Welcome,
This is a meditation to help you shift from being rushed,
Busy and anxious into a calmer,
More grounded state.
So please sit comfortably in a chair or on the floor and you're welcome to have your back supported today if you wish so that you can physically relax.
Lift your shoulders up to your ears when you breathe in and soften them down when you breathe out.
Again please lift them up as you breathe in and relax them down as you breathe out.
Keeping your shoulders relaxed,
Breathe in and when you breathe out tilt your head to the right a little.
Take your time.
Breathe in and lift your head to centre.
Breathe out tilting your head to the left and breathing in back to centre.
Settling into your comfortable posture and let's for a moment just reflect.
When you're feeling rushed,
Worried,
Anxious,
How does that feel?
Does it feel ungrounded,
Untethered,
Flighty or frantic?
Allow yourself to notice any of those feelings or any other feelings and sensations you're experiencing right now and without dialing up the narrative of why or who or what,
Just start to drop into the body as it is in this moment and notice what you feel in your belly,
In your chest,
In your head.
Where does most of this activity happen for you?
Don't fuel it or try to push it away.
In this moment simply notice and acknowledge its presence if you can.
Now let's take a deep and slow breath in all the way into your belly and a long calm exhale.
Again let's inhale through the nose and this time as you exhale breathe out through pursed lips as if exhaling through a straw.
Just slow it down a little more.
There's no rush.
Breathe into the place where you felt your tension and relax as you let your exhale go all the way out.
Now bring a sense of groundedness into the body.
Invite the experience of being grounded and centred and it can help to place your hand on the floor if you're on the ground.
If you're sitting in a chair placing your hands with palms facing down on your thighs can have a similar effect.
Take deep slow breaths in and unhurried exhales and feel that calming connection to the earth or to something solid.
You too can feel a steadiness.
So if your stressed,
Busy,
Anxious state could be described as flighty or airy,
Untethered and with thoughts that dart from one thing to the next to the next can you imagine and feel now to be more steady and still like the earth.
Breathe in the qualities of the earth.
Grounded,
Calm,
Solid and slow and exhale slowly and if thoughts keep coming back into your head that's okay.
Just notice them.
Take your breath in and on the exhale soften.
Keep coming back to your breath,
Coming back to the invitation to feel grounded.
Relax your shoulders,
Soften your forehead and eyes.
Breathe in fully and slowly breathe out and feel the earth.
Feel what's solid and real and tangible around you and feel that in yourself.
The breath gradually calming the body and calming your thoughts.
Slow everything down.
Now please see if you can invite in a sense of acceptance and compassion and you might wish to place a hand or both hands on your heart.
Invite the feeling of acceptance and compassion for everything you're experiencing right now whether difficult or complex but also the acceptance and compassion for anything that's happy and joyful too.
Can you allow a little acceptance of and compassion for the constant change you experience in life and soften into the knowledge that you're doing the best you can.
Invite acceptance and compassion for your struggles and for your victories.
Still feeling calm and grounded,
Your breath easy but full.
Can you settle into a feeling of openness that's receptive to these feelings of acceptance and compassion towards yourself and towards your efforts.
If you feel resistance to this loving kindness kind of feeling that's okay.
Do what you can today.
Your best is enough.
If your hand is on your heart let it rest now.
Back onto the ground or palms down on your thighs continuing to feel this calming grounded energy and I invite you now to spend a few moments in stillness and in this time we're not trying to fix anything or perfect anything.
This is just an opportunity to catch up with yourself even if it's just for a moment.
Simply observe your breath just as it is.
No need to change it.
Simply watch your inhale and your exhale.
Inhale and exhale.
We'll spend a few minutes now with awareness on the breath.
If you catch yourself in thought,
Planning or worrying or just somewhere up in your head,
Bring your awareness back into your body,
Back into your breath.
You don't need to cling to any thought to solve anything or push anything away.
Just return again and again to the breath.
Back to calm grounded presence.
It's okay if you feel like you're doing this over and over again.
That's where the compassion comes in.
Continue to return to the breath.
Your best is enough.
We'll spend a few minutes in silence now.
I'll let you know when it's time to complete the practice.
Now let's take a deep breath in and slow breath out.
Invite another breath in.
Full again of acceptance and compassion and let the slow breath out.
Inhale acceptance and compassion for your practice.
Whatever it felt like today,
Easy or difficult,
Restless or calm,
Exhale slowly and let it all go.
Spread your arms out wide.
Enjoy an expansive inhale and as you exhale bring your hands together in front of your heart.
Thank yourself for taking time to slow down and be present today.
Namaste.
