As you find a way into your cushion,
Grab your butt cheeks and that little extra flush that supports you and move them back behind you.
Nestle your sitting bones here down onto your cushion.
And then as you do,
Just fix your clothes,
Organize yourself,
And one ankle in front of the other.
With your knees bent,
Place your hands onto your thighs,
Just above your knees,
In a space where your elbows can relax back by your ribcage.
Draw your gaze forward in front of you.
And as you do,
Begin to allow your face,
Forehead,
Cheekbones,
Jaw to relax.
Close your eyes.
As you drop your chin towards your chest,
Gaze down towards the tip of your nose.
Get any movement out.
Settle your sitting bones.
Lift your heart.
The reason that we sit up onto a cushion is it allows us to elevate the hips higher than the knees.
And with the support of your prop,
It allows your hip and knee joints to open with a little bit more ease.
The reason why we practice yoga asana is to become more comfortable in this posture.
If today you found it challenging to sit.
Before we meditate together,
And then a few days to come,
Just jump onto YouTube and practice with me or move through your own flow.
I have several hip opening practices to prepare you for meditation.
Or you can just take some of your favorite postures or other favorite teachers online or even go to a yoga class if you have the opportunity.
As you're ready,
One ankle in front of the other.
Hands onto your thighs,
Palms face down.
Elbows back by your ribcage.
Lengthen through the sides of your body.
Heart lifts towards the sky as you move your shoulder blades towards the spine.
Tuck your chin slightly.
Imagine that my hand is right behind your head.
Create length in your neck.
Let your tongue rest at the bottom of the mouth.
Face softens.
Feel your physical body.
As you feel the physical body,
You settle into stillness.
Notice what you hear.
Observe when your body wants to move or fidget.
Notice what you hear.
From the physical body,
You witness the sounds that surround you.
As you drop your awareness in,
Another layer deeper.
Watch your breathing.
Inhale and exhale through your nose.
It's inevitable that thoughts are going to rise.
As soon as you become aware of a thought,
Come back to your breath.
Use your breath as the point of focus that you return to the moment that you've noticed your mind has begun to think.
Keep your heart health high.
Spitting bones settle into the earth.
Top of your head extends towards the sky.
As you simply observe your breath,
Become aware each time your mind has begun to think.
Return back to your breath.
Exhale.
As soon as you become aware that your mind has drifted away into thought,
Return back to your breathing,
The awareness of your breath.
And throughout the practice,
Notice which thoughts keep you longer.
Sometimes you think one thought and back to the breath.
In other times,
The mind tells a story,
And five,
Ten thoughts later,
We're in somewhere,
Someplace completely different.
And the moment that you notice that,
Invite your awareness back to your breathing.
Inhale and exhale through your nose.
With your heart held high,
Your sitting bones rooted.
Sitting bones rooted,
Your heart held high.
Continue to keep your awareness with your breathing.
Exhale.
Inhale.
Exhale through your nose.
Keep your awareness with your breath.
As we sit,
Become aware of the thoughts that you find yourself wandering to.
Is it thoughts of planning your day,
Last night's festivities,
This year's dreams and goals?
Or perhaps the mind is just like yogis call,
Monkeying around from one idea to another.
Just become aware.
Observe if there's resistance or judgment as thoughts rise.
And the practice is to come back to your breath each time you've noticed your mind shift to something other than your breath.
The moment the awareness is with the thought,
Let the thought be,
Leave it where it is.
Turn back to your inhale and your exhale.
Exhale.
As you exhale,
Your heart stays lifted,
Chin slightly topped.
Sit in the center,
Shoulders over the hips.
As you lift the hips away,
Bring your awareness back to your inhale and your exhale.
Exhale.
Exhale.
Your mind's awareness with the breath.
Exhale.
Exhale.
As your mind wanders away,
Bring your awareness back to the breath.
Notice when the body moves or fidgets.
This is the beginning of your meditation practice.
You may find that you need to straighten your legs.
Become aware of the mind's distractions.
Use the discipline of the practice to come back to that point of focus,
Your breath.
Exhale.
Exhale.
Bring your hands to your heart,
Palms together,
Chin to your chest,
Bow.
Thank yourself,
Or giving yourself the space and time to slow down your thoughts and create space between.
Namaste.
