Creating An Inner Sanctuary

If you care craving some soulful self care this meditation is for you. With compassionate and loving guidance, this meditation will lead you on a path of deep self love and connection with yourself and your child. Join us as we tap into the heart space and create a beautiful inner sanctuary.

Transcript

Thank you for accepting this invitation to step into more intentionality,

More love.

And I want to start by celebrating you for taking this time for yourself.

It takes intention and self-love,

Courage to carve out space for yourself,

Space to nurture your soul.

So take a moment to celebrate yourself for showing up here today,

For taking this time for you.

If we haven't had the pleasure of meeting,

I'm Catherine Wild,

A homeschooling mom of three.

I'm an author,

Yoga and meditation teacher,

And an intuitive life coach.

And I am passionate about helping parents and guardians find themselves again on this journey of guiding the amazing children in our lives.

And I love helping you carve out time to do the things that light you up and bring you joy without the guilt so that you can show up fully.

And I truly believe you can tap into your intuition,

Your inner peace when you nourish your soul.

So I am so,

So glad you have accepted my invitation to play in this field of intentionality and love today.

And I know that you have a lot of things on your plate,

On your to-do list,

And the weight of it all can feel so heavy.

So no matter what's going on in your outer world right now,

I want to invite you to create a beautiful outer,

But also a beautiful inner,

Spacious sanctuary for yourself,

A space where you can reconnect with the beautiful soul and the love that you are.

If you are craving some soulful self-care,

This meditation is for you.

With compassionate and loving guidance,

This meditation will lead you on a path of deep self-love and connection with yourself and with your child or children.

So let's settle in as we tap into the heart space and create a beautiful inner and outer sanctuary.

I invite you to breathe with me right now.

So placing your hand over your heart,

If that feels good to you,

Breathing in through your nose,

Deep into your belly,

And exhaling through your nose,

Release,

Allowing yourself to feel that deep sense of release and relaxation as you exhale.

We are going to dive deep into creating both an inner and outer sanctuary to help you stay connected or reconnect to your inner peace,

Ease.

So creating a really calm outer environment for ourselves in our physical space,

Like minimizing clutter or using soft lighting or incorporating calm colors and textures into our living space where we can,

Bringing in plants,

Right?

These are all ways that we can bring more elements of peace and calm,

And as we declutter,

As we clear our space with the things that are distracting us,

Right,

We have less distractions for our minds to process.

Our minds are always processing things,

So they're always surveying our surroundings.

So it can help so much to be intentional about what you keep in your space.

And I would love for you to take time after this meditation to make a list of things that help you reconnect with your inner calm and just gather some ingredients,

Right?

Some of the things that help you to feel nurtured.

Maybe it's a cozy blanket or sweater.

Maybe it's your favorite tea.

Maybe it's some of your knitting things,

And you can put them in a basket and just have it ready,

Easily accessible to you.

Maybe it's your favorite essential oils or your favorite book.

Maybe you want to listen to a guided,

You know,

An audio book or a guided meditation.

Maybe you want to light a candle.

Make a list.

Bring together the elements that help you feel centered so that they're ready for you when you do have a few minutes for yourself so that you can nourish your whole self,

Your mind,

Your body,

Your soul,

And feel really recharged and rejuvenated.

So let us know what you're putting on your list,

What you're putting in your self-care basket,

In your self-care space,

Your self-care sanctuary.

Now that we've talked about the physical,

Right,

Let's talk about the less tangible clutter in our lives,

Less tangible distractions.

So I have noticed the more I do this work,

Right,

The more intention I bring,

The more I embody these practices,

The more I'm able to have inner spaciousness so that I don't get as easily overstimulated.

It's not that I never do,

Right,

But these are all tools that can help you to find more ease with intention.

And one truly powerful tool that you can have with you at all times is the practice of bringing yourself into the present moment.

And there are different techniques to help you do this,

Right,

To help you recenter and bring yourself back into the present moment.

But the one I want to talk about today is your breath.

It's such a beautiful way to help bring you back into this moment,

And it's always with you.

