Hi,
This is Heather.
This guided meditation will focus on noticing the pauses.
Taking time to pause creates relaxation and offers your nervous system an opportunity to regain balance.
There is so much noise around us on a daily basis.
I don't know about you,
But I often find I am starving for silence and stillness.
Any time I can grab a few minutes to settle myself down,
I truly appreciate it.
The noise,
The chaos,
It won't stop merely because you want it to.
You need to carve out time to take this much needed pause.
Before we begin our meditation,
I will guide you to move your body with the pace of your own breath.
Conscious movement and light stretching with your breath invites you to begin to pause and start to focus.
Don't worry if you don't have a designated room for your practice.
As long as there is ample room for you to lay on your back and stretch out your arms and legs,
You will be fine.
Let's start on our backs.
Knees bent,
Feet flat on the floor,
About pelvis distance apart.
Lift your head an inch,
Tuck the chin,
And lay your head back down,
Feeling the elongation of your cervical spine,
Your neck.
Arms are down by your sides,
About 45 degrees away from your body,
Palms facing upwards.
Please close your eyes.
Lips slightly parted.
Begin to pay attention to your natural breath,
Noticing the pauses at the top of each inhale and the pause at the bottom of each exhale.
Take a nice big inhale through your nose,
And on the exhale,
Turn your palms over onto the ground.
Inhale again,
Lifting your arms up and back behind you,
Trying to keep the arms parallel to each other.
Exhale,
Lift your arms up and then down by your sides.
Again,
With your in-breath,
Lift your arms up and back to the floor behind you.
Notice the pause,
And exhaling completely as your arms move down by your sides.
Continue this slow,
Conscious movement with each inhale and exhale,
Recognizing the pauses.
Inhale,
Arms up and back,
Pause.
Exhale,
Arms up and down,
Pause.
On your own.
Take one more round of your inhale,
Leaving your arms back behind you as you exhale fully.
If you are finding it challenging for your shoulders to have them back behind you,
Instead allow your arms to come out to the sides like wings.
Inhale and exhale,
Feeling your belly and chest rise and fall with each breath,
Again noticing the natural pauses.
Inhale,
Keeping your back down on the floor.
Exhale,
Gently lift your hips,
Lower back and middle back.
As you inhale,
Lower the middle back,
The lower back and hips.
Exhale,
We rise up with control.
As you inhale,
Feel each vertebra make contact with the floor beneath you.
Do this on your own.
Inhale as you lower down,
Exhale as you lift.
At this point,
Make sure your back is down on the ground.
Hug your right knee in.
Feel free to keep the left foot on the floor or extend the left leg long.
With each slow conscious breath,
Pay attention to the sensations in your body.
Pay attention to how the pauses feel in your mind and your body.
Take a few rounds of your breath here.
Bend the right leg up towards the ceiling.
If you can,
Clasp your hands behind this leg.
Rebend the left knee with a foot flat if that feels better for your back.
Making sure your lips are parted,
Take three to five breaths here.
Let's do the other leg.
Hug the left knee in.
The right leg can be long or the knee can be bent,
Foot flat on the floor.
Be sure to soften your jaw.
Take a few rounds of your conscious breath,
Appreciating how the pauses make you feel.
Lift the left leg towards the ceiling,
Clasping hands behind this leg.
It's not about having a perfectly straight leg.
In fact,
Create a small bend in the knee if your leg is straight.
It's about becoming aware of sensations,
Breathing with ease,
And being still enough to notice the pause.
Go ahead and lower both legs down on the floor,
Stretching them out long as your arms are reaching and stretching back behind you.
Catch in a way that feels really good.
Now let's begin the meditation.
Stay laying down if you want or make your way to a seated position.
It's your choice.
Sit on the floor or sit on a chair.
If you are sitting on a chair,
Feet flat on the ground.
Either way,
Make sure your spine is nice and long.
Find a comfortable,
Relaxed posture.
Eyes are closed.
Acknowledge that you are sitting or laying down.
Feel into the felt experience of you sitting.
Become aware of your body breathing.
Don't change the breath.
Just recognize that you are sitting and breathing.
Each time you inhale,
Know that you are inhaling.
Each time you exhale,
Know that you are exhaling.
Acknowledge the beautiful pause at the top of each inhale.
Repeat the pause at the bottom of each exhale.
Simply,
Remind yourself that you are sitting.
You are inhaling and you are exhaling.
Maybe other sensations come into your awareness.
What calls your attention?
A tingling sensation,
Coolness,
Warmth,
Throbbing.
Notice them and notice how they change over time.
A tingling sensation,
Coolness,
Warmth,
Throbbing.
A tingling sensation,
Coolness,
Warmth,
Throbbing.
A tingling sensation,
Coolness,
Warmth,
Throbbing.
A tingling sensation,
Coolness,
Warmth,
Throbbing.
Again,
Bring yourself back to the idea that you are simply sitting,
Breathing in and out,
And that there is a natural pause there.
You don't have to create one.
It's just there.
Thoughts will enter your mind.
Notice the difference if you are lost in a string of thoughts or if you are aware that you are simply thinking.
Become aware of the pauses between the thoughts.
Come back again and again and again to the idea,
I am sitting.
I am inhaling.
I am exhaling.
I will give you about three more minutes and then I will come back in with a gentle sounding bell.
Nice and gentle.
Keeping your eyes closed,
Begin to deepen the breath.
And this time,
Exhale through the lips.
Thank you for allowing me to guide you to feel these moments of stillness,
The in-between moments,
The pauses between the breath and the breath.
