Welcome to this meditation.
Thank you for joining me.
Let's start to settle into the body so the mind can still.
Let's get intentional with the breath to give the body the space it needs to be comfortable in the stillness and to be compassionate enough to yourself to allow for this time.
Finding a comfortable seat,
Grounding the sit bones into the earth,
Lengthening the spine and pulling the chin in ever so slightly to stack the vertebrae neatly on top of one another.
You can do this sitting on a pillow or a bolster,
Even in a chair.
And if sitting just isn't for you today,
Then make your way into a shavasana or corpse pose,
Legs out long,
Arms by your side,
Palms facing up,
And the shoulders and sit bones grounded and taking any final shuffles you need here so that you can find some stillness in this meditation.
And then bringing your attention into the breath.
Now knowing that every day is different,
Just honoring where you're at today.
It's noticing the texture of where you are right now,
How it feels to be in your body.
And then notice if there's anywhere in the body that you're gripping.
Maybe for you,
This is the feet,
The glutes,
The shoulders,
Or the jaw,
And see if with your next exhale you can sigh that tension out of the body as if it's melting away.
And do that a couple more times until you feel that this tension has softened.
Maybe visualize it melting into the floor beneath you.
Now bring your attention to your thoughts,
Anything that is repeating,
Anything that's critical or negative.
Just acknowledge it and then let it pass you by.
Don't attach a story or a meaning or any worries to this thought,
It is just a thought.
Not all of our thoughts are truths,
Just let them go.
Honoring the time that you have found for yourself here,
And that this time was not for thinking and dissecting,
But it was for reconnecting to yourself.
So every time the mind begins to wander,
Just gently nudge it back to the breath or to a sensation that you're feeling in the body,
And just take that attention inward.
Now with that invitation,
Let's start to follow the breath into the body,
Noticing how the body moves as the breath enters through the nose,
Into the throat,
Chest,
And belly.
And then as it makes its way back out again,
Notice its exit journey,
And just keep noticing.
And with this attention,
Your breath will naturally get slower,
Longer,
And more considered.
And keep with focus,
Noticing,
And taking that breath to all of the places in the body.
Notice how the body softens as you exhale.
And as you do this,
Start to believe in the power of your breath,
And how it can alter how you feel in any given moment.
You'll always have this power of breath with you to self-soothe.
Keep observing the breath in and out of the nose.
And with your mind occupied with the breath,
And your body heavy onto the ground beneath you,
Notice how you feel.
Has the rushing,
The to-do list,
The worry,
Slowed or erased?
Stay with your breath,
And find the space in these moments,
These rare moments,
When the mind is quiet.
Now see if you can stretch out the time between these thoughts.
Be conscious and curious about it.
The mind will wander,
But just gently guide it back to the breath.
And keep doing this over and over again,
Like a practice,
Like you're training the breath to ease the mind.
This is rest.
It's a different type of rest than you might be used to,
But it is giving the mind the time to find the stillness.
And you are literally breathing space in between your thoughts.
And giving these thoughts the room that they need to be looked at rationally.
Imagine how you can receive a thought if you have had the ability to look at it from a distance.
Keep returning to the breath.
You might one day be able to hear yourself inside,
Beyond the critic,
Beyond the mind.
Beyond the critic,
And beyond the narrator.
That part of you that's deep inside,
That gently encourages,
And moves you forward positively.
This quiet voice that always has your back,
And wants for you to do well in all things.
But with the noise from all the non-important thoughts,
Maybe you haven't been able to hear yourself in a really long time.
Taking your awareness inward,
To that voice that is kind and compassionate.
The voice that whispers for you to believe in yourself,
To trust your instinct,
And to settle into stillness more often,
So that you can hear yourself.
Don't worry,
You are not alone.
There are people all over the world that have forgotten what it's like to know themselves.
To listen to their inner being,
To be all that they can be,
Because from the outside,
The world has filled them with distractions.
Keep breathing,
Keep listening for yourself.
If you could install a sankalpa or an intention into your meditation,
Just for you,
For yourself,
To honour that inner voice and let it be heard,
What would it be?
Maybe curiosity,
Trust,
Discovery,
Belief,
Or even time.
What would you do,
Or offer to help the voice get a little bit louder,
So you could step into yourself more,
To show up as you really are,
Not all the lessons that you've taught to believe from the less pleasant voices we carry with us.
Imagine if your inner voice could lead you every day,
Where would it take you?
Can you trust that it has your best interests at heart?
Do you believe it when it assures you,
You will be okay?
Imagine if you could harness the power of this inner guidance system,
And that it could lead you to all of your dreams.
Keep returning to the breath.
Bring a dream to mind,
Preferably the one that's been hiding in the back of your heart for maybe years.
Maybe it's that dream that you haven't told anybody about because you're not ready to live it.
You've shielded it for the fear of not succeeding,
But you haven't yet tried.
This dream might be old,
It might be one that's been with you since you were a child.
Maybe it keeps you up at night,
Or floods your night dreams.
Bring it to mind.
Where in the body do you feel this dream?
What sensations allows for this dream to be true,
Or possible?
Let this dream flood into your body.
Let it interact with this inner voice.
The one that believes in you.
The voice that reminds you that life's full of possibilities.
The voice of kindness and support.
How does the dream land on you once you let it interact with this inner voice?
Does it seem more possible?
With the space in between the narrative thoughts,
Is there more room for this dream to come to the forefront?
If you gave yourself permission to follow this dream,
How would your life be different?
Notice how your inner voice doesn't discourage you,
But allows you to be excited by the possibility.
Notice again where it is in the body.
Any sensations that are showing up,
Just notice them.
Holding on to this dream.
In the body and in the heart.
Does it warm you?
Keep bringing the dream to mind.
Exploring the plausibility of it.
And what extra positive things it would bring into your life.
Noticing the sensations of the body.
Maybe you feel lighter with this possibility.
With your inner voice and your dream working in conjunction with one another.
Notice how this is all inside of you.
Every day.
Every moment.
My voice is here to help you find what you already have inside.
So that you can find time to work on your dreams and on yourself.
Take yourself one last time to what might be possible if you were to let yourself explore this dream.
See if you can hold on to it for a little bit longer before the mind gets distracted.
Stay with it.
Explore it.
Stretch it out.
I will leave you in contemplation for a few minutes.
And I'll let you know when it's time to come back.
Be curious.
Be excited.
Start to deepen your breath.
Reminding yourself that these moments of quiet contemplation.
And thinking about your dreams,
Your future.
And how to make them possible are available to you at any time.
And taking the breath into the belly.
And then letting the breath expand into all the corners of your being.
And just softening the eyes.
Softening the jaw.
Relaxing the shoulders.
The glutes.
And the ankles.
And bringing one hand to your heart and one hand to your belly.
Noticing the warmth that you can give yourself.
Taking a moment of gratitude for the time that you have found here today.
And then start to wiggle your fingers and your toes.
Maybe rocking the neck from side to side.
Or taking the arms up overhead for a long stretch.
And bringing your hands to heart center in prayer position.
Thank you for joining me.
And enjoy your dreams.
Namaste.
