New Year Meditation - Center Yourself & Thrive - Bodyscan

Meditation to close out year or start the new one. This special meditation blends approachable techniques with a body scan. You will find yourself becoming reflective and engaged with the past, standing in the present and preparing for the future. Happy New Year - any time of year.

Transcript

Hi everyone and good morning.

Thank you so much for being here.

I look forward to sharing some time with you,

Some positive energy,

And a chance to reflect on this past year.

It has been quite a year for all of us as we continue to emerge from the pandemic and all the things that have been happening to us.

I'm just so glad to be here with you as our lives continue to evolve.

So this morning we'll practice PAZ,

Which is the Ultra Brief Mindfulness Method.

I've been doing research on this method for a little while now and it does really well in the classrooms because it is brief.

So let's start with our position where we take note of how we're sitting and what it looks like as we're sitting.

That's the starting place for us.

And then as you get that position right,

Just notice like your sit bones,

How are you sitting?

Are you on one side or the other?

Kind of center yourself.

And same thing going backwards and forwards.

Just center yourself here and take note of that.

From there,

Pay attention to the breath coming and going from your nose.

Or if you have sinus issues,

You can breathe through the slight opening of your mouth.

You just want to have some airflow that you can notice you're paying attention to that airflow.

And that's the most important thing.

So as we pay attention to the air flowing from your nostrils,

Just pay special care of that feeling.

Is it tingling?

Is it cool?

Is it warm?

Now start at the top of your head,

The very top of your head.

See if you can feel a dime,

A nickel,

A quarter size spot at the very top of your head.

Just focus on the sensation at the very top.

And then very slowly and gently be patient with yourself as your mind may wander here or wander there.

That's okay.

It can totally go to all those different places.

But gently bring it back to just the sensation around your scalp.

And now progress to your ears,

Your forehead,

Your eyes,

Your nose.

Pay attention to the sensation of the air flowing in and out of your nostrils again.

This time you're noticing.

Is there any other sensation around your nose,

Around your cheeks,

Your lips,

Your chin?

Very good.

Come to your neck.

And as you notice your neck,

Pay special care to the connection between your head and the rest of your body.

As the new year is ending,

It's always nice to think about and picture some of the ways that our bodies make up the way that we see things in the world relate back to the reality that we're experiencing in the moment.

This transition from 2022 to 2023,

It's a special transition.

12 months have stacked on top of each other with energy and momentum and events and feelings and friends and family.

Lives have come and lives have gone all in the course of this time.

And so it's pretty special and important to take note of that,

To really focus in on it and let your feelings and sensations go forth like that.

I want to say thank you to those of you who send hearts,

Positivity into the world.

Stepping into a meditation is such a precious time for you.

Giving yourself 30 seconds,

One minute,

Five minutes,

10 is so important each day.

So as we notice the connection between our head and the rest of our body,

Think of this time in the calendar as going.

The rest of our body has continued to move us around and get things done.

And our head leads us where we want to go.

Our thoughts,

Our goals,

Our intentions all come from that place.

So you could think of your head as next year,

Your mind,

That's part of it,

And your body from 2022 following right behind you.

It's also a chance to say,

Hey,

I want to make changes.

I want to transform.

I want to pull my body together as one unit.

And you can do that very easily with clear intentions for yourself.

And clear intentions always start with the discovery process.

Sometimes it looks like journaling and sometimes it looks like talking to friends.

It will all depend on you and what you think and what you need.

Now continue observing as we go into our bodies and start to think about the months that have passed.

So first we go back to December.

We're closing out December right now.

Pay attention to your shoulders.

Are they up and tense?

Are they relaxed?

Just notice.

No need to change them unless you feel like it.

In November,

There's your chest and your back.

Notice all of that work that went into the holidays,

Seeing friends,

People on vacation,

Able to spend time with each other,

Able to spend time with yourself.

So important.

So important in this world.

So as we do notice that,

As we see this feeling,

This sensation of time,

Go to your left arm.

We're in October.

Think about the times that you spent transitioning to the fall,

All the feelings that you had,

The things that went on.

And you go to your right arm.

Just notice the sensations there.

That is September.

Think about September.

The close out of summer has just happened or some of the things you were doing.

Reflect on them and say goodbye.

And go to your midsection,

Your midbody,

Your groin,

Your glutes.

