Intro To Meditation

This is a slow intro to meditation. No matter if you are a complete beginner or have some experience, calm your mind with every breath. Increase clarity and a feeling of wellbeing. Just relax, sit back and enjoy.

Transcript

Welcome to this meditation.

My name is Sophie.

I am a yoga and meditation teacher and I have been practicing both set of techniques for many years,

Noticing a great positive impact on my life.

So in case you are new to meditation,

I would like to draw your attention to one of the greatest misperceptions of meditation before we get started.

Many people think that in meditation it is about not having thoughts anymore.

So what happens is they sit,

They notice their busy mind and then they feel like they failed and understandingly give up very soon.

I would like to tell you that the real purpose of meditation is actually not to get rid of your thoughts but to become an observer of your thoughts.

It is about observing what is going on inside of your head.

What kind of thoughts are there in this very moment and what is their quality and their frequency.

And then gently again and again detach yourself from the thoughts.

So what we do in meditation practice is we give our mind an anchor,

A focus point.

This focus point helps us to anchor our mind again when it drifts off during the meditation.

It is very natural that our mind drifts off during the meditation.

One thought leads to another,

Leads to another,

Again and again.

In meditation we focus on a specific anchor,

A focus point.

Naturally,

Very soon after we started focusing on the anchor point our mind will drift off following some thoughts.

At some point,

Maybe after a few minutes or a few seconds we notice,

Oh my mind drifted off,

I am not focused on my anchor point anymore.

And we consciously decide to bring the focus back to this anchor point.

We try to do this with a calm,

Gentle,

Self-loving attitude towards ourselves.

Naturally after some time of consistent mindfulness or meditation practice we notice that there are actually less thoughts in our mind.

We get calmer on the inside.

Notice less worry,

Less anxiety and more peace,

Joy and happiness within.

This is the most amazing reward of establishing a meditation practice.

So today we will use the breath as an anchor point for your mind.

So before we start,

Find a place where you are undisturbed for a couple of minutes.

If you are at work you might find a quiet space and listen to the meditation with headphones plugged in.

Please don't do the meditation while you are driving or engaging in any activity that demands for your attention.

I recommend you to find a seated position either on a pillow or a chair.

We want to make sure that you stay awake.

So please sit in a way that your spine is erect,

Straight.

If you are on a chair move your body a little bit forward,

Away from the back of your chair so that your spine has to become straight.

And also put both feet on the floor.

No matter if you are on a chair or sitting on a pillow,

Put your hands gently on your thighs or anywhere where they fall naturally and allow your shoulders to relax down your spine.

Gently close your eyes,

Starting to slowly turn your senses inward.

To start this practice close your mouth and take a deep breath in through your nose and then breathing out through your nose.

Again breathing in through your nose,

Out through your nose.

Do this one more time,

Breathing in allowing fresh air,

Fresh oxygen to come into your body.

And breathing out letting go of old air.

With every breath you can start to guide your attention inward.

And let the breath flow naturally.

If you feel comfortable keep on breathing through your nose.

But don't control your breath anymore.

Keep your attention on the breath and follow it consciously.

But don't try to control it.

Ask yourself where do I feel my breath flowing in my body?

Where do I feel my breath flowing in and through my body?

How does my breath feel in my body?

Maybe in different body parts you have different sensations.

Bring all your awareness,

Your attention to how your breath feels in your body.

While the breath flows naturally in waves of in and out breaths through your body become this curious observer of how the breath feels everywhere in your body.

Where can you feel your breath in your body?

If you notice that your attention drifts off from your breath,

Thoughts drifting off,

At some point you might notice,

Become aware of your thoughts drifting off.

Then gently smile to yourself and take your focus back to your anchor,

To your breath.

Again and again as this will happen naturally,

Again and again.

Focus on the sensation of your breath moving in and out of your body.

Become this observer,

This open space observing what's going on inside of you.

How does your breath feel in your body?

Going deeper,

Sharpening your awareness of your breath more and more.

Maybe also notice some subtle changes occurring in your body with the practice of observing your breath.

Maybe different body parts ask for your attention.

Maybe you feel relaxation or more stillness coming naturally or maybe you also feel more tension.

You feel how busy your mind is.

Again if you notice this,

It's also a thought,

Just let it be there,

Accept it,

Acknowledge it and come back to your anchor,

To your breath.

Just neutrally observing your breath in your body,

Flowing naturally.

You don't have to do anything to make your breath flow in your body.

Then slowly,

Very mindfully start to take your attention back into the here and now.

Keeping your eyes closed,

Start to notice the parts of your body touching the chair or the floor beneath you.

Ground yourself in your body.

And then again through your nose,

Take in the deepest breath you've taken all day.

Breathe out through your mouth this time.

Consciously breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth.

Do this one more time,

Gently bringing you back into your body,

Into the room,

The space you're in.

If you feel like your body needs gentle stretches,

Do so.

For instance,

Lifting your arms,

Stretching your arms over your head,

Moving a little bit,

Your shoulders,

Your arms,

Maybe you want to move your neck in circles.

And then slowly start to open your eyes,

Coming back and taking in the room or the space you're in,

Slowly giving your senses some time to adapt again and to take in the world around you,

Noticing how you're doing right now.

Acknowledging what happened for you during the meditation.

Thank you so much for taking this time with me to explore this breathing meditation.

Meditation is a practice that will only unfold its full,

Amazing,

Positive effects if done consistently.

So every time you want to come back to this meditation,

Listen to it and notice how it feels differently each time,

How your mind is in a different state each time you listen to it.

Now I wish you a wonderful rest of the day.

Take care.

Reviews

Thank you for reminding me what meditation is all about. This really helped bring me back into my practice.

Dear Sophie, what a great intro to meditation, thanks a lot! Very clear and with a wonderful voice and guidance ...