So simply bringing your attention,

Your awareness to your breathing,

Feeling the air going into your nostrils.

Let's try this together for a moment.

So if you're in a place where you can and it feels good to you,

Close your eyes.

You might like to place your hand over your heart if that feels good and simply breathe in through your nose and out through your nose.

We're just noticing here.

We're not trying to change anything,

Just bringing our awareness to our breath.

How does it feel as the air enters your nostrils?

Maybe it's cool,

Maybe it's warm.

Notice it as it exits your body as well.

The moment that you brought your attention to your breath,

You brought awareness to the present moment.

You brought yourself into the present moment.

So practicing bringing your attention to your breath,

Taking time for meditation or putting your bare feet on the grass,

Going for a walk in nature.

These are all beautiful grounding and centering practices.

And then as you notice what situations fill you up and what situations are draining you,

What relationships fill you up,

What relationships feel a little more draining,

Take time to bring awareness,

Loving awareness to these things as well.

And then when opportunities and invitations arise,

Allow yourself space to consider what it is that you desire,

What would feel nourishing for you,

And allow yourself that gift of saying no.

Because when you say yes to everything,

You're not really showing up as your whole best self right in those situations.

You're probably showing up and leaving feeling drained or depleted.

And that's a lose-lose for everyone,

Right?

We're not giving or bringing our best,

And we're not able to fully accept and receive the gifts being offered to us by others in those interactions and situations.

I want to share a story with you.

So I remember a particular day when overwhelm was creeping in for me,

And it had become this cycle that I was living in.

It was like I was on this hamster wheel,

And I was only taking breaks to sleep.

And inevitably,

I would find myself feeling overstimulated and stressed again the next day.

So let me walk you through a little bit of what was running through my mind and weighing on me,

Because I think you may be able to relate.

So between parenting,

Homeschooling,

Housework,

Running a business,

I could feel the overwhelm creeping in.

And in addition,

Right,

Because my system was already overloaded,

Every little noise,

Every little bit of clutter,

Every request that my children made,

It all,

You know,

You name it,

Like all of the outer stimulus led me to feel so overstimulated.

It was a lot for my nervous system to handle.

But in that moment,

But in that moment on this particular day,

I had enough awareness to know that I wanted this next season to feel different,

To actually live out the vision I had in my mind of how I wanted to show up in my life and with my family.

Knowing yourself,

Knowing what tends to overstimulate you and what fills your cup,

What helps to soothe your nervous system,

Just bringing awareness to your thoughts.

These are all important factors in empowering yourself and truly understanding how to love yourself in this body and on this journey of life.

And I was ready to make a change.

I was ready and willing to see things differently.

So I grabbed my journal and a pen and I sat with this question,

What needs to take priority in my life right now so I can show up and create the feeling that I desire in this season of life?

So I asked myself this question and then I sat in silence with my pen poised in my hand and the word that came through was a single word and that was space.

Space for downtime,

Space for more connection,

Space for more rest.

And it makes sense,

Right?

If we look at music,

For instance,

In music,

Space is equally as important as the music notes themselves.

Without this space,

It's just this jumble of sounds,

Right,

Piled on top of one another.

When you bring the notes together that are in resonance with each other and you add in harmonious spaciousness,

You get beautiful music.

So that's what I set out to do.

I looked at my values and what I wanted to prioritize in this season and then through the lens of a music composer,

Right,

The composer of my life,

I took an honest look at my days and my calendar,

Right,

The sheet music of my life.

And this is a continuous journey,

You know,

A forever work in process.

It's not something that you do once and you find balance and harmony in your days forever.

You are continuously moving through new seasons with your family and your life and you get to choose how you write the music,

Where you add in the space.

In music,

The pauses are called rests,

Right,

Which is just so beautiful,

Right?

It couldn't have been better worded.

So are you adding rests into your days,

Right,

Into your calendar?

