Hello and welcome to your 10 minute guided meditation.
This is a meditation for anyone who is in a caregiver role,
Anyone who is of service at the moment.
This is your time to return to yourself.
So when you're ready you can gently close down your eyes,
Making your way into a comfortable seat where your spine can sit tall and your shoulders and your outer shell can soften.
Take these first few moments to really feel your seat,
So feel the weight of your pelvis.
Feel the heaviness in the legs and the low body,
Allow that to stay grounded towards the earth.
And then from that stable foundation from the pelvis and the legs,
Press slightly down so that you feel your low back elongate and you allow that length to travel up and out through the crown of the head.
Noticing your heart at the front of your chest,
See if you can find some small sense of elevation.
But at the same time can you lengthen out the back of your neck so there is a very small draw down of your chin towards your chest.
Shoulders are soft,
Belly is soft.
Maybe for the first time in a little while just notice your breath.
And without the need to change too much just yet,
Just feeling how your breath is moving for you today.
Feeling the vitality,
The life force that flows on the breath and feeling it travel in through the nose,
Down past the throat,
The heart and into the belly.
And as you're exhaling,
Exhaling from the belly,
Past the heart,
The throat and then out the nose.
Just follow that really clear,
Really directional breath.
Each time you breathe in,
The belly swells and each time you breathe out,
There is a very gentle pull back of the navel towards the spine so that the breath presses up and back out the nose.
And do that three or four more times just feeling the breath move in and then move gently back out.
And you might feel that each successive breath is a little longer and a little smoother.
And we'll come together so wherever you are in your breath cycle,
Empty it out completely.
Take a deep cleansing breath in,
A long cleansing breath out and together we inhale for the count of four,
Three,
Two,
One,
Exhaling for four,
Three,
Two,
One,
Inhale for four,
Three,
Two,
One,
Exhaling for four,
Three,
Two,
One,
In for four,
Out for four,
Good,
In for four,
Out for four.
Slow breath in,
In,
In,
In,
Breath out,
Out,
Out,
Out,
Breath in,
In,
In,
Out,
Out,
Breath in,
In,
In,
In,
Breath out,
Out,
Out,
Continuing like that on your own.
You can adjust the length of the count to better suit your lungs but see if for now you can keep it even on both sides.
Make sure your spine is still tall,
Your face and your shoulders are still relaxed.
You can put your attention in your belly and use the pull back of the belly towards the spine to let the breath pour out the nose,
Less effort.
If you like for the next few minutes you can stay with that technique otherwise letting go of that technique and we will move to an inhale for four and an exhale for six with an option to lengthen to eight.
So again if you're coming with me wherever you are in your breath cycle empty it out completely.
This time breathe in for four,
Three,
Two,
One,
Exhale for six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One,
Inhale for four,
Three,
Two,
One,
Out for six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One,
In for four,
Pause out for six.
Good,
In for four,
Out for six,
In for four,
Out for six,
Out for six,
Out for six,
In for four,
Out for six,
Continue like that on your own using the drawing back of the navel towards the spine to press the breath back out through the nose and you have the option you can stay with the routine in for four and out for six or if you're feeling like you can stretch the exhale a little more then it's in for four and out for eight and each time you breathe in feel it travel right down into the belly so the belly swells and each time you breathe out really use the muscles of the belly to pull the belly back towards the spine and the breath will travel up and out the nose.
Just following that rhythm with your own breath another minute or so here.
And what that lengthened exhale is doing it is releasing the cumulative effect of stress on your tissues it is stimulating your parasympathetic nervous system the place where you do the deepest healing this is your rest and digest state and thereby stimulating your creativity your sense of self bringing you back to a place where you are in service of yourself.
Very gently when you're ready you can release the technique after your next exhale.
Take a few moments just to breathe naturally feeling the after effects of the pranayama on your body noticing if there is a little more stability noticing if there is a quiet that comes over the mind.
Just continue to breathe naturally experiencing your breath once again as life force as vitality nourishing you from the inside out.
When you feel ready you can gently bring your hands to me palm to palm in your heart center in gratitude for all that you are doing in gratitude for the support and the love of the community that we exist within gratitude for the teacher in all things and the greatest teacher which is the self together we bow from my heart to yours thank you.
