Good morning,
Everyone.
Welcome to your morning meditation.
My name is Tanya and I will be happily guiding you.
So please find a nice comfortable position whether that's sitting in a chair,
Lying down or seated on the ground.
If you are seated,
Please ensure that your back is up against the chair,
Your feet resting on the ground,
Soles of the feet kissing the earth.
Or if you're seated on a cushion,
Just roll your shoulders back.
Find that shoulder hip alignment,
Reach down,
Remove any flesh from underneath your sits bones.
Just find that groundness deeper into the earth.
Feel yourself get nice and comfy wherever it is you are honoring where it is you are today.
Knowing that every day is different.
Honoring the space around you.
Just letting anything that's maybe distracting you or that has your full attention in this moment,
Allow that to gently slide away and just put it on pause for now.
Just begin to notice how you're feeling on a physical level.
Beginning with your toes.
We'll just begin with a nice body scan.
So bringing awareness to every body part and maybe giving thanks as you make your way up.
Feeling that gratitude for your shins,
Your calves,
Your knees,
Your entire legs,
Which allow you to move from point A to point B.
You slowly move your way up into your pelvis and your abdomen.
Descending gratitude for all those organs.
Maybe stopping at a certain area that's calling special attention.
It's maybe needing some extra love and some extra care.
Moving your way up,
Maybe lean back just a little bit.
We tend to slouch forward,
We tend to hold a lot of our stress in our shoulders.
So roll the shoulders back,
Allow the shoulders to drop away from your ears as you continue your body scan.
Just feeling grateful for every body part that you do have.
Fingers,
Your limbs.
Moving up into your chest and your throat.
And I invite you to pause in the jaw area.
Notice if you're holding on to any tension.
You're able to drop your hands into stillness.
Are you able to relax your tongue away from the roof of your mouth?
If you haven't already,
Please close your eyes or keep a nice soft gaze just in front of you.
Focusing on that one spot known as that point of drishti and yoga.
Next,
I invite you to explore your breath.
Explore this beauty that we call pranayama,
Our life force.
And without changing anything,
Get curious.
Observe,
Witness how the breath is traveling through your body.
Is the breath getting stuck in any specific area,
Any crevice,
Any crease,
Any bend.
And again,
Without judgment,
Try your best to send more energy,
More breath to these areas in need.
Begin to deepen your inhale.
And exhale through your mouth,
Sigh it out.
Inhale through your nose.
Let it go,
Shoulders dropping away from your ears.
Feel yourself supported by the earth,
Grounded.
Maybe reach your hands down,
Palms facing down.
Feel the earth beneath you if you're seated.
Feel that connection.
Know that you are safe in this moment.
And so if you didn't already know this,
There has been a research done,
Studies on the brains of monks.
And the research shows that meditation,
Meditation,
Practicing meditation can reduce stress.
And so the more we practice,
The more we're able to cope with the stresses in life.
Because I'm not here to tell you this,
As we already know this,
Stress comes with life.
And so it's our,
It's our intention to move through the stressors in life with ease and compassion.
And meditation through breath work,
Visualization,
Chanting helps us do so.
And so if this is your first day here,
Exploring meditation,
Welcome,
And I'm so happy to be guiding you through this experience.
Just continue following your breath.
Maybe this time,
Breathing in and out through your nose.
Notice the mind,
Notice the quality of your thoughts.
And me,
You may feel like that's an invitation to begin judging.
And some may say may argue that it is.
But without going too deep in that criticism,
If you will,
Just notice the quality.
What is it you're thinking about?
Work day ahead the to do list,
The lunches for the kids,
Whether or not you're getting that promotion at work.
Family member who's very ill right now,
Whatever the case may be,
Just notice what's coming up for you.
Without dismissing abruptly,
These thoughts,
Just watch them pass by always coming back to your breath.
Maybe you feel a little more relaxed at this point.
Little more in tune with your breath.
We'll be here for a couple of minutes.
When you find the mind wandering,
Just come back to your breath.
Come back to the sound of my voice.
Allow the breath to be your anchor.
Feel yourself grounded,
Stable,
Safe,
Still.
If you're finding yourself moving around and feeling antsy,
It's totally normal,
Especially if this is your first experience.
I've been practicing for years and I still have my days.
Again,
Coming back to what I mentioned in the beginning,
Honor where it is you are today.
Feeling your belly rise as you inhale.
Everything contracting as you exhale.
Inhale,
Fill your belly,
Your ribs,
Your chest,
And then exhale,
Relax your shoulders.
Sink deeper into the earth.
We'll just end our meditation this morning by doing a little visualization.
I invite you to visualize yourself seated outside somewhere,
Whether that's on the sidewalk,
On the steps,
On a beach.
You're outside,
It's a summer day,
Hot,
Sunny summer day.
Notice who's around you.
Notice the sounds,
The feeling of the air,
The heat on your exposed skin.
Feel the sun beaming,
The rays beaming on your skin,
Shining down on your being.
Feel yourself melting into the earth.
Visualize this puddle beneath you growing larger in diameter as you begin to relax into the space.
Maybe you're sweating from this heat from this beautiful sun.
Puddles growing larger and larger.
Give yourself permission to relax in this moment.
Slowly begin to wiggle your fingers,
Wiggle your toes,
Coming back to the room.
Bringing your awareness back to your body,
Back to the space you're in.
Maybe gently opening your eyes,
Smiling,
Knowing that you are here.
You are well.
You made it through this practice.
It was an honor guiding you.
Have a wonderful,
Magical,
Blissful day.
