Welcome.
I'd like to share this short guided meditation that's intended to encourage you to bring more mindfulness into your life on a daily basis.
For those of you who are doing therapy,
This practice can support you in between sessions and can help you integrate the insights and commitment to your well-being that you are accessing through therapy.
The benefits of therapy show up in daily life and are always unfolding.
We may not be aware of them as they can be subtle and hidden from ordinary awareness.
So it's important to take the time for reflection and pause and mindfulness in your daily life,
Especially if you're doing the work of therapy,
To reflect on what changes may be there and to also change your relationship to yourself and your own mind.
This short guided meditation practice can help us to notice,
Pay attention,
And continue the work of changing our relationship with ourselves that's ongoing throughout life,
But particularly focused on when we're engaged in therapy.
So to begin this meditation,
Please find a quiet space to be alone and undisturbed,
Even if it only takes you five minutes.
Just make that commitment to yourself.
Come into a comfortable,
Upright sitting position,
Either on the floor or in a chair.
Take the time to find a position where you feel your spine holding you upright,
Alert but relaxed at the same time.
Let the eyes gently close and feel what it is like to stop what you're doing and shift your attention inward.
Let time slow down and notice what is here in this present moment.
Sounds.
However you're feeling in your body,
Any sensations that are here.
Just notice what is in this moment as it is.
You may notice that your mind is busy and there may be some resistance to being still and quiet.
Remind yourself that this is not something you have to do.
Meditation is not something that's on your to-do list.
But it's something that you actually get to do.
You get to give yourself permission to just be quiet and still.
It's not for a long time.
It's just a moment to pause and let go of the doing mode,
The busy mind.
It's a commitment to yourself,
Giving yourself the opportunity to slow down.
Just rest in awareness.
See what is here.
Observe what's here and observe what comes.
The mind is always busy.
It's a human condition for the mind to be busy.
So it does take a little discipline to slow it down,
Which is why we have this practice of meditation.
And in a traditional meditation practice,
We use the breath as the anchor into the present moment.
So now that you've settled into your posture,
Close your eyes.
Now bring attention to your breathing.
Feeling the breath in your body as it is.
You don't need to breathe in a particular way.
Just notice the sensations of breathing.
From one moment to the next.
Feel the movement of your belly rising as you breathe in.
The movement of your belly falling as you breathe out.
This is a very simple task,
But it's all you need to do right now.
Just follow the breath through a full breath cycle.
And when the mind gets pulled into thinking,
Taking away from the present moment,
Just notice that and gently guide the mind back to the breath.
So even if we can be present for just one cycle of breath in this practice,
In this meditation,
That is enough.
This is a reminder,
An opening into the present moment experience,
Even if it's just for a moment.
And remind yourself that the goal is not to be in this state or stay in this state,
Which is impossible,
But just to visit it from time to time.
The present moment is always here,
But it is so elusive.
So that's why we have this mindfulness practice,
This intentional practice that allows us to come back and to see that we have the capacity within our own minds to come back to it,
To return back to it.
And there's healing in this experience.
We just have to remember to revisit it from time to time,
But on a regular basis.
So as a therapist,
I always encourage people to have some kind of regular practice.
Mindfulness practice is part of their healing.
It may look different for each person.
There's no right or wrong way to do this.
There are many different practices we can engage in,
But it always starts with present moment awareness,
Noticing things as they are without trying to make them different.
So I hope that this short guided meditation will help support your practice and encourage you to step into the space of mindfulness from time to time,
A little bit more regularly,
As part of your healing journey.
Be well.
