Hello and welcome.
Thank you for joining me for another meditation.
The intention of our practice today is going to be meditating and being present with your dog.
I want you to be aware of your dog's state and aware of your dog's energy but don't force your dog to be involved,
Forcing them into any experience,
Just allowing everything to be as it is.
Trying new things is exciting but it can also come with a little bit of anxiety and fear so notice that and just be gentle with yourself and your dog.
Begin to settle into stillness,
Into a comfortable position.
Allow your dog to be close by or maybe if they're small they're on your lap.
You can drop your gaze down towards your dog or you could just close your eyes.
Begin to settle in,
Letting your breath just be natural and calm,
Allowing your shoulders to soften away from your ears,
Dropping down.
Let your jaw relax.
Just sink into your hips and feel the weight of your body as you root into the ground beneath you.
Let everything go here.
Notice the sensations of your breath.
Cool air in and warmer air out.
Belly and chest expanding when we inhale and inflating when we exhale.
And now go ahead and bring your attention to your relationship with your dog.
Sometimes life as a dog owner can be challenging or stressful and often it can seem as though things are completely out of our control.
But regardless of which species you belong to,
Just one meditation has the power to reduce stress from your life.
Each time we allow ourselves to enter into this state of awareness,
We encourage the release of all of our accumulated tension.
We must remember that we are the dog's leaders.
They look to us for direction.
And if we are unable to maintain a calm composure,
Sit in stillness or connect with our own intuition,
What message does that send to our dogs?
Meditation can give you a sense of calm,
Peace and balance that can benefit both your emotional well-being and your general overall health.
And it's also a fun opportunity to just hang out with your dog.
Dogs are excellent teachers of meditation.
Have you ever noticed how dogs just live in the moment?
Allow yourself to just be here with your canine companion right now.
Not thinking of the past,
Not anticipating the future,
But rather just existing here right now with yourself,
With your dog and with me.
Just breathing together in peace,
Love and harmony.
Listening to all the sounds around you.
Taking in any smells and just being.
If your mind begins to stray to thoughts that are outside of this moment,
Just bring your attention back to your dog and back to your breath.
And I will watch the time while you mind your space and just relax into this moment.
Enjoy it.
You can teach your dog a great deal.
You can help them to understand the meaning of many words and phrases.
You teach them the skills that they need to be safe and calm in our frightening human world.
You provide them with healthy food,
With shelter and with love.
But all great teachers know that they learn more from their students than their students will ever learn from them.
And we learn from our dogs.
We learn how to be healers.
Dogs can heal the sick and lonely by simply offering their company and companionship.
We can learn how to love unconditionally and accept people exactly as they are.
Your dog doesn't care if you've gained weight.
Your dog doesn't care how much money you make.
They just love you exactly as you are.
And we can choose to accept our friends and ourselves in the same way.
Always being the same,
Regardless of the exterior circumstances.
We can learn to live in the moment.
When your dog is playing fetch,
They're not thinking about anything else,
Just the game.
They just want that ball.
We can use to learn to use all of our senses when we want to know the truth.
Dogs use their senses to gauge a situation or to tell if a person is safe or not.
Maybe we could try the same.
Our dogs are a bridge between the universe and the world that humans have built for themselves.
Dogs have a way of bringing us back to our sense of nature.
They are the most loyal,
Loving,
And kind friend that you will ever have.
The way that humans bond with dogs today is truly incredible.
Dogs act as the eyes of the blind.
They can be the ears of the deaf.
And they even assist people who cannot walk on their own.
We often hear stories of dogs that save people from fires or rescue people from drowning.
Dogs live with humans to communicate with us.
They share our lives with us.
And we have the honor of sharing our lives with dogs.
And with this honor comes a great responsibility.
Our dogs deserve to be treated with the same kindness,
Loyalty,
And respect that they provide us with.
Meditation teaches us to stay centered and create inner peace.
These benefits will extend well beyond the session of today.
Having a daily meditation practice will help you to maintain some calmness and inner peace as you move throughout your day.
If you have closed your eyes,
You can open them and gaze down at your dog.
Maybe give them a little hug or pet their fur.
Offer them some gratitude,
Saying thank you for being here with me.
Expressing your love.
And then offering yourself that same gratitude for being here,
For showing up.
And then offer yourself some love.
I thank you for being here,
For practicing with me.
Namaste.
