We're going to start by finding a comfortable seated position.
You could be sitting on a chair with your feet planted firmly on the ground,
Back straight and hands placed however they are comfortable in your lap or resting on your knees.
Or you could be sitting on the floor,
Perhaps on a cushion,
Perhaps your back is leaning against something,
A wall,
The side of your bed.
Just take a couple of minutes to settle into your comfortable position.
You want your back to be reasonably straight but without straining.
Let your body relax into the position so you're alert but at ease.
If you're sitting on the floor you may wish to cross your legs and your hands could be resting either in your lap or placed on your knees.
Palms facing upwards if you feel open to receiving and sharing your energy with the universe in this moment or facing downwards if you're feeling a little more focused inwards today.
Either is absolutely fine.
Now that we're settled,
Comfortable,
Relaxed,
Still,
Let's bring our attention to our breath.
We often use the breath as an anchor in meditation because it is reliable and steady.
It is always there for us.
We don't need to bring anything with us or be in any particular location.
As long as we are alive and breathing we always have the breath.
So just bring your attention to the inhale and the exhale.
Gently notice how your breath feels today.
Is it shallow?
Is it deep?
Does it feel laboured in any way?
Or is it flowing freely?
No need to judge or change anything.
Just noticing with non-judgmental awareness.
Watch your breath as it flows in and out.
From the start of the inhale right to the end of the exhale and back again.
Notice its consistency.
Its reliability.
As sure as the waves creep up and down the beach,
The breath will always be there for you.
Gently flowing in and out.
Now bring your right hand to your lower stomach and left hand to your heart.
Placing them gently.
By positioning our hands in this way we are strengthening the connection between the root of love and the root of power.
These are two powerful energy centres in the body.
Your right hand is placed on the centre of your intuition.
Your inner knowing,
Inner strength,
The driving force behind your decisions,
Your gut feeling where you know deep down the difference between right and wrong.
Your left hand is placed on the centre of your love.
Your connection to others.
Your deep love and compassion for yourself and your body.
The centre of trust,
Forgiveness and gratitude.
With your hands placed in this way,
Watch the breath for its full cycle as it flows in through the nose.
It passes through the throat,
Down past the chest and into the belly.
Feel your belly expanding under your right hand as it swells with the breath.
And then watch as on the exhale belly contracts and the air moves back up the body and out through the nose.
Movement should feel prominent under the right hand with the belly expanding and contracting and the chest should be showing little movement.
Use the deep full breaths rather than shallow half breaths as would be showing up in the movement of the chest.
Now I'm going to count and you're going to follow along with me in order to deepen your breaths.
Do invite greater relaxation,
Depth and internal connection into our practice.
Continue to feel the breath expanding and contracting in the belly.
And breathe with me as we count in for two,
Three,
Four and hold at the top for two,
Three,
Four.
And breathe out for two,
Three,
Four and hold once empty for two,
Three,
Four.
And again in for two,
Three,
Four and hold at the top for two,
Three,
Four.
And out for two,
Three,
Four.
And hold once empty for two,
Three,
Four.
And in for two,
Three,
Four.
And hold for two,
Three,
Four.
And out for two,
Three,
Four.
And hold for two,
Three,
Four.
And two more cycles like this in for two,
Three,
Four.
And hold for two,
Three,
Four.
And out for two,
Three,
Four.
And hold for two,
Three,
Four.
And last one in for two,
Three,
Four.
And hold for two,
Three,
Four.
And out for two,
Three,
Four.
And hold for two,
Three,
Four.
And return to your normal breath and pay attention to how you feel.
You may feel slightly light headed if this is a breath you haven't had much experience with.
That's fine and completely normal.
And that feeling will reduce the more you practice with this deep belly breathing.
You can lower your hands back to your lap or to your knees.
And now the body and mind are in a state of truly relaxation and presence.
We're going to bring your vision to mind.
I want you to envision in your mind's eye your happiest and healthiest self.
The healthiest and happiest version of you you can possibly imagine.
There are no limits.
Open up your imagination to endless possibility.
