Hello and welcome to today's meditation.
My name is Holly Overland and I'm a yoga and meditation teacher and today I will be guiding you through a practice to cultivate harmony not only in our internal world but also in our external world as well.
So when you're ready I invite you to find a comfortable seated position.
If you're sat on a chair I invite you to uncross your legs for comfort so that your feet are parallel on the ground.
If you're sat like me on a bolster today I invite you to ensure that your hips are slightly higher than your knees.
This is to avoid any pressure or any weight that sits on the ankles to avoid any pins and needles throughout today's practice.
And if you're laying down on a mat I invite you to find a comfortable laying position as well.
And with that I'd like you to first of all roll your shoulders down the rear of your body.
Ensure that your spine is long,
Crown of your head is parallel with the ceiling and your chin is parallel with the ground.
And if it's within your practice to do so I invite you to close down your eyes or you can take the option to take a soft gaze out in front of you.
And you can choose to place your hands in your lap,
On your knees or down beside you.
Whatever feels good for you in your practice today.
And as we begin I'd like you to start by settling into this moment.
Allow the mind to settle,
Allow the body to settle.
And just allow any thoughts or emotions to just wash away.
And just allow the body to breathe itself.
Just observe the natural rhythm of the breath,
The dance as it ebbs and flows in through our nostrils,
Feeling the breath,
Belly,
The chest,
In our side body and in our back.
Feeling the air of the breath as it silently enters through our nostrils,
The warm air that flows out onto our top lip.
And as the breath settles I'd like you to remind yourself throughout today's practice that your breath is your companion.
It moves us forward in life and it takes us to the next place where we're going.
And with that during today's practice we're taking a moment to simply be with the breath and to observe it,
This current moment.
And on your next inhale I'd like you to imagine that you're breathing in peace.
You can choose to say these words to yourself,
Silently in your mind,
Or you may wish to say them out loud.
But as you inhale,
Say to yourself,
I am breathing in peace.
And as you exhale I'd like you to say,
I am releasing tension.
Again,
You can choose to say that in your mind or you may wish to say it out loud.
But just think about those words for a moment.
I am breathing in peace and I am releasing tension.
And continue to breathe in peace and exhale tension for the next few moments.
As these words ground us in today's practice.
Now I'd like you to bring your awareness to your inner world.
Observe any thoughts,
Feelings,
Or sensations you're feeling in today's practice.
Without judgment,
I'd like you to simply observe as they come and go.
I like to imagine during my practice that these thoughts,
Emotions,
Feelings,
And sensations are just clouds that pass me by.
They simply don't remain.
They come and they go.
I don't want you to focus on a particular thought or sensation at the moment.
Just allow them to wash over you and pass on by.
Reminding ourselves that we are not our thoughts,
Our feelings,
Sensations,
Or emotions.
They are simply just things that come and go but don't remain.
As you observe what comes up for you today,
You may wish to spend a moment focusing on a sensation.
Reminding yourself that you're not trying to change that sensation or that thought but just acknowledging it and then releasing it.
Just like with the words at the beginning,
We are releasing tension,
I'd like you to release any thoughts,
Feelings,
And sensations you may feel bound to in this moment.
I'd now like you to take your awareness from your internal world and expand it into your external surroundings.
Notice any sounds that you can hear or any smells or sensations from your body,
Maybe sat on the chair or the fan against your skin.
Now start to take that awareness into your external environment and just like we observed internally,
I'd like you to notice what comes up for you.
Again,
We're not choosing to fixate on a particular sound or a particular smell or a particular sensation.
We just want to acknowledge what's there for us today,
What's there for us in this moment without judgment,
Without stress,
Without fear.
Does these sensations and sounds and smells wash over us?
You may choose to focus on a particular sound or a particular sensation and just take a moment to observe it and to release it and set yourself free from that sound or that smell that you've identified in this moment.
And as we shift our awareness from our external world,
I'd now like you to notice the space between your internal and your external world.
Notice the stillness as we choose to not absorb any sensations,
Emotions,
Smells or sounds in today's practice.
Notice the peace.
Notice the stillness.
Notice the silence and we're going to rest in this space for a few moments,
Just allowing ourselves to be fully present in this moment.
And as we simply be in this stillness,
In the peace of today's practice,
I'd like you to bring your awareness back to the rhythm of the breath,
The sensation of our bodies expanding,
Our chest rising,
Our belly falling.
And you may wish to gently wiggle your fingers and wiggle your toes to bring your awareness back into the body.
With that,
I invite you,
When you feel ready to do so,
To flutter your eyes open.
I'd like to thank you for practicing with me today and I hope you can continue to find moments of harmony as you continue throughout your day today.
Thank you.
