Thank you for joining me for this guided meditation.
Today's meditation is going to help you learn how,
As you become aware of your thoughts,
To rather than engage with them,
To simply label them and let them float away.
So before we begin,
Just make sure that you're sitting or lying comfortably.
With your hands resting gently by your side or hanging loosely in your lap.
Feel yourself loosening your arms,
Feeling your feet grounded into the floor if you're sitting in your chair,
Your spine straight,
Feeling your back and your neck free,
Your stomach relaxed.
And just breathe into your abdomen and feel the tension there just starting to release.
Become aware of your body,
Your beautiful body,
A body that has the ability to move you through life,
Experiencing heat,
Experiencing cold,
A body that helps you experience day,
Experience night.
Become aware of yourself in your body.
Be aware of your breathing.
Become aware of how you're breathing fast,
Slow.
Are you breathing shallow?
Are you breathing deeply?
Does your breathing feel like it's difficult and labored?
Or are you breathing with a sense of calmness and relaxation?
Just become aware.
It's not about judging yourself.
It's not about having an opinion about how you're breathing.
It's just becoming aware of yourself breathing and how you breathe.
And now I want you to take in a big deep breath.
You can hold it for a minute before releasing it.
We're going to do that two more times.
We're going to take in a deep breath.
We're going to hold it and we're going to release it.
And one more time,
We're going to breathe in.
Hold it and release it.
Now just let your breath settle in to its natural rhythm where you're comfortable breathing.
And there's a steady pace of breathing in and out.
Just how you're comfortable.
But just be aware that the breath is going to be in and out in a steady pace in its natural rhythm.
So today is just about observing our thoughts.
Using a technique called labelling our thoughts,
Also known as mental noting.
And what this technique does is it enables us to give our thoughts a name.
It helps us and provides support for us to be able to just stay in the moment.
And as you label your thoughts,
You're going to become more aware of any patterns in the types of thoughts you're having.
So we're just going to be focusing on your breath in this meditation.
When you feel yourself losing your focus or drifting away,
Just remember to bring yourself back to your breath.
The natural rhythm of your breath.
When you feel yourself drifting into your thoughts,
Just come back and anchor yourself,
Centre yourself,
Focus yourself on your breath.
We're just here today to become aware of our thoughts,
To observe our thoughts and to become aware of the types of thoughts you're having throughout this meditation.
And as you find yourself and you will,
Drifting off into your thoughts,
Just remember to bring yourself back,
Back to your breath.
Remember,
The purpose of meditation is not about stopping your thoughts.
The purpose of meditation is about stopping your thoughts from controlling you.
And the practice of meditation teaches us awareness and gives us the ability to become aware of our thoughts and the way that we think,
So that we're not constantly driven by the thoughts in our head,
Dictating to us how we live our lives.
We become aware.
And as your thoughts come knocking,
Clamouring for your attention,
Wanting to be heard,
You can learn to just sort of meet them.
You can say hello to them.
Hello thought.
A memory comes in.
Hello past.
As you acknowledge the thoughts that come into your mind,
You don't want to get caught up with them.
You don't want to have a conversation.
But as you acknowledge them,
They lose their power.
There'll be more thoughts to come in.
The thoughts never end.
Hello future.
Hello work.
Hello anger.
Hello irritation.
Just be aware of your thoughts.
Give them a label.
It's like we want to start categorising them.
Where they sit,
Where they belong.
We're just labelling them at a very high level.
We're not going into them.
It's just seeing it as a book,
Seeing it as a box.
Not overthinking it.
You don't need to think about the label you're going to give it.
You just have the thought come in.
Give it a name and send it on its way.
The next thought comes in.
Give it a label.
Say hello.
And then just send it on its way.
Keep greeting the thoughts as they come in,
Giving them a label,
Not going into the story of it.
Not going into any depth on it.
Just giving it a label.
Hello problem.
Hello solution.
Hello holiday.
And then just send them on their way.
And remember,
As your thoughts start to drift off,
As you start to drift off into your thoughts,
Just bring yourself back to your breath.
And as you become aware of the thought,
As you observe the thought,
Remember to give it a label.
Say hello and then send it on its way.
And you can just stay here now for the next few minutes.
Just focusing on your breath when your thoughts drift.
And as the thoughts come in,
Just label them,
Say hello and send them on their way.
Keep bringing yourself back to your breath.
And I'll be back to get you in a few minutes.
But until then,
Focus on your breath,
Saying hello to the thoughts,
Labeling them and then sending them on their way.
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And when you're ready.
You just bring yourself back into your body.
Wriggle your arms wriggle your hands wriggle your toes wriggle your feet your legs wriggle your shoulders your head when you're ready you can open your eyes you you
