Welcome to today's meditation practice.
This is a space for grounding,
For feeling supported,
And for opening to a sense of spaciousness within you and around you.
To begin,
I encourage you to find a comfortable position.
You can be seated upright or lying down,
Whatever feels most natural to your body today.
Let your hands rest gently,
And if it feels safe,
Softly close your eyes or lower your gaze.
Take a slow breath in through your nose,
And gently exhale through the mouth,
Letting yourself arrive.
Again,
Breathing in deeply,
And breathing out fully,
Letting go.
Allow your body to settle,
Allow yourself to be here.
Begin now to bring gentle awareness to the breath.
Notice how it moves through you naturally,
Without needing to control it.
Feel the breath,
Feel the inhale,
Feel the exhale.
As you breathe,
Allow your attention to drop into the body,
And feel the points of contact,
Your feet on the floor,
Your seat supported by the chair or cushion,
Your back held by whatever surface supports you.
Notice the solidness beneath you,
The ground holding you without effort.
Allow yourself to feel supported by gravity.
With each breath,
Invite a sense of heaviness to the body,
A soft weight sinking gently into the earth.
Notice if there's a natural slowing down,
A softening,
A quietening.
Now that you feel the grounding beneath you,
Begin to expand your awareness.
Imagine your breath not only moving within the body,
But also flowing outward.
So feeling the space around you,
The space above you,
Below you,
Beside you.
With each inhale,
Feel the breath filling your body.
With each exhale,
Imagine your awareness expanding outward.
Sense the air surrounding your skin,
The room around you,
The space beyond.
Allow yourself to feel spacious,
Soft,
Open,
And receptive.
There's no boundary you need to hold tightly.
The more grounded you feel,
The more ease you may sense in allowing spaciousness.
Perhaps you can imagine yourself as the sky,
Vast,
Open,
Steady.
Thoughts may come and go.
Sensations may rise and fall.
And you remain grounded and spacious,
Able to hold it all with gentle awareness.
To deepen this experience,
I invite you to visualize.
Imagine yourself as a strong tree.
Your feet are roots reaching deep into the earth,
Steady and secure.
Feel the roots anchoring you,
Providing stability,
Nourishment,
Support.
Now as you breathe in,
Feel your trunk solid,
Grounded,
And upright.
As you breathe out,
Imagine your branches stretching out,
Reaching wide into the sky.
Expansive,
Open,
Unrestricted.
You're both deeply rooted and infinitely spacious.
Able to bend with the wind,
Yet unwavering at your core.
Allow yourself to rest in this feeling.
Grounded below,
Open and spacious above.
Held and free at the same time.
Slowly begin now to bring awareness back to your body.
Feel the breath,
Steady and soft.
Feel the ground beneath you,
Always there,
Always supporting you.
Notice the spaciousness still present,
The openness within you and around you.
Take a moment to acknowledge the strength and stability you carry.
And the expansiveness and freedom available to you.
You are grounded.
You are spacious.
You can hold both.
Begin to gently wiggle your fingers and your toes.
Maybe roll your shoulders or stretch in any way that feels good for you.
And when you feel ready,
Soften your open eyes.
Returning to the space around you.
And carrying this sense of grounded spaciousness into the rest of your day.
Thank you for joining me today.
