Hello,
Thank you for choosing this meditation to fill your cup first.
My name is Kalyani,
And I'll be your guide through this meditation today.
You deserve to make self-care a priority.
Anytime we are feeling overwhelmed,
As if there aren't enough hours in the day for everything we need to do,
It's time to reset our priorities,
Refocus our awareness,
And recommit to self-care.
It is not selfish to take time to take care of you.
In fact,
It is selfish not to.
If you do not take time to get centered,
Anchored,
And grounded,
You cannot be the best version of you.
You will not have the energy and patience for your loved ones,
And life will pass you by while you are so busy being stressed out.
So we will use this time together to slow down,
To look within to what it is we need in order to truly begin to experience happiness.
Not the facade of happiness,
The fake face we show the world,
The pat response when someone asks how you are,
And we,
Without even pausing to think,
Reply,
I'm good,
Knowing that inside we feel like our world is crumbling.
But instead,
We will tap into the joy that is buried deep within.
If we allow it,
It radiates from our soul.
Yogis call this Ananda,
The bliss that transcends reason.
Bliss is not being happy because everything is perfect in our life.
But instead,
The choice we make in every moment of every day to focus on suffering or to choose happiness despite the challenges we face.
Happiness is not located somewhere out there.
It is a choice we make.
It is right here within us.
We just have to remember it.
Self-care will bring us closer to this remembering.
So find a comfortable position,
Whatever that means to you.
It could be lying on a mat,
Or your bed,
Or even sitting comfortably in a chair.
Invite your awareness to rest on your breath.
Slowly watch how the breath moves in and out of your body.
Not forcing a change in your breath,
Just notice.
You may discover that your breath just naturally begins to slow down,
All on its own.
Encourage your body to begin to soften and melt.
There is nowhere else you need to be,
And there is nothing else you need to do.
Only observe the steady rhythm of your relaxed,
Deep breaths.
Give yourself permission to put your rest and relaxation first.
This is your time.
Give yourself the gift of your total awareness.
And ask yourself,
What healing do I need in this moment?
Notice without judgment what comes up for you.
It could be emotional,
Physical,
Or energetic healing that you are working on.
Whatever it is that you need in order to release the pain and suffering,
And focus on happiness.
Engage without judgment whatever came to mind when I asked,
What healing do you need in this moment?
It's usually the very first thing that arises,
But we may begin to overthink and overanalyze it.
So stay with the first thing that came up for you.
Now take some time to formulate the words of your personal intention for practicing.
Our group intention is,
I am worthy of rest and relaxation.
But if those words don't work for you,
Please feel free to create your own intention.
Simply state your intention in a positive way,
As if it is already true.
For instance,
When I asked you what you are working on healing,
Maybe you are experiencing a conflict with a loved one,
And that's been weighing heavy on your mind.
You could set your intention,
I am able to resolve all conflict and find my way back to love.
Or if you are healing your physical body,
Maybe these words feel more appropriate to you.
My positive thoughts,
Words,
And actions create my healthy mind and body.
Be easy with this.
If no words come to you,
It's okay.
Just in the group intention of I am worthy of rest and relaxation.
Once you find the words for your intention,
Repeat it three times silently within,
So that you can remember them at the end of the practice.
Now let's cultivate a sense of curiosity.
Our everyday life causes the communication between mind and body to be blocked.
The mind is overtaken with thoughts,
Worries,
And emotions,
And we lose touch with how our body is really feeling.
So together we will use this time to go on an exploration,
To rediscover where we tend to store all of that stress and tension within our body.
Once we are aware of our tendency,
We can choose to change it,
Or continue on as usual.
So I will lead this journey throughout the physical body,
And when I say a part of the body,
Remain in stillness,
But move your attention to that body part,
And notice how it feels.
We are not judging or analyzing anything we discover,
But instead become the internal researcher,
Taking mental notes without judgment as we uncover sensations within.
We will move quickly from one place to the next.
It is not uncommon to go in and out of conscious hearing.
