Welcome to your meditation.
Today's practice will be around 17 minutes long and today we will be focusing on connecting with our breathing,
Restoring our nervous system and coming back to a sense of calm.
I would like to extend my gratitude to you for being with me here today and sharing in this meditation practice.
I invite you to honour any feelings or decisions that might come up during your practice.
If you feel the need to adjust,
Change your position,
Please know that you are in a safe space and are very welcome to do so.
With that in mind,
I would like to invite you to find a comfortable position for you.
One where you feel supported and you can breathe with ease.
Perhaps you find a soft gaze,
Letting your eyes rest on a spot in the room that you are in.
Perhaps landing on an object that makes you smile.
Or maybe today you would like to close your eyes.
And as you settle in and get comfortable,
Let us start to become aware of the gentle movement of the body as we pay attention to our breath.
What is it like to simply observe our bodies as we commit to calm,
To deep relaxation?
As you inhale,
Notice the journey of the breath travelling through the nose,
Flowing down the throat,
Lungs,
Belly.
As you exhale,
Release your breath slowly and notice again the journey of the breath as it travels from your belly to your lungs to your throat and out of your nose.
I invite you to notice your breathing as though you were noticing it for the first time.
You might like to place one hand at your belly and perhaps your palm comes to gently rest at your chest.
And as you take a deep in breath,
Become aware of the expansion of the belly beneath your fingertips.
And as you slowly exhale,
Notice as the belly contracts,
Moving away from the palm as the navel moves towards your spine.
Let us be here for the next few minutes,
Simply observing this wonderful magical breath.
Breathing in,
Inhaling life,
Allowing the breath to infuse your cells,
Muscles and tissues with energy.
And on the exhale,
Paying attention to the soothing quality of the out breath.
Our most precious resource that we can tap into at any time to bring a sense of peace and to calm the turbulence of the mind.
You may notice you get distracted as humans do.
Thoughts might be coming into your mind,
Thoughts of what's being today and what's still to come.
May you remember that this is completely natural.
Simply notice whenever your mind begins to wander and gently guide it back,
Focusing once again on the breath and simply letting go,
Always returning to the breath.
Observing the subtle movement of the shoulders and the chest as they move and expand with each breath you take.
That reassuring movement,
That certainty that the body knows exactly what it's doing.
And let's just check in with any tension we might be holding,
We may have been unaware of.
Are you as relaxed as you could be right now?
Perhaps you could try softening the forehead,
Maybe relaxing the neck,
Unclenching the jaw,
Or softening the belly,
Allowing your muscles to melt,
Your body to soften at each out breath.
Realizing this gentle inhalation and exhalation,
Imagining your belly as a balloon that slowly fills up with air and then slowly deflates at each out breath.
Breathing in life,
Breathing out rest and respite.
Letting go of any expectations of how this practice should look or should feel.
You're simply sitting and breathing.
And if you lose focus,
Notice that and simply welcome the breath back as you would an old friend you haven't seen for a while.
And on your next exhale,
Consider the reassuring certainty of the out breath.
Working its magic,
Slowing our heart rate,
Lowering our blood pressure,
Soothing our body and our mind.
And when life is chaotic or turbulent,
As it often can be,
Remember that our breath is our anchor,
Our north star,
Our guiding light.
It is our grounding when we find ourselves adrift,
When a strong current or wind causes us to lose our way.
Remembering our anchor,
Our breath and allowing it to steer us safely back to shore.
Appearing us that our body knows what it's doing.
Inhale I am here.
Exhale I am grounded.
Inhale I am resilient.
Exhale I am calm.
Inhale I am alive.
Exhale I am rooted like a tree.
And let us return to the sensation of breath.
You might like to place your hand on your belly once again and feel the breath infuse your body.
Telling your belly at each inhale while each exhale brings with it a sense of calm,
A sense of grounding,
Knowing that you are exactly where you need to be.
And let us remember that we can return to our breathing whenever we find ourselves in situations that are stressful,
Things that we can't control or unexpected scenarios.
Know that your body instinctively breathes and know the powerful effect of a deep exhale to calm our nervous system,
To stimulate our vagal tone,
To activate our parasympathetic nervous system.
Give us a sense of rest and respite.
We don't need to be in fight or flight mode at every moment.
Know that you can rest,
You can let it be and you can control your reactions by taking a moment to go inwards and to connect with your breath.
As our practice draws to a close,
I invite you when you're ready to open your eyes if they were closed or if you've held a soft gaze,
Maybe take a scan of the room and to familiarize yourself with your surroundings once more.
Find a gesture that feels right for you to seal your practice.
Perhaps this is palms together,
Maybe it is hands on your chest.
Maybe it's hands to the earth.
Thanking the land that you're on today.
Feeling connected,
Rooted.
Steady like you're breathing.
Thank you for sharing this practice with me today.
