A Heart Meditation
In the spirit of love and well-being, this is a meditation practice focused on the heart. A meditation with heart-centered breathing as well as interesting information and reflections about our heart. Enjoy this loving practice seated, lying down, or standing - whatever works best for your body. - 21 Minutes
Transcript
Hello and welcome.
This is a heart meditation.
A meditation to hopefully bring you some warmth,
Some nourishment,
And some time with your own self on either a cozy winter day or even in the middle of hot summer.
I hope that this brings some support and guidance to you on your journey of wellness.
And we'll begin in a comfortable position.
I'm sitting on the floor on a cushion.
You certainly don't need to do this.
You could sit in a chair,
On your couch,
Just make sure your low back is supported.
You could even lay down for this.
And if you are laying,
Do your best to follow along and stay alert instead of falling into sleep.
We'll have another meditation for that at another time.
So let's begin.
Get yourself comfortable and come to rest in stillness.
And as we arrive,
Let's do a check-in.
Noticing how you are in this now moment.
Taking some time to consider how am I?
How is my body?
How is my mind?
How is my heart?
And as we notice what's present for us here now,
Ideally we take this inventory with some lightness.
Accepting what is here.
Perhaps with a bit of humor or compassion for ourself.
Some curiosity through this mindful check-in.
Very good.
From here,
Let's come into the breath.
Slowing and deepening the breath.
Some conscious breathing.
You can start by emptying out,
Exhaling.
And then following that with a full inhale,
Filling the lung.
Abdomen,
Belly also expanding.
After the inhale,
There'll be a brief hold.
And then a slow,
Gentle exhale to release.
Abdomen falling back in towards spine.
As we release the air back into the space around us.
And continuing like so.
Inhale,
Drawing air in.
Belly expands,
Stretches out,
Takes up more space.
Hold.
And exhale to release.
Belly falls back in towards the spine.
Letting go.
And these breaths can be done through the nose.
Or you may choose to inhale through the nose.
And then exhale through the mouth.
Open lips.
Maybe even sigh or ah as we release.
It can be a nice way to let go of a little extra tension or stress.
Helping our system to relax.
And as you continue to breathe,
Slow,
Gradual,
Rhythmic breathing.
Notice the effect already that this has had on you.
How is your body now?
How is the mind?
How is the heart?
And as we do this second check-in,
You may notice some areas of tension or pain in the body.
Feel free to make a few movements.
Maybe even a gentle massage to help that area soften and relax.
And then we'll come back into stillness.
And back to our breath.
If you haven't already,
You may choose to close the eyes or lower the gaze,
Helping us to come inward.
And as we continue to breathe,
Relative stillness,
Taking care of your body as you need to through this meditation,
Let's embark on a little journey.
And today we'll be journeying not all that far,
Just about a foot or two from the head down into the heart space.
So often,
We spend a whole lot of time in the head,
In the mind,
Thinking,
Planning,
Assessing,
Maybe even judging or worrying,
Processing,
Making meaning.
It's not that this is necessarily bad.
In fact,
Sometimes it's quite good that we can do all of these mental activities.
However,
There's also room to take a break.
And there's certainly room to bring awareness and focus to another important area in the body,
The heart space.
So we'll start our journey by first just bringing some awareness,
Some focus,
Maybe even touch to our chest.
You could place a hand here if you'd like,
Or just simply direct your focus there.
Some may choose two hands,
So whatever works for you.
And as you touch here or touch in through the mind's eye here,
See if you can detect the heartbeat.
You may or may not.
And another way to do so is by taking the pulse either at the neck,
The carotid,
Or at the wrist,
The radial.
You'll feel that tick,
The beat of our heart pumping.
And as we continue to breathe,
Considering how truly amazing it actually is,
Our heart,
This organ within the body goes ticking away day in and day out.
The average adult's heartbeat is approximately 60 to 80 beats per minute.
About 100,
000 in a day,
Give or take.
Three million in a lifetime.
And of course,
The heart can beat more quickly or slowly.
And as we relax,
You may even notice ever so slightly the heart beats slower.
As we drop into our parasympathetic rest and digest.
Will this incredible heart,
Certainly more than just a muscle,
But a pretty spectacular muscle at that,
Beating steadily over and over and over again to help send blood through our body,
Oxygenating our organs,
Our tissues,
Our cells,
As well as directing blood to and away from the lungs where it oxygenates,
As well as carries carbon dioxide,
CO2 to be released back into the air.
Even generating its own electrical current as it does so.
Truly remarkable.
