Welcome to this mindfulness meditation with me Karen Seban.
Let's begin by taking a moment to allow your body to settle.
Find a comfortable position that allows your spine to be long but with a natural curve in your lower back.
You can close your eyes or you can keep them open with a soft gaze downwards a few feet in front of you and let your belly and shoulders just relax.
Today I will guide you through a stress relieving practice and in this meditation we will practice cultivating a sense of ease,
Openness and space even around difficult emotions.
This practice can be an antidote for those times when we feel stressed and overwhelmed and before we start take a full breath in and a long breath out.
To begin this practice invite your body to feel nourished and fed.
As you breathe in you can imagine breathing in all the energy and positive emotion that your body needs and as you breathe out letting go of any tightness,
Tension or toxicity.
So just breathe in warmth and openness and breathe out tension or tightness.
Check in with the body and see if any tension has come up in the usual places and then soften them on the next exhale.
Feel free to move or shift your posture if that feels helpful and focus on your breathing.
Check in with the mind now,
Are there any stories taking up space that don't have to be there at this moment in time?
Just invite them to come and go,
Neither clinging to them nor pushing them away.
Breathe in and breathe out.
Now check in with the heart,
Are there any sensations in the chest or the front of the body?
Notice any warmth,
Tightness,
Tension or openness that's there.
Just observing and noticing without judgement and breathe in and breathe out and see if you feel more openness,
Ease or spaciousness than when we started.
As we begin to close this practice you might invite a smile,
You may want to bring your hand to your heart saying silently,
May I be well,
May I be happy and come back to this practice whenever you feel stressed,
Overwhelmed or even if you just want to give yourself more nourishment or space.
Let's finish this stress relieving practice now by taking a full breath in and a long breath out.
