This Is Now: A Short Practice For Acceptance

This meditation is a short, restoring, and grounding pause you can take at any time of the day. You are compassionately guided to connect with yourself, your thoughts, and your feelings with acceptance and release judgment and tension through breathing in and out the kindness of the 'This is now' acknowledgment of things purely as they are.

Find an upright sitting posture that supports the free flow of breath and a wakeful state. With your feet flat against the floor, your hands can rest on your lap. Let your eyes softly close or lower your gaze. Alternatively, you can choose to stand or lie down if you wish. Bring to your practice the attitude of kind observation, allowing your experience to unfold without trying to change it.

Transcript

This meditation is guided by Elisa Riutta from South Coast Mindfulness.

Pausing to sense the present moment,

Gently closing your eyes or keeping them open with a soft gaze.

Feeling the connection with your body,

Noticing its posture,

Whether standing or seated,

And becoming aware of your facial expression.

Inviting any tension in your forehead to ease,

Letting it melt away towards your temples.

Observing the natural movement of your body as you breathe in and out.

Allowing everything in your body be just as it is.

This brief pause in your day is entirely unique and brand new moment.

Whatever you observe,

The sensations,

Emotions or thoughts,

Try to allow them space to simply exist,

Without any effort to alter or reshape them.

Releasing the inclination to change,

Cling to or push anything away.

And if it feels okay,

Quietly acknowledging to yourself,

This is the present,

This is here,

This is what is now.

It may initially be challenging to simply let things be.

Compassion and patience can be your companions,

Aiding you to approach the moment with kindness and without judgment towards yourself or what arises.

Your only task in this pause is to let everything you notice,

Your emotions,

Physical sensations and thoughts,

To be part of the here and now,

Included into the canvas of the present moment,

Just like others around you and the details of the moment as it unfolds.

You might choose to repeat softly with each breath,

This is now.

Inhaling with this is,

Sensing the air's flow in.

Exhaling with now,

Observing the air's flow out.

Savouring the space after each exhale as your lungs refill and your ribcage widens,

Letting this is now resonate with you.

Allowing a restful gap before the next inhale,

Granting yourself rest and to observe with gentleness and care.

Repeating a few more times,

This is now,

And letting there be a pause after the exhale before the next inhale.

Breathing in,

This is,

Exhaling now,

And letting there be a pause after the exhale before the next inhale.

Exhaling now,

And letting there be a pause after the exhale before the next inhale.

Now,

Releasing any form of wording with the breath and opening to simply experience the sensation of breathing,

Noting the air passing through your nostrils,

Brushing your upper lip,

Your chest expanding,

And your abdomen rising and falling.

Sensing the soothing stillness between breaths,

Letting tranquility spread through your body.

This is now,

This moment is yours,

Your time to rest and restore.

May you go well.