Just pay attention to the sensations there.

And as we do these types of body scans,

It's always important to remember,

Just pay attention to the sensation.

This is a special body scan because we are going back through our year,

Closing out,

Thinking about,

Reflecting on each month.

And August,

With its heat and its warmth,

Is the area that we're observing right now in our bodies.

There's lots of it in the month of August.

Now you may be coming in from another part of the world,

So your seasons may be flipped.

It may be instead of the dead of summer,

It might be cold of winter.

That's okay too.

Think about those times,

The seasons,

As you continue your observation of the sensations of your body.

Now you move to your right upper leg.

Just notice that larger muscle in your body there.

It's just above your knee,

All of that muscle moving around all the time.

That's July.

So much going on in July.

Activity,

Movement,

Festivities.

June.

June is your left upper leg,

Another big muscle.

I'm left-handed,

So I tend to favor my left side.

It's a strong beginning of summer.

June is a very exciting time of the year.

It's the middle of the calendar as well.

Now pay special attention as we move to our calves,

Our left calf.

And don't overlook your knee,

That bending point.

That is May,

That part of your leg transitioning to a new season.

Go to your right leg.

It's April.

Your right lower leg and your knee.

Just pay attention to it.

Spend time on the sensation of that part of your leg.

Very good.

That's April.

Spring is happening.

It's in full swing.

Or if you're on the other side of the planet,

Listening to this,

And it is fall for you.

What are some of the things that happened to you during these months?

What are some of the things that happened that brought you joy,

That made you contemplate?

Now your foot.

Your foot,

Your right foot.

That is March.

Yes,

March.

Winter is starting to wane just a little bit in the northern hemisphere and the southern hemisphere.

Summer is ending.

You think about those times.

And your left foot.

Just notice the sensations of your left foot.

This is February,

The middle of winter.

Still quite cold in the northern hemisphere.

The middle of summer in the southern hemisphere.

It's pretty special when you think about our planet and the time that passes.

The seasons and the ways that we transition.

As you've thought about each part of your body,

And we come to January.

Just notice all the sensations across your body at this moment.

What tingling,

What heat,

What warmth,

What pressure do you feel?

Get that sensation.

And think about January.

It was the start of this past year.

Pretty special time.

We're entering the next January in just a few days.

It will have been a full cycle around the sun.

It's pretty special too.

And as we close out our meditation,

I want us to send some metta to the rest of the world.

Some positivity.

Some good energy.

Some feelings of compassion and love.

Think about those who need it in this moment.

Sending them those loving vibrations,

That loving energy.

Every spiritual path has a similar activity.

Some call it metta,

Some call it prayer,

Some say positive vibes.

It's all.

It's that feeling that we get.

We just want other people to thrive and succeed.

Give that out to the world right now.

Positive energy is coming from this energetic web that we all share with each other.

The fact that our cells are all little tiny engines of energy.

And yet somehow,

Miraculously,

We have this mind that sits inside of our body.

And helps us create things in the world.

Create relationships and connections and tools and activity.

We create these things coming from a place of our intentions.

So set your intentions for January,

Which is right around the corner.

Enjoy this meditation.

I'm so glad you were able to join me.

And since we've been practicing ultra-brief mindfulness,

We've had our position,

Which is the way we sit our bodies,

And our attention,

Which is our activity of notices and sensations all across our body.

And now we're just going to travel outside of this experience of noticing our bodies,

And we're going to notice something else.

So I'm going to notice the green light that's there on the camera.

I'm just going to notice how it looks.

I'm going to notice the light reflections around it.

The light coming off that section of my computer.

I'm just going to take myself into this present moment by noticing this thing really intently.

What are all the things I can notice about it?

You pick something.

You pick something nearby that you want to notice.

Just notice anything and everything you can about that thing.

And this will take us into the present moment.

Center ourselves,

Ready for the day,

Whatever point in the day that you are.

Thank you for spending this journey with me as we've gone from month to month and from parts of our body all through it.

Enjoy this transition into the new year.

Thank you so much for your time.

Thank you for the good vibes that you're sending me with the heart.

It is so wonderful.

Samantha,

Thank you for your comments.

And I look forward to seeing you guys again soon.

Have a great day.

And bye everyone.

Happy New Year.