Each time you notice that you have drifted off into thinking,
Just lovingly return your awareness back to the rise and fall of your breath.
Don't worry,
You cannot do this wrong.
Now that the body is settled,
Begin to allow your awareness to come into your body.
Slowly feel the weight of your body completely supported,
And accept the support being offered.
Make any last adjustments to your body to find even greater comfort.
We will remain in stillness only as long as it is comfortable for you.
Feel free to move at any point in time.
First,
We will simply scan the entire body,
Beginning at the top of the head.
Notice if there are particular areas of tightness.
Notice if you are holding any tightness across your forehead.
Release the tiny muscles around your eyes,
And feel both eyes,
Inviting your outer vision to rest.
Sense your nose,
And become curious about any aromas present.
No judgment,
Simple awareness of scent in the nose.
In the muscles of the cheeks and jaw.
Breathing out any frustration that was hiding out in the hinge of the jaw.
Allowing your lips to part slightly,
As you let go of whatever tension you might be carrying in your mouth,
And the sides of your throat.
Allow your tongue to rest softly on the roof of your mouth,
Just behind the front teeth,
And invite the upper teeth to hover just above the lower teeth.
Observe your ears hearing,
Not labeling the sounds we hear as good or bad.
Slowly notice all of the different sounds around you.
Then allow those external sounds to melt into the background,
As we begin to hear the rise and fall of our breath,
As it just naturally begins to slow down.
Moving your attention down,
Shift your awareness into your neck and throat.
See through any angry words or gossip you may discover here.
Each time we bite our tongue,
And hold in what we want to say,
We create a blockage of energy here in our throat.
Make a commitment to speak your truth,
As long as it can pass through three gates.
Is it true?
Is it kind?
Is it necessary?
Feel your shoulders,
Allowing them to rest away from the ears,
Growing heavier and heavier with each exhalation.
Without any weight of responsibility,
You may be carrying in this part of your body,
Letting go of old burdens.
Take two or three more breaths,
Letting go a little more through the neck and shoulders with each breath.
This tends to be a tight area for most people,
So use the breath to let it go.
Bring awareness to your upper arms,
Allowing the arms to soften with each breath.
As you move your awareness down through the upper arms,
To your elbows,
Your forearms,
Both wrists and hands,
Relaxing out through your fingers,
And become aware of any sensations at the tips of your fingers.
It's not uncommon to feel tingling or warmth,
Or nothing at all.
Simply notice.
Feel the sensation of heaviness in both arms.
Notice any sensation in your hands,
The palms of your hands,
The tops of your hands,
And each finger.
Make note of the temperature of your hands.
Are they warm or cool?
Are there any other sensations you may be experiencing in your hands?
Letting go of tension in the front and back of the chest and ribs,
And all the way down through the belly.
Allow your belly to soften.
Observe the gentle rise and fall of your belly as you breathe.
A slow,
Rhythmic,
Easy breath.
Become aware of all parts of your body that are supported by the surface beneath you.
Notice sensation at each point where your body is supported.
Allow yourself to rest completely into that support.
Now bring your awareness to your lower body.
Let go of tension in the upper legs,
Knees,
Lower legs,
Ankles,
And both feet.
Observe any sensations in the soles of your feet.
Now use your breath to dive deeper into the tension you discovered stored in your body.
We may notice areas that feel dark or heavy,
And that is okay.
Continue using the breath to release any tension stored within the tissues of the body.
Those areas that feel dark and heavy just need our attention.
We need to shine the light of our awareness into the darkness.
Now scan through your body once more,
Taking note of any places that are still tense,
Simply witnessing,
Not analyzing sensation.
When you find those dark or heavy areas,
Breathe into them,
Softening the edges of tension,
Or completely letting go of the tension in that area.
I'll give you time to explore within,
And you will hear my voice again in two minutes.
Cultivating a sense of safety,
Of being completely at ease,
Completely open to relaxing a little bit more.
