If you're someone who is on a recovery journey,
First of all,
I just want to congratulate you for taking what can be incredibly difficult first steps toward changing your life,
Reconnecting with yourself,
And creating the kind of alignment that you know you need to live the life that you want.
This meditation is a vipassana or insight meditation,
And there are a few reasons I think this type of meditation in particular is incredibly beneficial for people in recovery.
First of all,
Insight meditation is all about helping us gain,
Well,
Insight into how we react to the world around us and helping us see the world around us exactly as it is,
Stripped of our own stories and projections.
It's really designed to help us live a very honest life and have a very honest relationship with ourselves,
And that,
Of course,
Is a key element to living life in recovery.
The breath is the central point of focus in any vipassana meditation,
And this is really useful because we're always breathing.
Even if we're not thinking about our breath,
We can choose to give it our attention,
And that is a way to immediately anchor our awareness.
We don't need a special class or a special room in our house or a special object or even a mantra.
All we need is to breathe in and out and return our focus to that breath cycle over and over and over again.
And as we learn to focus on the breath,
We can learn so much about the patterns in our minds.
Where does our mind wander?
When does our mind wander?
What topics does our mind choose to wander towards?
Again,
If we can become very accustomed to noticing those things while we meditate,
It becomes much easier to notice them when we're out and about in the world,
And this,
Of course,
Helps us enhance mindfulness,
Which is a state of mind that will be incredibly beneficial to you as you are navigating cravings and situations where you might be tempted to drink or use.
So without further introduction,
Let's go ahead and get into this vipassana meditation specifically for people in recovery.
To begin with,
Just let your body move however it wants to.
Maybe you want to roll your shoulders or lean back and forth in your seat to find some balance.
Let your hands and your feet be easy.
Your spine can be nice and long.
You don't have to bring any tension into the upper body.
Just remind yourself to remain alert.
You can close your eyes if that's comfortable.
And if you'd rather not,
Just find a neutral object to rest your gaze on.
And then when you feel physically comfortable,
Start to bring attention to your inhales and your exhales.
Breathing in and out through your nose if that's possible for you today.
And as you breathe,
I want you to notice that there are four parts to every breath.
Without changing the breath or elongating it or shifting how you naturally breathe,
Just notice that every breath cycle has an inhale,
A pause between the inhale and the exhale,
Then the exhale,
And the pause between the exhale and the inhale.
As you cycle through these four discrete components of an inhale-exhale cycle,
Notice how your breath feels entering and exiting your nostrils.
Notice the sensation of your chest rising and falling,
The air moving over the back of your throat.
Maybe you'll notice a smell in the room that you didn't notice before.
As you breathe in and out,
Just give yourself permission to remain relaxed.
Any tension starts to creep into your belly or your forehead or maybe your shoulders.
Just melt that away with every exhale,
Noting the sound and the sensation as you breathe in and breathe out,
Breathing in and breathing out.
At some point,
You may begin to notice some thoughts starting to peek around the corner and trying to enter the room of your mind,
Tempting you to move your focus away from the breath.
Simply notice that that's happened.
Oh,
I've had a thought.
Oh,
I've had a memory.
You don't have to tell yourself any kind of story about it.
Just gently release that thought.
If it's important,
It will be waiting for you later and lovingly return your attention to your breath.
Remember that every breath is entirely unique.
Every time you breathe,
Each of those four components of the cycle will be different.
The world around you is different and even you are different.
The blood in your veins is new.
Everything that you've been digesting in your stomach is further digested.
You've even made subtle shifts in your brain.
And so even though focusing on the breath may feel repetitive,
In fact,
Each breath is a miracle.
It has never happened before.
It will never happen again.
And your ability to breathe is what keeps you alive,
The greatest miracle of all.
And remember that if your mind starts to wander again and you become distracted,
There's no need to chastise yourself or worry that you're not doing it right.
Noticing that your mind has wandered and returning your focus to the breath is the practice.
Sometimes the thoughts that wander into our minds are cravings,
Temptations,
Temptations to drink or use,
To fall back into previous patterns.
And if that happens,
We still don't have to get upset with ourselves or chastise ourselves or even wish that those cravings weren't there.
Simply notice that they're there,
Let them go and return to breathing in and breathing out.
Having a craving doesn't mean anything about you or the kind of person that you are.
It's merely a function of your reward cycle and it is something that you have the power to overcome,
Particularly if you engage in insight meditation,
Just like this one.
I'm going to leave you in silence for the last few minutes,
Inviting you to observe your thoughts if they arise and observe your breath if they don't.
Now with the last few breaths of this practice,
You can return to movement in the body just as we did at the beginning.
Maybe flexing your fingers and toes,
Rolling your shoulders,
Letting your ears drop from side to side as you slowly start to bring energy back into the body.
I want to thank you for taking this time to meditate with me and to take care of yourself.
I hope to see you again for another meditation.
This practice has ended,
But your practice has only begun.
