Welcome.
Meditation for Overthinkers.
This meditation is to help soften an overactive mind,
To soften overwhelm,
To soften the stories that we tell ourselves.
So please come into a comfortable seated position and bring your hands into Hakini Mudra where we rest the pinkies together,
The ring finger,
The middle,
The index and the thumb so that your hands create a circle.
And then just let this mudra,
This circle rest in your lap.
So the thumbs are somewhere around the position of the belly button,
Maybe slightly below.
Just let your fingertips rest gently together.
And before we do any shaping,
Any effort with the breath,
Please let your body breathe.
Let it breathe as big and as shallow as it needs to.
And then bring awareness back to your fingers back to Hakini Mudra.
This is a mudra to help us with concentration.
So to begin,
We'll draw the breath in for the count of four and out to the count of four.
It's always helpful in almost any meditation practice to develop a smooth and stable breath.
Please make sure though that the breath is moving to a count that is comfortable for you at this time.
Please never force drawing in or drawing out the breath.
So as we work to create this breath to a count of four,
Fingertips are still very gentle against one another.
And if it feels relatively effortless,
Increase the breath to one count or with one count,
So possibly to the count of five.
And we'll stay at this count of five,
But add a little movement with this mudra.
So on your next exhale to the count of five,
You'll begin to move the fingers together as if you're gently pinching them together.
And then inhale count of five,
The fingers open back up to the full mudra.
And exhale,
We slowly move them back together.
So this is just a nice technique that mimics the breath and can be really helpful for increasing awareness and concentration on the breath.
So a few more cycles,
Please inhaling to the count of five,
Opening the fingers to the full hakini mudra and exhale count of five,
Fingers moving toward the center together.
And then only if it feels relatively natural,
Comfortable,
Begin to draw in the breath.
Draw out the exhale just a little bit.
So maybe to the count of six or seven.
Still inhaling to five.
Now a little more work,
A little more effort through the exhale.
This helps to additionally soften the mind.
Still moving in and out of this mudra.
Fingers moving with the breath.
And then I'd like to offer adding on the slightest hold at the bottom of the exhale,
Just for a quick moment.
Feeling how when that happens,
When you hold the breath out for one second,
The mind ceases,
Everything stops.
And then you begin again,
Inhaling to five,
Opening up to hakini mudra.
And then exhale six or seven fingers move together and hold for one second.
Let's do a few more cycles like that.
Really enjoying how everything pauses briefly.
One more cycle,
One more inhale and one more exhale.
And now please bring your hands back into hakini mudra and now actively place the hands right in front of the navel,
Your thumbs right in front of the belly button.
And what I'd like to do is to create an imprint of this circle on the inside of the belly button,
Inside of the navel,
Or maybe even deep inside,
Wherever it might show up for you.
But see,
Or rather feel this physical circle on the outside of your belly.
And then try to see its imprint on the inside.
And then as you begin to see that imprint,
You can release your hands,
Palms face down on your thighs.
If you lose the imprint of the circle,
Come back to hakini mudra until you see it again.
And seeing or sensing this circle behind your belly,
Begin to see it light up all the way around and see that light ebbing and flowing with your breath.
And it could just be a sensing of it.
Sometimes it's hard to see,
Or we try to force ourselves to see it just sense it there.
Sense the circle and this light vibrating with the breath.
And if you ever lose it,
Come back to hakini mudra.
Come back to the physical circle.
And allow that to help you create that imprint again on the inside of your navel.
So seeing or sensing the circle,
This light.
See that light getting brighter with every breath.
See it expanding to all places behind the navel.
With each breath,
See that circle and the light from the circle expanding up into your abdomen.
Moving up to the space behind the ribs into your heart.
Again,
Seeing or sensing this light.
Maybe it even moves up toward the throat.
And then I'd like you to settle your awareness on any place that is easy for you.
Settle on the light.
And just continue to see that light grow with your breath.
But now only concentrating on one specific part inside your body.
One specific place.
If at any time you lose it,
Again,
Come back to hakini mudra.
Begin there.
See the imprint.
Sense the imprint.
Feel that light growing bigger.
So with your awareness on this one place in your body where the light is growing,
Ask yourself this question.
What story,
Real or imagined,
Am I ready to change the narrative of?
What story,
Real or imagined,
Am I ready to change the narrative of?
Listen for the response.
Please begin to rub your hands together.
Create a little heat.
Once you've generated heat in your hands,
Please place one hand over your navel and then the other hand on the space where you were just concentrating.
Feel the heat moving into those places,
But also feel the light expanding out into your hands.
And bow your head slightly,
Bowing to this light that always guides your way.
Thank you.
Namaste.