As we observe our body relaxing and softening,
Gently guide your awareness to the thoughts that arise.
Without judgment,
Simply notice where your mind travels when you begin to release control.
Some of us feel we need to be on guard at all times.
We need to be alert and aware.
Notice that you are fully alert and aware,
But also starting to relax and melt.
You can be both aware and relaxed at the same time.
You can be alert but breathing slowly and sinking deeply within,
Releasing the control of the breath,
Simply allowing the breath to fall in and the breath to fall out.
Now just for today,
Let's imagine that we can breathe through every pore in our body,
Breathing in and out through our skin.
Feel the sensation of lightness with each inhalation,
And experience heaviness with each exhalation.
Observing the difference between the in-breath and the out-breath.
Resting in the exploration of the contrast between lightness and heaviness.
As if we are safely floating on top of the water.
On the inhale,
We feel buoyant and light.
On the exhale,
We comfortably sink just a little,
Growing heavy.
Bobbing up and down with the breath.
No effort,
Just ease as we explore lightness and heaviness with curiosity.
Next,
Draw an imaginary line down the front of the body.
And notice,
Do you get more air on the right side of the body or the left?
There is no right answer,
Just become curious.
Do you breathe a little bit more on the left or the right?
Now imagine that you can only breathe into the right side of the body.
How does that feel?
Now shift the breath to only move in and out of the left side of the body.
How does that feel?
Next,
Imagine drawing another line across your torso.
So we have divided the torso into four distinct quadrants.
Attempt to discover if there is one area that is receiving less air.
Notice the left side of the belly,
The right side of the belly.
Observe the left chest and compare it to the right chest.
Is there one section that seems to get less of the breath?
This is simply a way to begin to manipulate your breath.
If the mind is not ready for this manipulation,
You will not be able to distinguish.
And that is okay.
Do not try too hard to figure this out.
Simply relax and notice any different sensations within the four quadrants.
Explore curiosity without judgment.
Place your attention in the one quadrant that has the least amount of air.
Imagine shining a flashlight on the quadrant that has the least amount of air.
Not attempting to change the air within this space.
Simply allowing all of your attention to reside in this section of the body.
Now stay relaxed and simply erase the lines we created on the body.
And invite your breath to simply fall in and fall out with as little effort possible.
Riding the wave of the breath in and out of your relaxed body.
Now as you inhale,
Envision that most of the inhalation is coming in through the left nostril.
And the majority of the exhalation is moving down the right nostril.
Mentally practicing alternate nostril breathing without manipulating the nostrils at all.
Using the power of our mind,
We will rotate the breath from one nostril to the other.
Inhaling through the left side and exhaling out the right.
Then switch,
Inhaling up the right side and exhaling down the left.
As we continue to rotate the breath in one side and out the other.
Begin to notice the temperature of the breath coming in.
And the temperature of the breath moving out.
Now without being in a hurry,
The next time you find yourself breathing out of the left nostril,
Release the effort of that breath.
Simply allow your relaxed breath to return once more.
We're in no hurry.
Now thinking back to the beginning of our practice,
Remember your intention.
If you used the group intention,
I am worthy of rest and relaxation.
Please repeat it three times once more to lock it into your memory.
If you chose to use your own words,
Please repeat them three times silently within.
Acknowledge that you're doing the best you can and trust that it is enough.
Send gratitude into your body for the ability to practice today.
Send gratitude into your mind for the ability to create space between your thoughts.
Congratulate yourself for making time on your busy schedule to put yourself first.
To put your well-being above the to-do list.
Acknowledge that by taking this time to nurture yourself,
You can show up in your life a better version of yourself.
You will have more energy,
More patience,
And more love to give.
My teacher said that if we truly want to become selfless,
We must first become selfish.
It is important that we take care of ourselves first.
Self-love and self-care are critical to our healing and our being able to help others.
You deserve to feel better.
To feel whole,
Recharged,
And supported.
Until next time,
Thank you for joining me.
Please come back often to fill up.
With love,
Kalyani
