Welcome,
My name is Gayler.
I'm a yoga and meditation teacher based in Los Angeles.
Today I'm going to guide you through a short mindfulness meditation.
Just find a comfortable seat.
Find a sitting position that allows you to feel at home,
At ease,
But that also allows you to be alert.
Just begin to settle in.
Beginning to turn your attention,
Your awareness inward.
Beginning to deepen the breath.
Just take a scan of your body,
Softening or releasing any areas of tension.
We're going to begin by taking three full breaths together.
So in through the nose,
Out through the mouth,
Just cleansing breaths.
So deep inhale here.
Hold it at the top and then just let it out.
Again,
Inhale,
Hold it,
And just exhale through the mouth.
Once more,
Inhale,
Hold it at the top,
And then let it out.
And continue with deep,
Natural and conscious breaths.
Really try and feel the experience of breathing.
Tune into that.
So feeling the inhales fill up your body with fresh oxygen.
And letting the exhales release,
Feeling your body soften on the exhales,
Feeling yourself let go of things that you don't need.
And using your breath as that anchor to calm ourselves,
To center ourselves.
You'll notice distractions as they come up.
Our mind naturally wanders to a thought,
A feeling,
A sound,
A memory,
A sensation.
It's totally natural.
But as we tune into our breath and become more mindful,
More conscious,
See if you can simply note those things.
Just recognize them,
Take note.
And then turn your attention back to the breath.
Just gently nudge yourself back to the breath as the anchor.
And if any sensations become especially strong,
Just let them.
Feel them fully if it's an emotion,
A physical sensation.
Feel what you need to feel.
Notice if they get stronger.
And even if they do,
All emotions are transitory,
So eventually it will pass.
And as it does,
As it drifts away,
Just always returning to the breath.
And then slowly begin to turn your awareness back out externally.
Begin to bring your awareness back to your surroundings.
Bring your palms together at the heart,
Thumbs to the sternum,
Just taking a moment of gratitude for yourself,
For making this time,
For building this muscle of mindfulness,
For being truly present.
Hope to see you next time.
