Hi,
My name is Ciel.
Welcome to this five-day meditation journey where we'll talk about mindfulness for stress reduction.
We'll touch on breath work,
Sleep,
And manifestation.
The other night I was lying in bed unable to sleep.
I just finished a conversation with some friends who were deeply concerned about the state of the world.
Their worries started to sink in and I found myself wondering,
Should I be paying more attention?
Is there something I should be more concerned about?
I stayed up for a long time caught up in those thoughts and eventually I realized that no amount of worrying would change anything.
What would make a difference was focusing on my own state of being.
How I could stay as healthy,
Mindful,
And whole as possible while navigating all the changes happening around me.
That's why I created this simple five-day meditation practice to help us all become more mindful and aware of the impact we have on others simply by how we show up in our own lives.
Each day will bring a new meditation and a new perspective.
I hope you enjoy and repeat this as often as you like.
We are creating ripples whether we know it or not.
Let's be a positive ripple,
A positive force.
We'll start today with day one of stress reduction meditation.
Today we embark on a journey to cultivate inner calm and resilience.
In this session we'll focus on the foundational practice of mindful breathing,
A simple yet powerful technique to anchor ourselves in the present moment.
My goal is for this to be easy to implement so the idea is that we will keep these meditations and chats to more or less 10 minutes each.
Today we're going to start with talking about the idea of mindfulness and what it is.
We all have things that bother us,
Thoughts that roll around in our heads and that play in the background of our minds like white noise.
Sometimes we're unaware of this white noise and when we become aware of it,
It may feel like it's always been there.
Mindfulness is a state of non-judgmental awareness characterized by intentionally paying attention to the present moment with openness and curiosity.
It involves observing thoughts,
Emotions and bodily sensations without getting entangled in them or reacting impulsively.
Mindfulness encourages acceptance of the present experience as it is while fostering a compassionate and non-reactive stance towards oneself and others.
It's highly relevant to stress reduction as it provides effective tools to manage and alleviate the impact of stress on our well-being.
By cultivating present moment awareness,
Mindfulness enables individuals to step out of autopilot mode and develop a greater understanding of their thoughts,
Emotions and bodily sensations in relation to stress.
Here's how mindfulness can help reduce stress.
Mindfulness activates the parasympathetic nervous system,
The rest and digest,
And lowers the activation of the sympathetic nervous system,
Fight or flight.
This helps lower heart rate and blood pressure,
Decrease levels of cortisol,
The stress hormone,
And relaxes muscles and slows breathing.
So let's start with a short relaxation meditation.
And I want to either remind you or let you know if this is the first time that you're hearing it,
That when we say or I say clear your mind,
I don't mean for you to have an absolutely blank mind and not think of anything at all.
Because of course thoughts are going to come up especially when you're new to meditation.
So it's important to recognize that thoughts are going to float into your mind and that you acknowledge it or them and that you let it go and you don't ruminate on it.
And just say thank you very much for stopping by and you let it go.
It kind of reminds me of the analogy of your mind being like a puppy.
And if a puppy were being trained,
You would gently bring it back to wherever it's supposed to be and you would lovingly ask the puppy to do what it is that you're requesting.
And then the puppy might run away again and then you gently bring the puppy back and you'd be kind to it.
So just remember to be kind to yourself because your mind is like that puppy.
You're training the mind.
So by bringing gentle attention to our breath we can activate the body's relaxation response,
Reduce stress,
And enhance our overall well-being.
This practice is accessible to everyone regardless of experience and it serves as a cornerstone for deep mindfulness techniques that we'll explore in the coming days.
So here we're going to start with a five-minute meditation more or less and I'd like you just to find a quiet comfortable spot.
You can sit upright in a chair or you can lie on the floor and place your hands comfortably on your lap or your knees or by your sides and I'd like you to gently close your eyes and take a couple of slow deep breaths just to settle in.
And I'd like you to focus your attention on the natural rhythm of your breathing.
Notice the coolness of the air entering your nostrils and the warmth as you exhale.
Now on your next inhale I'd like you to start counting each breath.
So you inhale for one,
Exhale for one,
Inhale for two,
And exhale for two.
And just do this at your own pace.
And if your mind wanders gently return your attention to your breath and start the count again.
We're breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth but if you're not able to do that just breathe however feels most comfortable for you.
Now you can let go of the counting and just continue to breathe and just observe the breath flowing in and out.
Paying attention to sensations whether it's in your nostrils,
Your chest,
Or your belly.
Without trying to change anything just observe.
Just continue to breathe.
And as you're breathing I'd like you to start to pay attention to where in your body you might be holding tension.
Do you feel a tightness anywhere?
Are you feeling tension in your jaw?
Are you furrowing your brow like frowning?
Are your shoulders elevated?
Let them drop down.
Let your jaw relax.
Let your forehead unwrinkle.
Let it release.
And with each exhale invite any tension to soften and leave the body.
Let it go.
Bringing the attention elsewhere.
Are you holding tension in your fingers,
In your hands,
Maybe your toes?
Just let the weight of your body drop into the floor or into the chair.
Continue your nice deep breathing,
Releasing tension with each exhale.
And bring your body and your awareness back to the present moment.
Bring your awareness back to the breath.
Take a few more calm,
Deep,
Natural breaths.
So we're not forcing,
We're just breathing deeply as feels comfortable for you.
And then gently open your eyes if they were closed.
You can stretch it out,
Take your arms over your head if you like.
Take a moment to notice how you feel.
That is your first meditation.
Thank you so much and I will see you in day two.
Have a great day.
