Hi,
My name is Melissa Wood Tepperberg,
And it's truly such an honor to be here with you on day 15 of the Mindful Mornings Challenge with Insight Timer to start our day together.
I wanted to share a little bit about my morning routine before guiding you through today's morning meditation.
I truly believe that mornings set the tone for our entire day.
When I wake up first thing in the morning,
I strive to avoid touching my phone or any electronics for 20 to 30 minutes,
And it truly makes such a difference in a massive shift in my mental state.
And the second that I can escape from my two children,
I sit in a mindful meditation.
And just taking this pause,
Taking this space with myself,
Helps me to move through the day with so much ease and helps me find this inner peace within to face any challenges that possibly come my way.
After my meditation,
I am all about getting that movement in.
Even if it's just 10 minutes a day,
Staying really consistent with your practice helps you to see lasting results.
If there's one thing that's changed my life,
It's my commitment to myself,
To my practice,
And to these healthy habits that have transformed my entire being.
So if you haven't already,
Just come into a comfortable seated position,
Sit with your legs crossed.
If you have knee problems,
You can just gently open the legs up,
Keep a tiny little bend.
I do recommend sitting up because we carry so much stress and tension in our shoulders.
So I want you to sit up tall to release that,
But not too rigid.
So settle into it.
Rest your palms in your lap with your palms facing up.
And this guided meditation today is all about leaning in to wherever you are.
Close your eyes with me right there and come back to your breath.
Bringing your attention and your focus inward.
Simply allowing everything that came before this to be right there and everything that's to come after this.
Just let it go.
And come back to your breath.
Back to watching and observing that inflow through your nose fill yourself up.
And then exhale out your mouth,
Releasing,
Surrendering anything that you need to let go.
And with so much going on in our lives,
In the world around us,
It can bring up so much anxiety within.
So allowing this space and this time right here with yourself to just lean into it.
Lean into wherever you are and try not to push or force your way out.
Just settle in right there.
And just taking in that immediate sense of ease that washes over us when we're no longer trying to fight our way out.
And we just let ourselves be.
Let ourselves be sad if we're sad,
Angry,
Upset,
Anxious,
Impatient,
Reactive.
Just let it be and come back to that breath.
Back to this breath that gives us a brand new way of life with every inhale,
Every shift in perspective that you can fill yourself up with.
Take it in.
And then with every exhale,
Just forgiving ourselves for anything that we're holding on to,
Maybe something we're ashamed of,
Whatever it is,
Just allowing ourselves to truly forgive so we can move forward.
Without these pockets of silence,
Taking that conscious effort and bringing it back to our breath,
Back to this grounding,
Centering,
Guiding force in our life that is always available to us.
It is just up to us to choose to carve out this space.
As thoughts come up in between,
Let them be there.
Take a glance at them and then keep coming back to that breath,
Choosing to nourish our minds and our bodies,
Breathing in this fluid movement of air that really helps us take in what we need and to release what we don't.
On your next gentle inhale,
Silently saying to yourself,
I am.
Exhale at peace.
Inhale,
Take it in,
Breathe it in,
Believe it.
I am at peace.
And just wrap yourself around exactly how that feels,
The faith and the hope and belief in these words.
And breathe it in,
I am.
Exhale at peace.
And taking just these last few moments together and choosing what feels very grounding to you,
Either observing that inflow and that outflow of air or just breathing in a mantra that helps you surrender.
Finally,
We Taking just a few more breaths here.
Breathing in one more,
Easeful breath.
Fill yourself up.
Exhale.
Sigh it all out.
Let it fully leave you.
And slowly moving your hands into prayer,
Keeping your eyes still closed.
Taking a gentle scan of your body,
Of your mind,
Of your spirit.
Breathing in this shift,
This easeful,
Mindful shift that you feel when you allow yourself to be right where you are.
Lean into exactly how you feel and even if it brings you to tears,
Allow yourself to cry.
Allow yourself to feel everything that you feel.
And then coming back,
Come back to this space,
To this easeful,
Grounding,
Centering space that is available when you make the conscious choice to carve it out and keep coming back.
Give me one more beautiful round of breath,
Big inhale.
Fill yourself up with that.
Take it all in.
Exhale.
Let the rest go.
Namaste.
Congratulations for not only showing up to this challenge and making this commitment to prioritize your mental health,
But for showing up for you.
Take this time.
Take this pause.
Allow this to move through you and let it shift your entire day.