And as we stretch beyond just considering the heart as this magnificent pump in the system that helps deliver blood and oxygen through the body,
Let's spend some time with the concept of compassion,
Loving kindness.
Another term for this is Metta.
Metta,
Take a moment to consider when was the last time I felt some of that loving compassion towards myself.
Be it's been recent,
Perhaps it's been a while,
But we're going to spend a little time doing that today.
For some of us,
This feels awkward,
Or contrived,
Or just unfamiliar.
For some of us,
It could be very familiar,
Somewhere in between.
And so,
I recommend we start where you are,
And you can keep it simple.
It can be just here,
Breathing,
And feeling some gratitude or appreciation for the heart,
For its mechanisms that it carries out,
For the many,
Many pumps it will do in a lifetime,
Whether you tell it to or not.
What I offer is to consider what it is in this moment that you could use a bit more of.
Is it some support?
Is it some kindness?
Is it giving oneself a break from the busy mind,
Or from some of the conditions or expectations that may be there?
Judgment,
Even.
There's a beautiful practice of Metta loving kindness,
Where we can repeat a set of phrases to ourselves,
Either out loud or in the mind's eye.
And so,
You can simply sit and breathe,
And listen to these words.
You may choose to repeat them,
Silently or out loud.
May I be filled with loving kindness.
May I meet each moment with acceptance.
May I be mindful and at ease.
And may I look upon myself and others with the eyes of compassion.
Noticing the effect of these words.
It may be pleasant,
It may be not.
Continuing to breathe.
If you don't already have a hand on your chest near your heart,
Your heart center,
I encourage you to bring one or two there now.
In our last phrase,
I encourage you to bring one or two there now.
And our last practice that we'll do is noticing the rise and fall of this area of the body with the breath.
And on the inhale,
Gently outward,
Rising,
Exhale,
Gently dropping,
Falling.
And imagine breathing from this area.
So instead of the belly,
Breathe from the area of the heart.
Inhale,
Rising,
Outward,
And exhale,
Falling inward.
And continuing like so,
Breathing in and out from the heart.
This dynamic flow of filling,
Receiving,
And then releasing or giving,
Letting go.
Let's see if you can bring a little more softness into the body,
Softness into the heart,
The chest,
The lung.
Your arms are getting tired.
You can also rest them down in the lap.
Continuing to breathe though from the level of the heart,
This heart-centered breath.
Inhale,
Bringing in oxygen,
Fuel,
Exhale,
Bringing in the breath of the heart.
Inhale,
Bringing in oxygen,
Fuel,
Exhale to release CO2 and other things we're ready to let go.
Inhale to fill,
Bringing in nourishment,
Newness,
Possibility,
And exhale to release and empty,
Letting go,
Resetting,
Releasing.
Inhale we receive,
Exhale we give.
And if that last concept seems a bit peculiar,
Remember that our CO2 in the air is actually food for plants,
For trees,
For a photosynthesizing organism.
So there is this dynamic flow of life even just through our breath and the gases that we're exchanging there.
Truly incredible.
Taking a few last breaths here,
Keeping your focus on the heart,
Redirecting the mind when it wanders,
Gently,
Because that's what minds will do.
Lastly,
We'll imagine a bright light,
A warm light,
Soft light,
Light,
Soft in color,
Shining nearby,
Warming our body like a fire on a cool winter's day or the sun in the spring and summer.
And let's imagine some of that light,
A little extra of that light shines right into the heart space,
Right into the heart.
And we can keep a bit of that light there,
Shine,
Warming us from the inside.
A little gift,
A little reminder from this meditation,
Something you can carry with you through your day,
Through your night.
And in moments that may feel a little more challenging or lacking,
Especially in the love or self-compassion department,
Perhaps you could return to this light,
Return to this warmth,
Return to this bit of support that we can carry around with ourselves,
Bit of support that we can carry around with ourselves,
Resource that we can hold on to and use when needed.
Taking three last full breaths to close our meditation.
And then a nice deep inhale,
Full,
Complete exhale,
Open mouth.
One more,
Bringing some movement to the fingers and the toes,
Wiggling,
Maybe stretching the arms wide,
Gaze eyes can open if they were closed,
Palms come to touch,
And pulling them down to heart center,
Finding our Anahata,
Taking a moment to bow in gratitude.
You can also simply rest the hands again in the lap,
A moment of appreciation for yourself for taking this time,
Appreciation for our heart and all the other incredible systems of the body,
A moment of appreciation for the opportunity to sit in these practices in relative peace and tranquility.
Thank you so much for joining me.
I hope you found this video helpful.
You enjoyed that meditation and we'll see you next time.
Namaste.
