Welcome back.
My name is Laura,
And this is Cultivate Your Wellness.
Stress is going to arrive from time to time,
For some of us more than others.
It will challenge us.
It will pull us from that place of peace we long to reside,
Causing us to judge ourselves
and doubt our goodness.
It just happens.
It's part of being human,
And it's okay.
Today we're going to practice calling ourselves back from this place of stress.
We'll lean in,
Despite the overwhelm,
Despite the tension and discomfort,
And discover the
path back to a place of calm and confidence,
Where we can again regain the strength and
wisdom to begin again.
Let's begin.
Taking a few moments to get settled,
Finding yourself a comfortable position,
Sitting up
or lying down,
Closing the eyes or softening your gaze,
Whatever feels good,
Inviting some
length to the spine,
Some expansion to the chest,
Allowing your limbs to grow heavy,
Connecting with the surface beneath them.
And when you're ready,
Turning your attention to the breath,
Using your senses to notice
the sensations and sounds as you draw your breath in and out.
Adding length to the inhale and the exhale,
In and out,
Feeling your chest expand and
your muscles soften as you continue to follow the breath,
In and out,
In and out,
In and
out,
Beginning to notice where the body may be holding,
What muscles are tightened,
What
systems are active,
Resisting the urge to jump back into doing,
Giving yourself permission
to soften,
Offering this time and space for stillness.
And noticing the mind,
Where it wants to wander,
What stories it continues to tell,
Acknowledging
that this is what the mind does,
Giving yourself some permission not to follow the thoughts,
Practicing turning your attention deeper into the space you're creating and connecting your
attention to the breath,
In and out,
Creating space with the inhale,
Softening with the
exhale,
In and out,
Staying with the present,
Connecting with your true and whole self,
Regardless of what may be happening around you or within you,
Trying to dive a little
deeper,
Exploring the sensations,
And noticing what comes up as you spend more time in this
stillness.
Taking this opportunity to listen,
Perhaps asking yourself the questions,
What am I feeling
right now?
What do I need right now?
And receiving the answer to these questions with
the same presence you would offer to anyone else,
And accepting whatever it is,
And staying
with the present,
Staying with the breath,
In and out,
In and out,
Creating space.
Letting go.
I'll give you a minute or two right now to explore this meditation on your own.
Trust that you have the wisdom to be your own guide,
And I'll call you back when it's time.
Once again,
Hearing the sound of my voice,
Preparing yourself to re-emerge from the stillness,
Carrying with you some of the space you've cultivated.
And before we bring this meditation to a close,
Setting the intention to give yourself whatever you need,
Whatever the answer to those questions
was,
To put your needs at the same level of importance as everything else.
And taking one more deep and cleansing breath,
In,
And out.
And when you're ready,
Opening your eyes.
Opening your eyes.
Thank you,
As always,
For this opportunity to guide you.
It's not always comfortable to sit with ourselves and listen and let go,
But I'm so proud of you for accepting to go on this journey with me.
For those that would like to meditate live in community,
Follow the link below to join our weekly meditation group on Zoom.
All are welcome.
Come as you are and see what you cultivate.
I hope you have a beautiful rest of your day.
Bye for now.
