This loving awareness meditation is designed to help you feel a sense of peace,
Ease and equanimity ripple out through into the rest of your day.
We'll start with a short breathing exercise before dropping into a deeper meditative state and working with the mantra I am loving awareness.
So when you're ready,
Find your seat.
Allow the spine to be both alert yet relaxed,
Almost as if the crown of the head is holding up the entire vastness of the sky.
Body remains soft,
Pelvic floor just dropping away.
The shoulders are relaxed both on the surface and deep down into the shoulders themselves.
Letting go of any tension,
The muscles surrounding the eyes,
The ears and the jaw.
And keeping the mouth closed,
Begin to encourage a slightly deeper breath in and out through the nose.
Feeling the belly and the lower ribs expand as you breathe in.
Rib cage and the belly soften as you breathe out.
When you begin to have a handle on the breath,
Add in a breath count of four for the inhale and eight for the exhale.
Slow,
Smooth,
Steady breaths,
Almost like a tap turned halfway on.
A constant flow of breath moves through you.
Inhale expands while exhale softens,
Helping you empty and let go.
And as you breathe this way,
Four on the inhale,
Eight on the exhale.
Try to keep a smooth and even steady tempo with your counting.
Noticing how the inhale feels replenishing whilst the exhale feels grounding.
If you're feeling comfortable with this breath count,
Begin to add a slight pause,
Exhale retention at the bottom of your next out breath.
No need to count here,
Just resting in this space for a time that feels comfortable for you before breathing in again.
So it's four on the inhale,
Eight on the exhale with a slight pause at the bottom of the breath.
And as you pause in this space,
Know that you are safe here.
Nothing else is required of you in this space of sweet surrender.
As you continue to breathe this way,
Notice how it begins to feel easier to rest in this space a while longer.
Boundless,
Expansive,
Open space at the bottom of the exhale before the exhale becomes the inhale once again.
Good job.
Take one more round of breath like this.
And then when you finish the round you're on,
Wind the breath right in so that you're breathing in for a count of two and out for a count of four.
Again that slight pause,
A moment of surrender at the bottom of the exhale.
The breath should feel effortless now.
Easy.
And on your next exhale,
Let go of the counting altogether.
Allow your breathing to return to its natural rhythm.
No need to change or control a thing,
Just allowing the breath to be exactly as it is.
As it is.
And as you rest here in this space of sweet stillness,
Expansion and ease,
Begin to expand your awareness all the way out in front.
Just open,
Boundless awareness.
The same behind,
To the right side of you,
To the left side of you,
Above you and below you.
Vast,
Open awareness.
In this space of boundless expansion,
Gently drop the mantra,
I am loving awareness.
I am loving awareness.
It may help you to stay focused by pairing the mantra with the breath.
Each time the mind wanders,
Gently and lovingly escort it back.
I am loving awareness.
Loving awareness.
Loving awareness.
Keep going like this for the next minute or so.
And know that you can come back to this mantra at any point in your day.
I am loving awareness.
Take a moment to notice how that affirmation feels in your body.
Become aware of that feeling of effortless expansion and ease.
And then consciously begin to deepen the breath once again.
Slowly and in your own time,
Bring yourself back around to the space that you're in.
Perhaps just bringing some gentle movement to fingers and toes.
Maybe rubbing palms of hands together,
Cupping the hands over the eyes and with the eyes covered,
Linking them open to allow slowly the light to seep back in.
When you're ready,
Drop the hands to the heart space.
Namaste.
Thank you for meditating with me and I hope that sense of ease and loving awareness ripples out into the rest of your day.
