I thought that today,
The gloomy day and the fact that we're coming up on the end of the first quarter,
Can you believe that,
It's a time of reassessing and it's a time of getting yourself re-motivated.
And I thought that a nice thing to do would be to do a little centering and relaxation so that we can all spend a little time thinking about meditating on what we want to accomplish next quarter.
So that's kind of where we're going to go today.
And if you can all just find a really good spot where you're centered and balanced on your sit bones.
Allow yourself to sit fairly upright and if your shoulders and neck are coming forward just kind of roll your shoulders up and back a bit.
We're going to start with some breathing to get centered.
So if you haven't done it yet,
Go ahead and allow your eyes to gently close.
Come back into your own body,
Back away from your day,
Whatever you were doing before.
And let's take some very intentional breaths.
Breathing in,
Hold at the top,
And gently releasing.
Two more.
Breathing in,
Hold at the top,
And gently releasing.
Last one.
Breathing in,
And release.
So bring your attention down to your sit bones,
Where you're sitting on the cushion.
And notice that space there at the very,
Very tip of your tailbone.
And allow yourself to imagine a cord dropping down all the way to the center of the earth,
Like an anchor.
Just let it drop and let it connect.
Feel it nice and taut.
You're connected to the earth.
This beautiful blue marble that supports our lives,
That provides us everything we need.
Allow yourself to feel supported,
Connected.
Now drift your attention up just a little bit to your lower belly,
The space where your intestines,
Your reproductive organs all live.
Breathe into that space.
Allow your lower belly to expand.
Notice how your belly contracts when you breathe out.
Now pay attention to how that space feels.
If you're holding any tension there,
Can you allow it to relax and release that tension?
Breathe into that space one more time.
Allow your belly to expand.
Gently release it.
Now float your attention up just a little higher to your mid-belly,
Right above your navel but below your ribcage where it meets in the center.
Bring all your attention to that space,
Noticing if it's cool or warm,
Noticing if there's any holding or tension.
If you can,
Breathe into that space,
Maybe from the middle of your back,
Breathing into the space,
Expanding it,
And gently releasing.
Allow your mid-belly to relax and to let go.
Keep breathing.
Now gently float your attention up to your heart space,
The center of your chest.
Notice how this space feels.
Notice it from front to back.
Notice it from the right to the left.
Is there any tension there?
Is there a knot,
Or does it feel soft and open?
Let's take a breath in from the back of your heart space,
Right there between your shoulder blades,
Breathing in,
Filling up the space,
Allowing your chest to rise and expand.
And when you release,
Release it through the front as if you're clearing out any tension.
Let's take another breath like that,
In from the back,
And release from the front.
One more time,
Breathing in from the back,
Allowing expansion,
And blowing it out the front.
And notice it now,
Your heart space.
With releasing,
How does it feel different?
Now up to shoulder height.
Notice across the tops of your shoulders,
Across your collarbone,
Your throat,
Right there at the little divot at your clavicle.
Many of us hold tension here,
Across the back of the shoulders.
Let's breathe into that space,
Allowing your shoulders to fill up.
And when you release the breath,
Can you release any tension that's sitting in your shoulders or across your upper chest?
Let's take another breath there.
And as you release,
Can you release just 1% more tension or holding?
Can your shoulders drop just 1% more?
Now drift your attention up to the space right in the center of your head.
And while you're there,
Can you notice your eyes?
Are they tense or are they relaxed?
Can you let go and let your eyes relax?
Let the space behind your eyes and around the back of your head to relax,
To just let go.
Finally up to the very tip top of your head,
Can you notice your scalp?
Can you relax your scalp?
You feel your hair follicles just relax on top of your head.
Now I'd ask you to,
Just like it was in an elevator,
Drop your attention back down to your heart,
Your heart space.
You know there's intelligence in your heart that you can access from this place of relaxed and focused attention in your heart space.
Can you ask yourself,
Who am I when I'm at my best?
Who am I when I am at my best?
Allow a word or two to come to mind.
Maybe it's kind.
Maybe it's focused.
Maybe it's compassionate.
Allow your word to bubble up.
Whatever your word is,
Can you picture planting that word like a seed in your heart as an intention for this coming quarter or maybe just for today?
Then you take another heart breath in from the back to nourish that intention,
That word and release from the front.
One more breath in from the back,
Nourishing and sealing that word,
That intention.
And when you let go of the breath,
Allow it to release out to the universe.
Your intention for who you are when you're at your best.
Now I'll give you a couple of moments of minutes of silence to just contemplate,
Meditate on your intention.
Keep breathing deeply.
Keep focusing on your intention.
Now you can just gently release that focus.
Come back to your heart space.
Notice your body,
How it feels different perhaps from when you first sat.
Notice your mind.
Does it feel different from when you first sat?
Bring your hands together,
Rub them gently.
Place them over your heart.
I offer you this blessing.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you know peace.
Namaste.
