your own as you breathe in.
Two,
Three,
Four.
Hold.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Breathe out.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four.
And hold empty.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four.
When you breathe out of your box breath,
You're letting go of all the things that no longer serve you.
Let's continue our box breath for two more rounds.
Breathe in.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Hold.
Two,
Three,
Four.
Breathe out.
Two,
Three,
Four.
Hold empty.
Two,
Three,
Four.
One more time.
Deep,
Deep breath in.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Hold.
Two,
Three,
Four.
Breathe out everything that doesn't serve you.
Two,
Three,
Four.
Hold empty.
Two,
Three,
Four.
Gently return to your natural breath.
We all have thoughts.
Having thoughts during meditation is okay and it's natural.
Notice your thoughts when they arise.
Imagine each thought is wrapped up in a cloud and it gently floats away.
Thought by thought,
Cloud by cloud.
Notice your thoughts.
Wrap them in a cloud and watch them gently float away.
When you're distracted by thoughts,
Observe the thought.
Let it float away and return to your breath.
We are often surrounded by distractions,
Noise,
People,
Media.
On top of that,
Things happen that we don't expect.
Our car breaks down.
Our child is ill.
Someone cuts us off in traffic.
We might feel like we're in a windstorm,
Blowing around without control.
While we can't control what happens around us or what others say and do,
We can control how we respond.
We can find the center of calm within that tornado,
Even when the situation itself is not calm.
I now invite you to use a mantra,
Which is simply a word or phrase that we use to help us focus as we continue our meditation.
As you breathe in,
Say to yourself,
This moment.
And as you breathe out,
Say to yourself,
This breath.
Breathe in,
This moment.
Breathe out,
This breath.
Continue your mantra on your own.
This moment,
This breath.
This moment,
This breath.
If your mind wanders away,
Wrap the thought in a cloud and watch it gently float away.
This moment,
This breath.
This moment,
This breath.
Regardless of what's happening around you,
You can always come back to your breath.
It's always here for you to help you find the calm in the center of the storm,
Regardless of all the things that swirl around you.
And know that if you have thoughts that distract you during meditation,
That's okay.
Just keep noticing those thoughts,
Wrapping them in a cloud,
And watching them gently float away.
Let the mantra of this moment,
This breath,
Slowly fade away.
Notice your body and how it feels.
Take one last deep,
Nourishing,
Cleansing breath in,
Filling your back,
Your side body,
Your chest.
And slowly,
Slowly,
Slowly breathe out.
You are perfect.
You are powerful.
You are calm.
Feel your body inside the space that you're in.
Gently open your eyes and return to your space,
Knowing that you have everything that you need inside of you to be calm.
Namaste.
