Creating New Habits

A 15-minute meditation inspired by the new opportunities presented in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Simple Samadhi is a project from the minds of Taylor Portman and Nina Petrillo.The goal of this meditation is to inspire self love, compassion, and connection to calm the frustrations and stress of today. We hope you enjoy.

Transcript

Hello and welcome to Simple Samadhi,

A lighthearted practice of connecting to oneself.

My name is Taylor Portman.

I will be guiding you through this practice wherever,

Whenever it finds you.

With the chaos that the current pandemic has brought forward,

This is a short meditation inspired by the craving of self-love,

Compassion,

And connection that is so,

So needed in the uncertainty and stress of the world today.

My hope is by the end of the next couple of minutes,

You will be inspired to reshape your perception in a way that best suits your needs for the upcoming weeks.

Finding space and clarity in your mind so that you can tackle all of the things with kindness.

As creatures of patterns and animals who crave consistency and comfort,

Living in a world filled with endless unknowns can at times feel crippling,

But there's absolutely something that you can do about it.

My father used to tell me that the only thing that you can change is you,

And unfortunately I am forced to admit that he was absolutely right.

All that we can do right now is create new routines,

New ways of being that support us in who we are and where we want to go,

Who we want to be.

With school canceled and many people's work life shifting into new spaces and places,

Now is the perfect time to observe,

To reflect,

To rewrite the script of your life,

Reshaping the way that you move through the world.

So with that in mind,

Let's all settle into a comfortable seat,

Maybe taking a moment to pause here,

Shifting around.

You can be sitting on a chair,

Maybe on a meditation cushion or a block,

Settling down into any seat that feels good in your body.

Palms face down on the knees or thighs,

Eyelids settle down,

Closing the visual senses,

Subsiding.

All together we're going to draw our shoulders up towards our ears,

Taking a big inhale,

Shrugging up,

Breathing in a little more,

In,

In,

In.

And then opening the mouth,

Rolling the shoulders down and back,

Big exhale out the mouth.

We'll do this together again,

A big second sip and shrug the shoulders up by the ears,

Taking another inhale,

Filling yourself all the way up.

Open mouth,

Exhale,

Release,

Let it go.

Shoulders release away from the ears.

Do this one more time,

Moving on your own pace,

Inhaling shoulders,

Reaching up,

Up,

Up.

Whenever you are ready,

Exhale,

Releasing,

Letting go.

Shoulders release down away from the ears.

The spine is tall,

Sit bones rooted down as the spine lifts long crown of the head extending towards the ceiling.

Notice the body.

Take a moment to move your awareness through the body,

Feeling into any sensations that come up.

The body settles down,

The mind begins to come to a point of focus.

This focus is the breath.

Notice the breath as it passes through the nostrils.

On inhale,

The air slightly cool,

Moving into the body,

The rib cage expands,

The belly extends,

Making space for this new air.

New space.

As you exhale,

The belly pulls in and up,

Belly button pulling in towards the spine,

Nudging the air up and out of the body from the bottom up.

Notice the sensations of the nostrils as you exhale.

Next time you exhale,

See if you can notice the breath slightly warmer after being warmed up by the currents of the body.

With inhale,

A gentle release of the belly allows space to be created in the body as air filters in through the nostrils,

Replenishing this new created space.

Gently continuing this cycle of inhales and exhales through the nose.

Notice the swell and release of the breath moving in,

Moving out.

Your awareness fixed on the sensations of breath passing through the nostrils.

Cool air flows in on inhale.

Warm air exits the body on exhale.

Settle into your full belly breath,

Breathing into the space.

The body becomes increasingly comfortable,

Increasingly light and free.

The breath moves simply with ease.

Like an ocean's tide,

The breath moves in,

Expanding.

As the breath releases,

It patiently descends into the vast sea of space before you,

Back into the abyss of peace.

The breath continues to move effortlessly,

The mind calm,

Patiently releasing any thoughts that may come up,

Knowing that you're not doing anything wrong in this moment.

If you're sitting and you're breathing,

There's no way to do this meditation wrong.

By drawing your attention towards your breath into your body,

You are meditating.

And most of all,

You are awesome.

Don't forget.

Breathing,

Being in your own space,

Experiencing your own time.

Taking a moment here as we continue to notice the landscape of the mind.

The simple stillness that lays before you.

Allow your awareness to suspend itself in this mental landscape.

From right here,

Take a mental screenshot of what lies before you.

The ease and comfort of the body.

This simple state of being in this moment.

Remember this sensation.

Throughout your day,

As life continues to pass by,

As the inevitable conflicts come and go,

Know that you can always return to,

Remember and embrace this feeling of stillness.

This screenshot of the mind that you have taken.

Perhaps you set it as the screensaver in the back of your head.

Using the understanding of this moment as a reference point throughout the remainder of your day.

And then letting these thoughts pass,

Settling deeper as the moments continue marching on.

The body now being breathed by the nature of life.

Take a moment to release your conscious control of the breath.

Transitioning,

Becoming the observer of the life and air that moves in and out of your body.

Simple awareness permeates your being as the nature of life passes through you.

Give yourself permission to give up control.

Make way for that which comes to you.

Take a moment to experience,

To settle into this space.

As you are ready,

Making a conscious,

Mindful decision to bring your awareness back to the breath.

Releasing any thoughts that may have come in,

Letting them go.

Sensing each sensation of the breath moving through the body.

Notice with concentrated effort the coolness of breath in the nostrils on inhale.

The warmth of passing air on exhale.

With this same mindful effort,

Perhaps you can attempt to observe the actions you take today.

As life passes by,

Being mindful of the choices that you make.

Knowing that with all the change that's occurring,

That has been occurring the past few days and weeks.

Right now is the precise time that we are setting new patterns that will shape the way we live.

During this intermediary time of self-quarantine and social distancing.

Do your best to be mindful and aware of the decisions that you're making.

Be sure to make time for the things that are truly important to you.

Doing what you can to take care of not only the work that needs to be done,

But caring for your body,

For your mind,

For yourself and the spirit of those near to you.

I hope that this meditation has offered you some clarity,

Perhaps some space.

So that you have the opportunity to mindfully experience the beauty of what this shock may have to offer.

If you can create some space to sit with yourself and write out a list.

Maybe you make a routine or write down some simple productive goals for yourself.

I think that would be a lovely way to spend some time.

If that's something that you need,

Perhaps one of those goals is making time for meditation.

For meditating more in which you are already a rock star.

So congratulating yourself for all that you do,

All that you already are.

As you're ready,

Draw your hands to heart center.

Bringing a smile to your lips,

Knowing how amazing you are.

Feeling a sense of gratitude for yourself,

For all that you are in this life.

I truly thank you for taking the time to sit here with me.

It's always such an honor to share alongside with you.

From my heart to yours,

In honor of all that we are.

Namaste.

Please feel free to contact me and let me know how you like this meditation.

You can find me on Instagram at Taylor Portman with two N's.

And if you have any comments,

Questions,

Concerns,

Thoughts,

I would love to hear from you.

So please,

Please do not hesitate to reach out.

If you have any suggestions about the nature of this recording or notes about the platform or accessibility or any of the other things,

Let me know.

And you can find me on Facebook as well as Instagram where my handle is at Taylor Portman with two N's.

It has been a pleasure to share this practice with you.

Have a lovely,

Lovely rest of your day.

Reviews

I loved this meditation Taylor. Just what I needed to relax my mind and body. 🙏🏻❤️🙏🏻