A warm welcome back.
I'm so pleased you pressed play and are feeling committed to your meditation and journaling practice,
And to the possibility of moving through your days with compassion.
Today's practice is an invitation to cultivate a sense of spaciousness so that you can feel your heart more deeply.
So in your own time,
Closing down your eyes and offering yourself the gift of three deep and nurturing breaths.
And beginning by welcoming all the aspects of you who have been present in your life lately.
The parts of you who have felt busy,
Overwhelmed or anxious.
The aspects of you who have been controlling,
Regretting,
Ruminating and worrying.
Can you welcome the parts of you who have not felt good enough?
The parts of you who've been trying so hard to be more,
To be better,
To be good.
Welcoming also the aspects of you who felt grateful.
Joyful and vibrant.
Your inner dimensions who have felt purposeful.
Confident and in flow.
Breathing deep into all of these different aspects of you.
Allowing them all to be here.
And now allowing your hands to form the Akash Mudra position by placing your hands palms facing upwards on your thighs or in your lap.
And then folding the middle finger of both hands inwards.
Then guiding your thumbs to touch these middle fingers.
After that if it feels comfortable,
Allowing the other fingers to straighten just a little.
This hand gesture encourages a sense of space within your physical and energetic bodies.
And your mind.
On the in-breath,
Imagining fresh life force entering your body,
Moving down your arms and landing at the point of connection between your middle finger and thumb.
And on the exhale,
Breath moving out of your fingers into the space of your room.
Breathing in,
Life force arriving at the tip of your middle finger and thumb.
Breathing out,
Air flowing into the space you are in.
Continuing to breathe in this way for a few rounds of breath now.
Noticing any experience of tingling,
Warmth or heightened sensation between your middle finger and your thumb.
Each breath creating a sense of space Let's deepen this feeling of spaciousness now throughout your body.
As you listen to my voice,
Feeling into the empty space within your ear.
The empty space behind your ear.
Noticing the space at the front of your neck.
Right down the bottom there,
Almost like a cave.
Becoming aware of the space between your tongue and the roof of your mouth.
Little space at your inner elbow.
Perhaps you can feel a space under your arms or at the back of your knees.
The tiny spaces between each of your fingers and each of your toes.
And allowing this feeling of spaciousness to land in your heart.
Breathing into your heart.
Fresh oxygen.
A feeling of spaciousness flowing in and out on the tide of your breath.
With each breath,
Your heart is waking.
And with a gentle sense of curiosity,
Just noticing what is here in the landscape of your heart today.
Are there qualities like peace,
Gratitude or joy in your heart?
And seeing if you can locate some heaviness.
A shadow.
Something that you've been reticent to feel or acknowledge recently.
And offering whatever is here your gentle breath.
Allowing this meeting with your heart to feel like an act of compassion.
This heart that is wise.
That is strong.
That can house all your emotions,
Even the ones your mind tries to resist.
And just noticing if there's anything else that would like to come forth from your heart.
Some words,
A feeling,
A color,
A memory,
Trusting whatever emerges.
Offering your body some gentle movement.
Taking a moment to come back into the space you are in.
And rubbing your hands together,
Feeling the friction,
The energy building within your hands.
And now together,
Let's use writing as a way to deepen our connection to our hearts.
But before we do,
I want to encourage you to make this practice work for you.
If you need more time with any of the prompts,
Please feel free to press pause.
Writing prompt one.
Your heart has an infinite capacity to hold your entire experience.
Even the parts your rational mind habitually avoids.
With this truth in mind,
Take a few minutes to identify and describe what's in your heart today.
Writing prompt 2.
Let's get creative here.
If your heart was a natural environment.
What would it be?
Describe the details and how they relate to your life and your values.
Writing prompt three.
Your heart is supremely intelligent.
It has so much wisdom to share with you.
Ask your heart.
What would you have me know today?
Enjoying a few deep breaths.
Allowing breath to be your medicine.
Helping you to embody the wisdom of today's practice deep into your being.
So that it may guide your actions moving forward.
Offering your body some gentle movement.
May you move through today feeling more spacious and aware of your heart.
See you tomorrow for day three of this seven-day meditation and journaling experience.
