Editing by ILCS.
Lot.
T.
Good morning.
Whether you're still entangled in the duvet,
Or already on your second cup of coffee,
Let's get fired up for the day ahead.
Planning our day with deliberate intention to help us make the most of what it has to offer.
Let's begin with a fun and easy breath technique to stimulate our minds and bodies in these waking hours.
The Brahmaripranayama.
Don't come for me if I mispronounce that.
It's very difficult.
But as it's more affectionately known,
Hummingbee Breath.
Now if you're in a situation where you don't feel comfortable to do this vocal breath,
Simply take the next minute to focus on some concentrative deep breathing.
Where on your inhales you're going to say in your mind,
I am breathing in.
And on your exhales,
I am breathing out.
But if you're buzzing for some bee breath,
Start by taking a deep inhale.
And with your exhale,
Hum the letter M.
Feeling your throat and chest vibrate until your lungs are completely empty of air.
And again,
Taking that deep inhale through your nose.
And humming like a bee with your exhale.
Honing your attention to those vibrations in your throat and chest until your lungs are completely empty.
One last time.
Alright,
Whichever technique you decided to do,
We're going to allow our breath to return to its natural rhythm.
Taking a second to settle back into ourselves.
Before utilizing this focused energy we've cultivated to start thinking about designing our day.
Now without becoming attached,
Just letting these things run through your mind without giving anyone more attention than the last.
I want you to think about what you've got going on today.
What's on your to-do list?
And how does this day,
All these things that you have to do,
Make you feel?
Are you excited for the day ahead?
Nervous?
Feeling a bit overwhelmed?
Again don't become attached to the emotions that arise from thinking about your day ahead.
Just simply know what it stirs up within you.
Now knowing what's going on in our day and how it's making us feel,
We're going to set an intention for our day.
An intention that acknowledges what we'll be doing and supports,
Nourishes or combats the feelings we have toward it.
For example,
Say you've got more to-dos than time today and it's leaving you feeling a bit frazzled.
Perhaps your intention is to approach your day with calm.
Or maybe it's your day off and you want to support your wants and needs for rest and relaxation.
So having an intention of committing to self-care might be your vibe.
Don't worry about the how you're going to do this right now.
We're going to get to that next.
For now just consider a word that best describes how you want to approach your day.
If you're struggling to come up with one,
Simply choose love.
Then holding this intention strongly in your mind,
Take a deep steadying inhale.
And at the end of your exhale,
Either silently to yourself or voicing it aloud,
State this intention.
Today I choose to move through my day with… Now saying it is one thing,
But actually doing it is a lot harder.
As we become engulfed by our day,
Even our best of intentions can get left by the wayside as we try keep up with everything else.
So let's think about how you can move through your day,
Honoring this intention.
What simple things could you do that might help you to achieve it?
That will represent you moving through your day in this way?
So maybe if your intention is to move through your hectic day calmly,
You might want to set a reminder on your phone to take a quick breath break.
If your intention is self-care,
It might be finally getting around to doing that laundry pile or watching something nourishing rather than numbing in your relaxation time.
As you consider what things you could do to honor your intentions,
Pay attention to how these ideas resonate with you.
What feelings do they stir up inside?
If they don't feel quite right,
If they feel more like a chore on top of whatever else you've got going on,
Forcing yourself to try do them because you can't think of anything else isn't going to help you in the long run.
Maybe it might be better to try commit to being open to whatever opportunities may arise in your day that enables you to honor your intention rather than committing to a specific action.
There's no right or wrong way to go about this.
It's all about recognizing how you feel and the best course of action or inaction to take to ensure you're moving through your day in a way that honors yourself,
Your needs,
Your wants,
Etc.
Healthily.
Now for the last bit of our meditation this morning,
We're going to do a few rounds of some deep breaths,
Inhaling and exhaling steadily at your own comfortable pace.
And as you do so,
Let your mind wander to imagining moving through your day with your intention,
Thinking about what things you already have planned and how you can apply your intention to them.
How you might feel at the end of the day knowing you have honored this intention to the best of your abilities.
What opportunities might arise by approaching the day with this intention?
If your mind has wandered off to other things,
Gently bring your full focus back to your breath,
The rising and falling of your chest,
The air coming in and out of your nose,
Then pick up where you left off.
Now take one final deep inhale,
Then with your exhale,
Open your eyes and allow the room to come back into focus.
Take a few quiet moments,
A few natural rhythm breaths to settle back into your surroundings,
Gathering yourself together to get ready to start your day.
But before I leave you for the day,
I just want to say quickly that if you lose your intention for the day,
If it gets to the night and you're thinking,
Oh,
Darn,
I forgot to approach my day like this,
It's not an excuse to beat yourself up for.
Even some of the best laid plans go astray.
It's part of life,
Of being human.
Tomorrow is another day to try again.
Now with that said,
I want to thank you for joining me in this meditation this morning,
And I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day and I get to meditate with you again soon.
From my heart to yours,
Namaste.