See yourself in a state of complete and utter happiness.
Joy is radiating from you.
You are whole.
You are healthy.
If at any point during this exercise your mind begins to wander,
Don't worry.
Just return the attention gently back to my words and your vision without any judgement.
Keep expanding this vision in your mind's eye when I ask you questions to consider.
What expression is on your face?
What are you wearing?
How did your hair look?
Is it tied up or down?
Are you wearing shoes?
Where are you?
What's around you?
Are you somewhere familiar or in an unknown setting you don't recognise?
What sounds can you hear?
Are they distant or close by?
What are the colours like?
Are they vibrant?
Are they muted?
What can you smell?
What is the temperature?
Can you feel the air against your skin?
Are you with anyone?
Are you alone?
If you're not alone,
Who are you with?
How close to you are they?
Can you see them in the distance or are they right there by you?
Are you interacting with them?
Are you moving or are you still?
Hold this vision.
Simply enter this vision.
Explore it.
Look around you.
Absorb everything you can see,
Hear,
Touch,
Smell.
How does it feel?
How do you feel?
What emotions are coming out for you?
How do you feel in your body?
How light are you on your feet?
How much energy do you have?
How does your breath feel?
How feels easy?
Where in your body do you feel alive?
Rest for a few moments in this vision.
Your happiest self.
Your healthiest self.
Your vision of health and happiness.
Explore exactly where and who you want to be.
Take a deep breath in and as you feel your breath expanding,
Imagine drawing this image into yourself.
On the next breath in,
Feel the vision becoming more vibrant,
More tangible,
Clearer,
More real.
And on the out breath,
Breathe yourself into the vision.
Let yourself blend with the surroundings,
With the energy of the vision.
On your in breath,
You're breathing in your vision and on the out breath,
You're breathing yourself into the vision.
Repeat like this for a couple more breath cycles.
Now when I start counting,
I'm going to take one big last breath of the vision and hold it at the top and let it expand.
So when you're ready,
Breathe in for one,
Feeling the vision brightening.
Two,
Feeling it expand.
Three,
It's getting clearer and more defined.
Four,
And hold it at the top.
Hold it and feel yourself enveloped with these feelings of overwhelming happiness and embodied health and vitality.
Hold it.
And now release.
The long breath out,
Completely empty the lungs.
And now just return to normal,
Natural breathing.
You may feel slightly lightheaded or disorientated after spending time in your vision.
That's completely okay.
Just start returning yourself back to present moment awareness.
Listen out for the sounds in the room where you are.
Letting the breath settle back into its natural rhythm.
Perhaps wiggle your toes and fingers to bring awareness back into the body.
Perhaps take a couple of deep breaths in case there's anything you still need to release.
Still with your eyes closed,
If it feels comfortable and natural to you,
See if a small smile wants to form on your lips.
As we move through the day to day patterns of our lives,
We forget to dream.
We forget that existence is endless possibility.
When you're ready,
You can gently flutter your eyelids open.
Breathing in this space,
Breathing gently.
Start to look around you at your surroundings and let yourself enter back into the present moment fully.
This exercise can be really powerful and shift a lot inside you,
So take it easy today.
Drink a glass of water when you get up and perhaps take some time to consider what came up for you.
You may find it helpful to sit with paper and pen and see if any words flow out around what you just experienced.
Some questions to consider might be,
Were you in your body,
In your vision or could you see your healthy happy self from an outsider's perspective?
How easy or difficult did you find it to access this version of yourself?
Was the image fuzzy or really clear and vibrant?
Note down how you felt.
How did it feel?
Were there any meaningful details of where you were,
Who you were with,
What was around you?
Tune into how you feel now.
Do you feel inspired,
Nostalgic,
Hopeful,
Excited?
Was there any sadness,
Regret,
Wistfulness?
I'd love to hear about how you felt in this exercise so please do reach out and drop me a message about what came up for you.
Thank you so much for practicing with me today.
Take care of yourself and I'm sending so much love to you.
Have a lovely rest of your day.
