Welcome to this guided standing meditation.
Finding a place to stand with some space around you to move your arms and both feet planted on the ground hip-width apart.
You can do this standing meditation on a yoga mat,
In your garden or even standing at your desk and taking this time to ground down and begin this practice.
Remembering that any movement as part of this guided practice is optional and to always be mindful of what the body is saying and how the body wants to move.
Taking the time to notice and to listen and moving in a way that feels best today and in this moment for your own body.
Bringing your attention to your feet and the contact of your feet with the floor and gently beginning to rock very slowly forward towards the ball of your feet and back again towards your heels.
To begin with,
Noticing if we have a tendency to rush or forward plan and to begin with we're not lifting any part of the foot off the floor simply rocking back and forth and feeling into the different parts of the feet.
Feeling the weight of the body move slightly forward and move slightly back.
Choosing to have the eyes open or with a soft gaze or fully closed and choosing to adjust our gaze throughout this practice.
So maybe rolling a little more so that when we're on our heels peeling the toes up off the floor and maybe when rolling forward again peeling the heels up off the floor.
Maybe noticing how this affects our balance and adjusting if we if we're called to do so.
So I'm noticing my balance is a little off this morning so I'm choosing to move forward and back on one foot at a time.
I'm feeling into the tips of the toes,
The ball of the foot and the heel of the foot one each time.
And moving now all the way up the body up past the knees,
The hips,
The chest,
The neck and up into the head.
Turning the head slowly to the left.
Being mindful not to force the neck over to one side and in the same way bringing it back around and turning to the right.
Gently reminding ourselves that this is a mindful practice.
Not an exercise class and we're simply listening to the body and bringing movement to the body.
Bringing the head back to center and tilting the head back if that feels okay right now.
Even slightly and then dropping it back down bringing your chin towards your chest.
Being mindful of any striving and maybe being mindful of any tension that we're holding in the neck which can be so common as we go about our day,
Maybe based on how we slept the night before or how we sit looking at a screen.
Moving down along the neck towards the shoulders and taking one shoulder at a time.
So maybe starting with the left shoulder and making small circles forward and back down along the back.
Gentle slow movements where we,
If we like,
Choosing to widen the circle very slightly and feeling into that movement.
Maybe some tension in the shoulders feeling into that and easing off if the tension feels too much or if it feels like this is opening and helping,
Seeing what it's like to widen that circle slightly.
And if we notice any striving or pushing,
Bringing ourselves back to the intention which is to mindfully move through the body in this standing practice.
When you're ready,
Switching to the right shoulder.
And taking small circles forward and back.
Bending at the elbow if this feels good for you right now.
Gently rolling the shoulders back and down.
And again,
Not striving,
Not pushing.
And if we,
If we notice that that is where our mind is at,
Bringing ourselves back to the movement in the body.
Gently moving on to the full length of the arm.
And drifting the arm up and overhead.
Or if bringing it all the way up overhead doesn't work for you right now today,
That's okay.
Bringing it as far as feels best.
And dropping it back down.
And repeating that on the right hand side.
Bringing the right arm up and overhead as far as feels manageable.
Not as far as you think you can or as far as you feel you should.
Just as far as is manageable today.
In this practice.
And when you're ready,
Dropping the arm back down again.
And moving now from the shoulders down towards the hips.
Somewhere I notice I have a lot of tension and it's important to be mindful of that and not expect too much maybe.
And if you like,
Putting your hands on your hips.
And gently making small circles with the hips.
Clockwise.
And doing the same anticlockwise.
We change direction if that feels okay.
Maybe noticing if one direction feels looser or more tense than the other.
And making adjustments for that.
It can be helpful to bend the knees slightly as we move around with our hips.
And simply feeling into that circular movement with our hips from one direction to another.
And coming back when you're ready.
Standing upright again.
And feeling again into the head,
The neck,
The shoulders,
Chest,
The hips,
The knees,
The hips,
The ankles and the feet.
And feeling the full weight of the body.
The full pull of gravity dropping in and grounding us into the ground.
As we take one more breath.
And when you're ready,
Batting the eyes open and greeting the space around you once more.
