You're going to begin today by seating yourself in a position where you can be comfortable.
Sitting upright,
You may want to shift your seat or move your legs as you progress through the meditation.
Just find a spot where you can be seated comfortably.
Begin by sitting up tall,
Reaching the crown of your head up towards the sky with a slight tuck of your chin.
Notice how the back of your neck begins to lengthen.
Together we'll take three cleansing breaths.
Take a deep breath in through your nose and exhale.
Let it all go through your mouth.
Take another breath in deep through your nose.
Open your mouth,
Exhale,
Let it all go.
Another deep breath in,
Breathing in through your nose,
Drawing as much air as you can,
Filling up your chest,
Filling up your belly.
And then when you're ready to exhale,
Open your mouth and let it all pour out,
Emptying completely out of you.
Begin to settle into stillness.
You can drop your gaze or you can close your eyes.
Just settle in.
Let your breath be natural and calm here.
Allow your shoulders to soften.
Relax your face,
Your jaw,
Your eyes,
Your forehead.
Sink into your hips and feel the weight of your body root into the earth beneath you.
Be heavy.
Be present.
Just be here.
Notice the sensations of your breath.
Cool air moves in and warmer air moves out.
The belly and chest expanding when you inhale,
Deflating when you exhale.
Just notice how it feels to let your body breathe.
Now bring your attention to your relationship with your dog.
Maybe your dog is here with you.
Maybe you have more than one dog.
Just notice where your thoughts go when you think of the word dog.
Sometimes life as a dog owner can be challenging,
Unpredictable or even stressful.
Things can seem out of our control,
But what we always have the ability to control is these practices that are scientifically proven to help our mental and physical well-being.
And it's both an honor and a gift to be able to share this practice with your dog.
Regardless of who you are or which species you identify with,
Just one meditation has the power to reduce stress.
And each time we allow ourselves to enter into a state of awareness,
We encourage the release of our accumulated tension.
We are our dog's leaders.
They look to us for direction.
And if we're 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 overall health.
It's also a fun opportunity to hang out with your dog because the benefits of meditation extend to them as well.
Dogs are actually excellent teachers of meditation.
They always live in the moment.
So just allow yourself to be here,
Maybe with your canine companion right now,
Not thinking of the past or anticipating the future,
But rather just existing here right now with yourself,
With your dog,
And with gratitude for this wonderful dog-loving collective community that you are a part of.
Just being here,
Breathing together,
Taking in the sounds around you,
Noticing the smells,
And just being here.
When 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.
You can teach a dog a great deal.
You can help them to understand the meanings of many words,
Many phrases.
As a dog leader,
You teach them the skills they need to be safe and calm in this frightening human world.
You provide them with healthy food,
Shelter and love.
But all great teachers know that they learn more from their students than their students will ever learn from them.
This is true of dogs.
We learn from our dogs how to be healers.
Dogs heal the sick by just being there.
We learn how to love unconditionally,
Accept people as they are.
Your dog doesn't care if you've gained weight or how much money you make.
They just love you exactly as you are without judgment,
Always there to forgive you.
We can choose to accept our friends.
We can choose to accept ourselves without judgment.
We can learn to live in the moment.
When your dog is playing fetch,
They are not thinking about anything else,
Just the game at hand.
We can learn to use our senses to gauge the truth.
Dogs use all of their senses to gauge whether a situation or a person is safe or not.
Dogs have the ability to bring us back to our sense of nature.
They are the most loyal,
Loving,
And kind friend you will ever have.
The way humans bond with dogs today is truly incredible.
Dogs act as the eyes of the blind.
They are the ears of the deaf.
They even assist people who cannot walk.
We often hear stories of dogs that save people from fires,
Rescue people from drowning.
Dogs live with humans to communicate with us,
To share our lives with us.
And we have the honor of sharing our lives with dogs.
And with this honor comes great responsibility.
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 an inner peace.
And these benefits will extend well beyond the session today.
When you have a daily meditation practice,
You can help to maintain calmness and inner peace as you move throughout your day.
There is such a power in silence.
True genius is knowing when you should say nothing and just allow the experience to happen,
The moment itself to carry the message of what needs to be said.
Words are less important than feeling.
When you can sit in perfect silence with someone else,
That is when you truly know how to communicate.
Just a few moments of intentional breathing can help you and your pup relax.
These dogs communicate mostly through energy and body language.
Having a meditation practice will help them improve and strengthen the bond that you already have with them.
In this silent practice,
You can truly just reconnect with yourself and with your dog.
You can invite your dog to be part of your mindfulness routine by just breathing with them.
Breathing is something that we do unconsciously throughout the day,
But when you're meditating,
It becomes a primary focus.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
And when you and your meditating dog are breathing,
You can focus on each inhale and exhale and maybe try to align your breath to be in sync with your dog's.
Having a dog to meditate with can improve your own practice as it's sometimes easier to focus on your dog's breathing or your dog's heartbeat instead of your own.
Without looking at your dog,
Can you recall the colour and shape of their eyes?
The colour and texture of their fur?
Can you think of a happy memory of the two of you that you share together?
Bring your attention to your own body.
Bring one hand to your heart,
The other hand wherever on your body it intuitively wants to go.
And notice where you're holding on and begin to soften there first.
Soften a little more.
Setting your shoulders and your neck,
Your whole upper body,
Just softening into your hips.
Taking full deep breath in,
Full exhale out.
Check in and ask yourself,
How am I doing right now?
How is my heart?
Is there something that is weighing on my mind?
What kind of person am I?
What kind of changes do I want to make in my life?
We are all very powerful creators of our own lives and the universe is here to support us when we feel challenged.
When you have a regular meditation practice,
You'll begin to feel more connected to the water,
To the land,
To your dogs and to yourself.
If you would like,
You could bring your hands to prayer position with your thumbs between your eyebrows at your third eye.
May there always be peace and love within your thoughts.
Move your hands down to your lips.
May there always be peace and love within your words.
Bring your hands to your heart.
May there always be peace and love within your heart.
We are living in a constant exchange of energy in every relationship we have,
In every moment we are given and receiving energy back and forth.
So thank you for sharing your energy with me and trusting me to hold you in this special space.
Be sure to thank your dog if they have joined you for this meditation.
Go ahead and show yourself some gratitude.
Give yourself a big hug as you welcome yourself back to the space,
Opening your eyes,
Looking around the room.
Have a wonderful day.
Thank you for joining me.
