And welcome.
Today I'll be guiding you through a short meditation allowing you a little bit of space to relax,
To ease the thoughts in your mind,
To reduce the anxieties of life.
Please remember that anything that I'm guiding you through is simply a suggestion and an invitation.
You're always welcome to do what feels right for you.
I'll begin by inviting you to find a comfortable form.
You're welcome to lay down or stay seated.
If you find yourself in a seat,
I invite you to sit tall if you're able or sit somewhere where you have proper support for your body.
I'll invite you to begin by relaxing your eyelids over your eyes.
If this is uncomfortable for you in any way,
You're welcome to keep the eyes open,
And just finding a soft gaze somewhere in front of you.
Begin to notice the natural rhythm of your breath.
There's no need to manipulate or change your breathing at this time.
Simply observing your inhales and your exhales.
You may wish to place your hands somewhere on your body,
Maybe at your belly and your chest,
So that you can notice the movement of breath in your body.
Begin to notice if you're holding any tension through your face,
Easing the muscles around the eyes,
Unclenching your teeth and relaxing through the jawline,
Allowing the tongue to rest heavy at the roof of the mouth.
I'll invite you to take a deeper inhalation here,
Inhaling through the nostrils and into the belly space so that the belly rises up and out,
Right to the top of the breath until you can't inhale anymore,
And then exhaling,
Releasing through the mouth,
Naturally expressing the breath.
You're welcome to begin to deepen the breath if you wish,
Allowing slower inhalations through the nostrils and into the belly space,
So that we continue to activate our parasympathetic nervous system.
Initiate our relaxation response and send a message to our body,
Mind and spirit that we're taking a minute for ourselves here.
And it's perfectly normal to notice all sorts of thoughts arising in the mind,
And perhaps there's physical sensations coming up in the body.
And that's okay.
We're not here to empty our minds completely or to stop those sensations.
We're here to practice observing what arises and then letting it go,
Noticing the thought,
Noticing the sensation,
And then practicing coming back to the sensation of breath in the body.
Sometimes it can be challenging to anchor into the breath,
To somatically engage with the body in this way.
And alternatively,
You're welcome to find an anchor in my voice or in the sound of the rain in the background.
Your thoughts may come and go.
Perhaps it's helpful to imagine those thoughts as raindrops falling from the sky,
Falling and absorbing back into the earth.
And coming up and dissipating again.
If you notice any particular thought or sensation that feels sticky in the mind or the body today,
Perhaps there's something that's cycling over and over again.
I'll invite you to take a deep cleansing breath here.
So once again,
Inhaling through the nostrils as deeply as you can into the belly space,
Pausing for a moment at the top,
And then exhale releasing through the mouth right to the bottom of the breath,
Knowing that this cleansing breath is there to support you at any time.
I'll invite you now through a short body scan so that we can practice observing areas where we're holding tension or stress in the body and practicing easing that tension through intentional breath through simply holding space for those emotions or feelings.
Breathing long and slow,
Continuing to engage with the breath with the sound of the rain,
Relaxing down through the neck and the shoulders,
Allowing the shoulders to fall away from the ears,
Relaxing down through the arms,
The wrists and the hands right down through the fingertips,
Breathing deeply and relaxing through the chest,
Heart space,
Down into the belly,
The low back and through the hips and the pelvis,
Noticing any sensations that arise,
Observing them with a gentle curiosity.
Sometimes it can be easy to vilify these sensations or thoughts or feelings,
But with a little bit of compassion for ourselves,
We can practice engaging with these sensations with a sense of curiosity,
Continuing to relax down through the legs,
The knees and the calves,
The ankles down through the feet and the toes,
Allowing our body,
The points of our body that touch the earth and our support beneath us,
Allowing them to sink heavy,
Asking your body to let go,
Reminding it that it's safe here to relax for a moment and continuing to breathe,
Inhaling deeply into the belly and exhaling through the nostrils and gently moving at your own pace.
I'll invite you to begin to return to an awareness.
It's finding small movements in the tips of the fingers and the toes,
Gently rocking the head and the neck from one side to the other.
And as you feel ready to begin,
Taking a deep stretch overhead,
Reaching the arms up and out,
Fingertips to the sky.
And if you're not already in a seated form,
I'll invite you to find a tall seat if you wish.
And I'll invite you to close out our practice together today.
One last deep inhalation,
Inhaling through the nostrils into the belly,
Right to the top of the breath,
Exhaling through the mouth,
Maybe with a sigh.
You're welcome to return the breath to its normal rhythm.
You may keep the eyes closed or find a soft gaze with them open.
I'll invite you to place one hand at heart center and the other hand softly at the belly,
Taking some moments to notice the natural rhythm of your breath and the beating of your heart.
And to thank yourself for showing up today,
However you are.
And thanking the earth,
Air,
And the sky for being here today.
And thanking the earth,
Air,
Water,
Fire,
The elements that allow us to sustain life,
To live and work and play in safety.
And that we carry this gratitude with humility and grace.
The light and shadow and me bows to and recognizes the light and shadow and you.
Thank you.
