Hello,
My name is Rachel and it's my honour to lead you through this meditation practice on change and acceptance.
When you're ready,
If you'd like to find yourself in a comfortable seat or if you prefer,
You can enjoy this meditation laying down.
Taking the time now to lengthen the spine,
Whether you're sitting or laying,
To position yourself comfortably.
Moving if you need to for these last couple of moments.
Maybe the eyes start to close.
And then just starting to become aware of your natural breath,
Whatever that is for you today.
Maybe it's different to yesterday.
And just start to notice where you can feel the breath.
You can feel it in the chest or maybe down in the belly.
Just taking a few breaths to notice exactly where you're at.
And now we're going to begin to bring a little bit more intention behind our breath.
So starting to inhale nice and deeply,
Stretching out the diaphragm,
Filling up through the belly and exhale,
Sighing out.
Inhale nice and deeply.
Exhale sighing two more times in your own time.
Releasing that tension.
Now we're going to change the breath to a little ratio here.
So we're going to inhale for four counts and exhale for six counts.
So exhaling completely to begin.
Then inhale for four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Exhale five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Inhale three,
Two,
One.
Exhale five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Inhale three,
Two,
One.
Exhale five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Continuing this breath ratio for a few rounds here.
Focusing on that extended exhalation,
The softening in the body,
Starting to relax the jaw,
The eyes and the eye sockets,
The shoulders,
The belly,
The hips.
Keeping the focus on the breath,
Moving in and out of the body.
Taking two more rounds of this breath.
And when you finish those two rounds,
Just returning to a nice gentle breath,
Allowing it to flow effortlessly in and out.
We're going to bring our attention to our heart space.
So if you like,
Feel free to bring a hand over the heart.
And you may even like to bring the other hand onto the lower belly.
So we're connecting that loving part of the heart space and the lower belly representing our creativity and our emotional body,
Which is very much part of change and acceptance.
So as you're starting to connect with these two areas of the body,
Either mentally or physically,
Starting to visualize a pink or white light surrounding the heart.
And this could be a pulsating light,
Could be a tiny area around the heart or on the heart.
However it looks to you is exactly how it's meant to be.
And as you focus on this point around the heart,
Starting to feel and see perhaps that light spreading,
Spreading through the chest,
Through the rib cage,
Up to the collar bones.
Maybe this light has a warmth associated with it.
And as you continue to breathe into the belly,
This light starts to spread up through the neck and it spreads a little lower coming down the arms,
Coming into the upper abdomen,
Traveling slowly down to the lower belly,
Down into the pelvis,
The hips,
Spreading down the thighs,
Through the knees,
The calves,
All the way down to the feet.
And this light spreading up from the neck up into the head.
Now your whole body is filled with this beautiful warm luminescent light.
Bringing your attention back to your heart,
Sending yourself a little bit of love.
Through life we're constantly shedding layers of our former self.
Trying not to hold onto or judge who you were in the past,
Whether that's good or bad or indifferent.
Feeling that love,
That warmth in your heart.
Trying not to hold onto who you could be in the future,
Whether that's good or bad or indifferent.
Change is part of our life every day.
And if we become resistant to that change,
We can start to feel stuck and blocked.
But like a beautiful butterfly,
In order to move through the chrysalis phase and become a butterfly,
You need to embrace the growing pains.
To breathe into that which feels uncomfortable.
And acknowledging it is the first step.
I think sometimes we feel like we need to create these grand plans and gestures,
But sometimes it's the smallest things which can make us feel the most accomplished if we simply acknowledge it.
Continuing to feel that warmth in our heart.
This is where acceptance and love of our self is created and formed.
If we allow ourselves to sit with who we are today,
To not let outside influences change that perspective.
So much love can grow in this place that we can share it with others.
When we find love for ourselves,
Everything else just flows.
Taking a few more breaths,
Connecting with this light within you.
This beautiful,
Radiant,
Brilliant light that deserves to be shared with everyone around you.
This is an untapped energy.
I'm going to bring you to a little visualization to finish off our practice today.
So imagine yourself now on a beautiful mountain top.
The sun is just starting to set.
You can see the beautiful colours of orange and pink,
Purple and a soft yellow.
And you're gazing out from the view of this mountain top.
This endless possibility.
Just taking a moment to observe your surroundings.
Maybe the view in the distance,
The rocks,
The earth beneath your feet.
Maybe there's trees.
Maybe there's a warm breeze brushing against your skin and through your hair.
And acknowledging what it took to get to this top of the mountain.
The strength,
The strength within you that led you here.
And the appreciation of the now.
This present moment where you can enjoy the fruits of your labour.
Change doesn't always come easily,
But we can allow that transition to be a little smoother.
If we tap into this strength within us.
If we allow ourselves to love.
Allow ourselves to feel strong.
Not playing small for anyone or anything.
Just taking a few more moments to enjoy this mountain top view.
As the light continues to fade.
The first little pin points of stars start to appear.
Acknowledging the ever expanding universe,
The vastness and how you are a part of that.
You are a part of the beauty that is the universe.
Slowly starting to come back to yourself.
Back into the space that you're in right now.
Starting to feel the connection between your hands and your body.
Between your body and the ground,
The earth,
The bed beneath you,
Wherever you are right now.
Just seeing how it feels to be in your body,
In your whole body.
Bringing your awareness from your head all the way down through to your toes.
Feeling into each part,
Embodying yourself fully.
Starting to animate yourself,
Feeling into your fingers,
Maybe wiggling your toes.
Gradually making these movements a little bit bigger.
Feeling that energy flow through the body.
Whether you're laying or seated,
Maybe you give yourself a nice stretch and a deep breath in and a big sigh out.
And taking your time here,
Taking as much time as you need to finish your practice today.
Thank you very much.
