Hello and welcome to today's meditation.
My name is Holly Overland and I shall be guiding you through a 15 to 20 minute meditation practice today.
So first of all I'll give you a little bit of information about myself.
So I am a yoga and meditation teacher and I came to yoga and meditation during a busy period of my life.
I found that it was a great way for me to pause,
To connect and to tune in to how I was really feeling rather than jumping from one task to the next.
So I hope that in today's practice I can help you to pause,
To connect inwards and to just take a moment for yourself today.
So what I'd like you to do first of all before we begin is to find a comfortable seat.
For me I like to sit on the ground on a block so that my hips are higher than my knees.
If you do sit on the ground yourself you will notice that this makes it a little bit more comfortable and it avoids putting pressure on the ankles so do have your ankles slightly out in front of you if you are sat like me.
If you're sat on a chair I invite you to uncross your legs to ensure that your feet are parallel on the ground.
Again just for comfort and if you're laying on a mat I invite you to make sure that you're comfortable but also to invite your shoulders down your back so that they're not up near your ears.
Okay so now we're seated I'd like you to ensure that your spine is long,
Your head is parallel with the ceiling and your chin is parallel with the ground and you may wish to rest your hands on your knees or on your lap or beside you on the ground.
It's whatever feels comfortable for you during your practice.
And if it's within your practice to close down your eyes I invite you to do so.
If not please take a short gaze out in front of you as well.
And let's begin.
So to start with I'd like you to invite some gentle movement into the neck.
Just rocking your head from side to side and just releasing any tension that you've carried with you throughout the day.
You may wish to take your left ear to your left shoulder and roll your neck round in front of you,
Ear to the right shoulder and back across.
You'd like to do this one more time either side and then bring your head to a comfortable neutral position.
And I'd like you to just settle into this moment.
Allow the mind to settle,
Allow the body to settle and just allow your face to settle.
Relaxing your forehead,
Relaxing the brows,
Relaxing the cheeks and the jaw just making sure you're not clenching.
Something I like to do is just drop my jaw open slightly so that my lips are ever so slightly open.
It just helps to fully relax the jaw in this moment.
And as we settle into our practice today I'd like you to bring your attention to the breath.
You may feel the breath in your nostrils or your top lip as the air enters and exits.
Just feeling the warmth of the air,
The cool air as it leaves our bodies.
Even though our breath is invisible you can feel it in certain places.
You may also feel your breath in your chest as our lungs take on more air as our chest rises and falls.
Feeling that expansion in the chest or the expansion in the belly if that's where you feel the breath today.
Something I like to focus on when I'm meditating is how our breath floods every being of our bodies and how we might feel the breath on our nostrils or our lips or our chest or our belly.
It's ebbing and flowing and it's expanding the whole of our trunk and the sides of our body around our back around our belly.
It's invisible yet so powerful.
And as you breathe I'd like you to simply observe the breath.
And I'd like to remind you that we don't want to change the natural rhythm of the breath.
We simply want to sit and observe the breath in this moment.
Just feeling the expansion in the body and breath as we inhale and exhale.
Reminding ourselves that our breath travels so much further than our lungs and that it's silently keeping us alive.
I think that's really something special to hold on to,
Not only in this practice but as we continue throughout our day as well.
And as we breathe just notice the breath as it leaves the body on an exhale.
And how and with every inhale it brings in fresh air and energy into our bodies.
Flows through our bodies like water,
Carrying nutrients and oxygen to each and every cell,
Muscle and being within us.
And I'd like you to imagine that during today's practice.
Focusing on the breath or observing how the breath enriches us with life-giving energy that flows through us just like a river.
With life-giving energy that flows through us just like a river.
And as you inhale I'd like you to visualize that.
You might feel a sense of warmth as you think about the benefits of the breath and all that our breath does for us in each and every moment.
And I'll leave you to sit with that for a moment.
And as you observe the breath in the body today in this moment.
I'd like you to observe and notice any sensations you might be feeling.
Or any areas of tightness or tension that you've carried with you up to this point in your day.
Maybe there's some areas that need some extra love and care in today's practice.
I invite you to spend some time focusing on those areas and to send the breath to those places in the body that just need a little more nourishment.
That just need a little more nourishment.
And something I like to do is imagine that the breath is massaging any tension or any sensations away.
And it's important to understand that we don't have to get rid of these sensations and these tensions.
But by sending extra love and kindness to these areas can help us find peace and calmness with the sensations that arise within our bodies.
Just feeling the breath flow through every being in our body.
Knowing whatever we're feeling in this moment is okay.
We don't wish to change our breath.
Simply want to sit and observe what comes up for us.
And if you notice that your mind starts to wander,
That's completely normal.
That's completely normal.
Just simply bring your attention back round to the breath.
Breath in the center of our being.
As it floods out to every corner of our bodies and fills us with life,
Energy,
And oxygen to go about our daily lives.
And as we bring our awareness from every corner of our body back to our center and back to our breath,
I'd like you to place your right hand on your belly and your left hand on your chest.
And just take a moment for yourself.
We're taking the time today to pause and connect inwards.
Check in with how your breath feels,
How your body feels,
And how your mind feels.
As you feel the expansion in your chest and your belly.
It's a reminder that the breath is always there to come back to whatever is going on in our external world.
And it's a reminder that life is like a journey.
We're all on a journey and our breath is our companion.
It's with us every step of the way.
Helping to move us forward and to keep us alive.
As you sit with that thought for a moment,
I invite you to gently rub your belly and rub your chest.
And just connect inwards for the moment,
Feeling the heat between your hand and your skin.
And when you feel ready to do so,
I invite you to flutter your eyes open.
Take a moment to come round and just notice how you're feeling after today's practice.
Something I like to do is to take my journal and note down anything that has come up in today's practice that just needs a little bit more time and attention to focus on.
But thank you for practicing with me today and I hope to sit with you again soon.
