Welcome to the start of your meditation journey.
There's nothing to fear.
Meditation is simple.
It's the mastery that takes time and practice.
You've probably come across people and posts on the internet that make meditation appear to be something only elevated souls can achieve.
But the truth is,
Anyone can do it.
You don't need to attend training or pay for expensive courses.
I'm going to teach you how to do it and how you can start practicing right now.
Meditation,
In its most basic form,
Is the discovery of oneself,
Where we learn how to quieten the mind and change how we react to things.
It's about understanding how the minds work and learning to become an observer of the thoughts rather than an actor playing a role in them.
It's a practice of being completely in the present moment and achieving a state of relaxed focus.
So let's try this together.
First of all,
Find a comfortable position in a place where you won't be disturbed for the next five to ten minutes.
You can sit in a chair that supports your back,
Or maybe you'd like to sit on the floor or of course you can lie down.
It's whatever feels best for you and your body today.
Ideally,
Find a place where you won't fall asleep instantly,
Although it's perfectly okay if you do fall asleep.
Put your limbs into a position where your muscles can relax and stay in a position where your muscles can relax and start to let go of any gripping that you can feel,
Possibly in the legs,
The shoulders and so on.
Relax the muscles and let them go soft.
You might feel your legs and hips roll outwards.
Let your shoulders soften down away from the ears.
Release any tightness from your jaw so that your teeth fall apart.
And if you rest the tongue in the base of the mouth,
You'll feel your whole face relax.
Take a moment to reflect on how good this feels to be still like this.
You might like to close your eyes lightly now and enjoy the darkness behind the eyelids.
Take a slow deep breath in through the nose if you can,
Or just breathe through the mouth if that feels better.
Then let the exhalation release slowly through the nose or mouth.
Notice how the body gives way and surrenders a little bit every time you breathe out.
It senses that we are safe and wanting to relax and the out breath deepens that state.
Try another deep breath in and this time extend the out breath a little more so it's longer than the in breath was.
You might like to start counting the breath to help keep track.
You could inhale for three counts and exhale for six counts or just use whatever number works for you.
Continue to practice this counting of the breath,
Our focus will remain on the breath.
Now your mind will likely drift off into other thoughts or feelings and that's perfectly normal.
In yoga that's known as the monkey mind because it's always jumping around trying to entertain us.
Each time a thought distracts you from breathing,
Gently invite the focus back to the breath.
When we first begin a meditation practice,
It can feel like we're doing this process 100 times in quick succession.
So don't be disheartened.
It's all part of the process.
Think of yourself like a shepherd.
Thoughts drift away like the sheep and then you gently heard them back bringing the focus back to the breath.
Continue to count the breathing and each time your mind wanders off into the future or into the past,
Remind yourself that being in the present moment is our goal and our anchor to the present moment is our breath.
As you become more adept and familiar with this process,
You might start to notice that certain topics or themes arise more than others and that's an indication of things that are literally on your mind.
For now though,
Imagine just putting a pin in that thought so you can come back to it later.
There's plenty of time.
We're just going to acknowledge that there was a thought but avoid getting drawn into the story and drama of that thought.
Just gently guiding our thoughts back to the breath.
You might start to feel restlessness or frustration and then start to criticize or judge yourself for having those feelings and that's completely normal too.
Just acknowledge the feelings and thoughts for what they are and let them go.
Come back to the steady anchoring breath.
Every moment or every second that your focus is on the breath in the present moment is a wonderful second of great benefit to you.
It doesn't matter.
It doesn't matter if for 75% of this meditation you feel you're not in the place you want to be because for 25% of it you are and that's a fantastic achievement.
Some days it will seem easier than others so be patient with yourself and with your practice.
You can stop counting now and just allow the breath to return to its own natural rhythm and pace.
Before we start the reawakening process,
Take a few moments to observe how your physical body feels.
Note any sensations you have no matter how big or small.
You might have little tingles in your feet or you may even be aware of your heart beating.
Just notice the different feelings currently passing through your body.
Now let's take a full breath in to reawaken the body with this fresh oxygen and let the breath go all at once.
Start to make some small movements with your hands and feet and let's get the body ready to move again.
If you're lying down you might like to bring one or both knees towards the chest or simply take a full stretch with your arms overhead.
Do what the body feels inclined to do,
Follow your instinct.
In your own way,
In your own way,
Find your way back into a seated position.
You have just completed a meditation practice,
Well done.
As you can see in this form it's actually very simple to do.
The biggest challenge is probably going to be consistency of practice.
So identify a time in your day when you can set aside 5 to 10 minutes to do this.
It's a very small portion of the day but the benefits of practicing this can literally be life changing.
Thank you for joining me.
Be sure to check out my other guided meditations on a wide variety of topics.
Have a fantastic day.
I wish you all the best.
