Welcome to our Cultivating Heartfulness Meditative Exercise.
Let us begin.
I invite you to find a comfortable posture,
A way to sit that allows your body to find a little ease and comfort,
And a sense of being grounded,
Connected to the floor and the earth beneath you.
Sit in a way that feels upright so that your back is relatively straight,
Which allows your shoulders to hang and soften,
And your belly to be open,
And your chest to expand.
Tuck your chin in just a little.
Invite your eyes to close or simply soften your gaze to the floor in front of you.
Rest your hands in your lap.
Allow all the little muscles across your face to soften and relax,
Inviting just a gentle half smile to your lips and being mindful of holding this gentle half smile throughout this exercise.
Notice your posture.
Notice how your body feels in this moment.
Know that there is nothing that you need to think about,
Nothing that you need to do.
Let's begin with a couple of cleansing breaths.
Taking a slightly longer,
Slower and deeper inhalation through the nose,
And breathing out through the mouth,
Listening for the sound of your exhalation.
Taking a couple of cleansing breaths in your own time.
Allowing your breath now to settle back into its own natural rhythm,
Knowing that each inhalation brings fresh life-giving air into the body and into the mind,
And each exhalation is an opportunity to release your breath,
To soften,
To let go.
Notice how does your breath feel.
Aware of the sensation of breathing in and breathing out.
Inviting your awareness to your breath at the chest and the ribs.
Noticing that as you breathe in,
Your ribs expand across the front of your chest,
But also under the arms and perhaps across the back of your body.
Breathing out and your ribs gently fold back.
And behind your ribs and your chest,
In the center of your body,
Is a soft space,
The heart space.
You might invite one or both of your hands to rest across the heart space for this exercise.
As you breathe in,
Feeling your breath expand your chest and ribs,
Feeling the warm and protective presence of your hand,
Holding,
Connecting to your heart space.
Almost as if you are holding yourself in this moment with tenderness and kindness.
And as you breathe out,
This opportunity to release any stale or worn energy.
Let go of any tension or tightness with each exhalation.
Receiving and releasing the breath from the center of your chest,
Your heart space.
Noticing any sensations,
Any vibrations or any thoughts or feelings that arise.
Feeling the presence of your hand on your heart.
Each breath in your heart moving into your open and receptive hand.
And as you release your breath and breathe out,
Your hand returning back to your heart.
For the next few breaths,
Simply resting into the rhythm of your breath,
Moving in and out of the heart space.
Noticing how your breath feels,
Noticing how your body feels,
And you might rest your hands now back in your lap.
Aware of that gentle half smile still on your lips.
A moment of mindfulness,
Simply noticing whatever is present.
And to finish,
Taking a couple of slightly deeper inhalations to bring that fresh energy and life back into body and mind.
Bringing some movement to the body,
To fingers and toes.
And holding that gentle half smile when you're ready,
Opening your eyes and coming back to your day.
And let your intention today be to go out into the world open-hearted,
Kind and loving.
With deep gratitude,
It's Sarah from Quiet Minds Meditation.