Is there space in your schedule for you to slow down,

To create that time to snuggle with your kids,

To create that time to sit in meditation,

To create that time to just be still with yourself so you can hear what your next steps are on your path,

So you can hear the wisdom that's coming from your heart,

Whether it's time,

Whether you need to make an important decision for your family,

Whether you want to find clarity around your goals or in your relationships,

When we create that time,

We create that time to hear what our heart and our soul are saying,

We're able to live this really aligned,

Purposeful life.

So as you look at your schedule,

Notice what it is that resonates with you.

Notice what you're saying yes to,

Feel into what feels good for you.

And as you do this work,

You're creating a beautiful inner and outer sanctuary.

So let's move through a gentle guided practice together to help us to create a spacious inner sanctuary.

So settle in,

So breathing in deeply and letting the air gently fill your lungs,

Imagining the air going down into your belly,

Expanding your belly,

And exhale slowly through your nose,

Letting go of any tension or worries.

Do this a few times,

And as you do,

Become aware of the rhythm of your breath and the sensations within your body.

In this moment,

There's no need to judge or evaluate your feelings.

Every emotion you're experiencing is valid.

It's like a note in the vast symphony of your soul.

And by acknowledging these emotions,

We begin to hear the melodies that they bring,

The wisdom that they carry.

Just like the clouds come and go in the vast expanse of the sky,

Let your feelings flow,

Knowing that they're transient.

And by allowing them to surface,

You give them the opportunity to convey their messages and then gracefully move on.

With your heart open and your spirit receptive,

Let's journey together into the realm of imagination and intention.

So picture in your mind's eye your inner sanctuary,

A sacred space that belongs just to you,

A place where your soul feels safe and nurtured and loved.

And visualize the entrance to your sanctuary.

As you step in,

Notice the comforting ambience around you.

Maybe you hear the soft whisper of the wind or the gentle trickle of a stream.

The air is fresh,

Carrying with it peaceful serenity.

And in your sanctuary,

You have the power to shape and decorate the space.

Add plush throw pillows,

Ones that you can just sink into that cradle you as you lean into them,

Right?

Choose colors and patterns that resonate with you,

That evoke feelings of calm and joy.

Bring in elements that are symbolic of peace and relaxation for you.

Maybe there's a gently flickering candle and its light is casting soft shadows that dance on the walls.

Maybe there's a fragrant bouquet of flowers,

Their scent wafting through the air,

Bringing with them memories of special moments.

Allow yourself to breathe in and embody this feeling,

This feeling of spaciousness and peace and serenity.

And notice in one corner,

You have a special nook,

A space that sparks inspiration for you.

You can choose to fill it with some objects,

Maybe some books or images that ignite your creativity.

Let this space be where your ideas take flight,

Where you're reminded of the endless possibilities that exist within and around you.

Continue to decorate and infuse your sanctuary with items and symbols that uplift and inspire you.

You can add as little or as much as you want.

Play in this space of freedom and creativity and love.

Now take a moment to sit or lie down in your sanctuary and feel the energy of this space enveloping you,

Soothing every fiber of your being.

And know that anytime you need,

You can return to this place to recharge,

To dream,

To reconnect with your authentic self.

Continue to breathe with a few more grounding breaths.

Slowly bring your awareness back to the present moment,

Carrying with you the peace and inspiration from your inner sanctuary,

Allowing yourself to embody the beautiful space you've created and bringing it into your day.

It's so beautiful.

When you're ready,

Gently open your eyes and allow a smile to light your face.

I'd love to know how that felt for you,

What came up for you.

Remember that your inner sanctuary is always within reach.

It's just a heartbeat away,

Mindful breath away,

Right?

You can come back to it anytime.

Thank you so much for sharing this sacred journey with me.

May your heart remain open.

May your spirit continue to sparkle and know that you are always loved and supported on your journey.

Thank you so much for being here,

For accepting this invitation with an open heart.

And I would love to continue this journey with you.

Be sure to explore my other meditations and offerings.

And I want to leave you with this reminder.

Know that you are more than enough.

You are right where you need to be on your journey.

And I am sending you so much love.