Good morning.
I'm going to walk you through the way that I like to start my mornings.
This is my daily practice.
It's how I ground and center myself before I start my day.
It took me quite some time to get to this point.
I started slow and then worked my way up.
So today,
Just stay with me for as long as you'd like.
And I'm just going to walk you through how I prepare.
After I wake up,
I drink some water,
I light a candle.
I like some Palo Santo or maybe some incense.
And I like to create a nice,
Warm,
Comfortable environment that feels sacred and special to me.
And then I find a place on the floor.
With a pillow or a bolster,
Maybe a blanket to sit on.
And come into a comfortable seated position with me.
Maybe place one ankle in front of the other.
You can cross the legs if you'd like.
Or onto kneeling.
And whenever you're ready,
You can close your eyes.
Take a deep breath in through the nose.
Exhale,
Sigh out the mouth.
Feel the body relax,
Inhale.
Exhale,
Let it all out.
Empty all the air out of the lungs.
Inhale into the belly.
Big breath all the way,
Hold at the top.
Exhale,
Sigh out the mouth.
Just take notice of the body.
Any areas of tension.
Relax the shoulders,
Drop them away from the ears.
Sit tall but no strain in the back.
Feel the ground underneath you,
Know that the earth is supporting you.
Scan through the body any areas of tension where can you relax just a little bit more drop the shoulders away from the ears.
Roll them down and back.
Place the hands softly on top of the thighs,
Palms down for grounding,
Palms up for receiving.
If you have a mudra in your practice,
You can take your mudra now.
Relax the jaw,
Let there be space between the teeth,
The lips will stay closed relax the forehead settling into your body breathing in and out through the belly.
Just feel the rise and fall of the breath.
Going to offer you today my mantra.
When I started with meditation Learning.
My mantra was Ahamkara.
So you'll repeat the mantra in your mind with every exhalation.
It serves as an anchor point to help focus the mind when it starts to wander because it will.
So you'll come back to the mantra.
If you forget,
You may forget the mantra and I will come in and I will remind you.
You may notice that you forget the mantra,
The mind starts to wander,
You start having thoughts don't judge yourself,
Don't be critical,
Know that that is completely normal That is our brain's job.
Our brain's job is to think,
To survive.
To create worry.
If you are tired,
Know that the brain likes to create worry.
Do not trust your thoughts.
Tell your body it is safe.
You are going to have an amazing day.
Coming back to our breath,
Coming back to the mantra.
The mantra is a hum.
So you will inhale through the nose.
And then you exhale and think the word a hum inhale exhale a hum.
That's it.
It's just a repetitive word to anchor you.
To focus the brain.
If the mind has wandered,
Come back to the breath.
Come back to your mantra,
Ahamkara.
Notice the rise and fall of your breath.
The longer you meditate,
The slower the breath will become,
The more relaxed the body will be.
Notice the subtle pause that happens at the bottom in between the inhale and the exhale.
Checking in take notice of the mind Where is the mind going?
It's okay to be curious about the thoughts.
Know that if they are important,
They will come back to you later.
We like to run through our to-do lists.
The brain is looking for something to do.
Just simply notice it.
You can say,
I see you.
But right now,
I am here.
Just a few more moments.
Allowing the mantra To slip away now,
You can stop repeating it in your mind.
Coming back into your body,
Deepen the breath.
Take a nice,
Deep inhale.
And exhale big sigh out the mouth let everything go Take notice of how you are feeling.
Whenever you are ready.
You can gently open your eyes.
Slowly taking your surroundings Take note of the colors.
Have gratitude for your space.
Take a moment of gratitude for your body,
For your health,
For this practice,
For taking the time to meditate.
Have a beautiful day.
