So find a comfortable seat or maybe lie down,
Take a few moments to set yourself up so that you will be comfortable.
And of course,
If at any time throughout the practice,
Throughout this mindfulness meditation,
You need to move or just feel free to do so.
And so if it's comfortable for you,
Soften or close the eyes,
Take a moment just to bring your awareness in,
Let yourself settle and just become aware of how you're showing up today.
What are you feeling?
How are you feeling?
Whether silently or out loud,
Ask yourself those questions.
How am I feeling?
What am I feeling?
And give yourself a moment and maybe ask again,
No,
Really,
How am I feeling?
What am I feeling?
Hold space and listen to what,
If anything arises,
Let it be heard,
Let it be seen,
Let it have its voice.
And then without restricting it,
Without censoring it,
Without wishing that you were showing up any other way than you are,
See if you can just feel,
Keep breathing,
Hold that space for yourself.
In yoga,
I talk about coming home to yourself.
What does that mean,
Coming home to yourself?
Is there a place in the body where you feel comfortable,
You feel good?
If there is,
I'll invite you to bring your awareness to that place or places.
And if there isn't,
If there isn't a place in the body that feels good,
Then I'll invite you to bring your awareness to your breath.
Feel your breath as it rises and falls,
Rises and falls,
Rises and falls again.
Just begin to really tap into that natural rhythm of the breath.
Feel how the body can breathe all on its own without any guidance,
Without any reminder from you.
Just let yourself breathe right where you are,
Right in this moment.
Let yourself be right here with each breath,
With each moment.
If your awareness was resting on an area that felt good in the body,
Bring yourself back to the breath as well.
Feeling your natural ebb and flow,
That expansion and contraction.
Just start to notice where you feel the breath in the body.
Maybe it's at the tip of the nostrils,
The back of the throat.
Maybe it's up into the chest,
Ribs,
Maybe way down in the low belly.
Again,
There's no right or wrong,
Simply observe where you feel your breathing,
Where in the body do you notice it?
Letting your breath just do its thing,
Begin to become aware of an area of the body where maybe you don't feel so great.
Maybe something that feels restricted,
Closed,
Maybe something you've been avoiding.
And with that same humility,
With that same grace,
And with that same unconditional love,
Just let your awareness softly focus here.
Don't change or do anything different,
Just hold space.
Hold space for those areas that we overlook,
That we ignore,
That we don't like,
That we wish that were different.
Without getting caught up in those stories,
Without getting caught up in those judgments,
Without getting caught up in that narrative or critique,
Would it feel okay instead just to hold space for it,
Let it be acknowledged,
Let it be held and heard,
Let it have its voice.
And of course,
If at any time this becomes too much,
Too painful,
Too uncomfortable,
Come back to your breath,
Keep the focus on your breath,
Feel that natural inhale and exhale.
And gently guiding your awareness now to your heart space,
Front of the heart,
Sides of the heart,
Back of the heart,
Take a moment just to center your attention to this area in your body,
Let your breath be natural,
No force or strain,
And then keeping that awareness gently focused on the heart center,
You can imagine warmth,
Some heat,
Nothing too overpowering,
But an aliveness,
Spark,
The vitality that is all you,
Let yourself stay with this and feel that warmth or that heat grow,
Feel it spread and move,
Let it fill up every tissue,
Every cell,
Every little space in your body,
Feeling it move out through your extremities,
Down the limbs,
Up through the head,
And again,
Letting that warmth or heat not be too overpowering,
So if you find that you do become too hot,
Maybe curl the tongue,
Inhale in through the mouth,
Exhale out through the nostrils,
And for some that the tongue does not curl,
You can breathe in through the teeth,
Lightly in through the mouth,
And exhale out through the nostrils.
If you're doing this,
Keep that awareness at your heart space,
Radiating out through every cell,
Every tissue,
And just follow its movement,
Follow its flow,
Imagining that warmth from the heart center,
Embracing all parts of you,
Every part of you,
Imagine it enveloping you,
Nourishing and comforting,
Supportive,
And give yourself a few more moments of this love,
Nourishment,
And support.
This is all from you.
If you're practicing Shatali Pranayam,
You can come back as you're ready to a natural breath,
And keeping your awareness at the heart center,
One more moment here.
What does it mean to come home to yourself?
Where do you feel that?
What is arising?
When you're ready,
And only when you're ready,
Begin to let this go.
Come back to the breath,
Feel into each inhale and exhale.
When it feels right,
Maybe you bring some gentle movement back into your body,
Moving or stretching in any way that feels good.
And if you're lying down,
Maybe you come to seat,
Or maybe you just stay lying down,
Taking these last few moments to connect with yourself.
This is a practice like anything else.
And so if you found this difficult or challenging,
Smile and tell yourself,
Good job.
If you found this easy,
Smile and tell yourself,
Good job.
Breathe in and give yourself lots of love.
Let that be the end of the sentence.
No conditions,
No buts.
Give yourself lots of love and gratitude.
When you're ready,
You can softly open the eyes and take in your space.
Notice the colors and textures of your environment.
Maybe you want to hang out here for another few moments of quiet,
Reflective.
Maybe you'd like to journal or color,
Paint.
Either way,
Know that you can always return back to yourself.
Tapping in to all parts,
Holding space and allowing yourself to be heard,
Seen,
Felt.
Thank you so much for making the time for yourself,
For returning back to yourself with this mindfulness meditation.
My name is Tara LaValle and I thank you.
Be well.
