That Was Then, And This Is Now

Hi friends and welcome back.

My name is Kristen and I am so excited to be here with you again.

Today we are going to practice meditation for about 15-20 minutes and I'm going to guide you every step of the way.

So maybe this is your first time meditating,

Maybe it's your 50th time meditating.

If at any point today you feel lost,

That is okay.

You can always come back to your breath or the sound of my voice at any time.

And I'd just like to mention as your thoughts creep in because they will,

Just first acknowledging that this is totally normal and when the thoughts creep in,

Try to just acknowledge and notice and release.

So notice and release and come back to the breath.

There are no rules here ever.

All we want to do is gather,

Sit or stand,

Close your eyes and breathe.

We will have three goals for today,

Nothing too crazy here at all.

Number one,

You can and will have thoughts just like we said.

So you can and will have thoughts.

Number two,

Just release any kind of expectations that you have for this practice already.

Sometimes when we do something once or a few times,

We expect or think that we need to feel a certain way and meditation is a practice for a reason.

It will just take some time.

And number three and probably the most important is be kind to yourself.

Be kind to yourself within this practice and outside of this practice.

So with that,

I'd love to share today's topic.

And I usually bring a topic,

We chat about it a little bit,

And then we close our eyes and dive in.

So today's topic is going to be a phrase that was brought to me by a very,

Very close family member recently.

And the phrase is,

That was then,

And this is now.

That was then,

And this is now.

And I don't know if that can resonate with you at all,

But it has really been resonating with me recently.

And we all know that meditation,

The beauty of meditation is to get us into the present moment.

And that's easier said than done.

I tend to perseverate or focus on the past and just ruminate on that.

And I've been stopping myself with this phrase and it's been so helpful and so beautiful.

And I just wanted to bring it to you today.

So today we're going to check in on the body.

We'll dive into our breath.

And then I'm going to bring you some reflection questions that you can think about today,

Or this week,

Or this month.

So with that,

Let's find a place that feels comfortable to you and your body today.

Every single body practicing today is different.

So maybe you're feeling like I'm going to lay down.

Maybe you want to go get a cozy blanket,

Light a candle,

Get your animal,

Whatever that is.

It's your practice.

You can make it whatever you want.

So when you feel comfortable,

Cozy,

You can always pause if you need to.

But when you're ready,

Go ahead and close down your eyes.

Your hands today can be on your lap or at your side.

Again,

This is your practice,

Your body,

Do what feels best.

So let's begin by just tuning into your body,

Noticing how your specific body feels today.

This might be the first time that you're checking in on yourself.

So go ahead and check in on you.

Notice any areas of tension and just try to soften if you can.

Today I'd like to tune in to just a couple areas of the body that you might feel some tension.

Beginning with the forehead.

Sometimes I like to scrunch it all up and then just let it go.

You could even do that a couple of times if you want to make sure that you're not holding any tension or stress there.

Next,

Just notice your tongue and notice if you're pressing your tongue on the roof of your mouth and try just to let that go just a touch.

Moving down to your jaw,

A big area of tension for some.

Try and open and close your mouth a couple of times,

Opening and closing your jaw and just see if you can close with a little bit of lightness.

Moving down to your shoulders,

If you can try to do a couple of shoulder rolls and see how that feels.

Gently move your shoulders in the other direction and just let your shoulders fall and soften however feels comfortable.

Notice your sit bones and that you are literally grounded.

You are grounded today.

You are grounded into your seat,

Your chair,

The earth,

Wherever you chose to take a seat today.

Just notice.

And now that we are a bit more grounded,

We can settle into our breath and just begin to notice that your body already is breathing for you,

Was breathing for you before you even woke up today.

Recognizing that your breath is specific to you.

Breathing in and out of your nose,

Try and slow your breath down just a touch.

And as you slow your breath down,

Notice when you breathe in,

Your belly just naturally expands.

And when you breathe out,

Your belly naturally contracts and it's a true moment of surrendering.

And I'm just going to offer a little bit of space,

A little bit of silence here.

You literally do not have to do anything except keep your eyes closed and breathe.

We'll breathe in and out of the nose for just a couple of breath cycles.

And remember,

When your mind begins to wander,

Because it will,

Just come back to your breath and start again.

We can always begin again.

Coming back to our thought for the day that we started with,

That was then,

And this is now.

On the inhale,

I just want you to say those words silently.

That was then,

And on the out breath,

This is now.

So on the inhale,

That was then,

And on the exhale,

This is now.

And again,

On the inhale,

That was then,

And on the exhale,

This is now.

So with that phrase in mind,

I'm just going to ask you a few reflection questions that you can answer silently or not at all.

If nothing comes up for you,

Just sit and breathe and enjoy that time with you.

What is one thing that you can let go of this month?

What is one thing that you can let go of this month?

What have you wanted to create more space for in your life?

What have you wanted to create more space for in your life?

And finally,

Can you make a promise to yourself that you will repeat the phrase that we use today when you are worrying about the past?

Can you make a promise to yourself to repeat that phrase,

That was then,

And this is now,

When you are worrying about the past?

Go ahead and let the questions go.

And I invite you to bring one hand to your heart and one hand to your belly,

And I am going to read you a beautiful,

One of my favorite quotes by F.

Scott Fitzgerald.

For what it's worth,

It's never too late,

Or in my case,

Too early to be whoever you want to be.

There's no time limit.

Stop whenever you want.

You can change or stay the same.

There are no rules to this thing.

We can make the best or the worst of it.

I hope you make the best of it,

And I hope you see the things that startle you.

I hope you feel things you've never felt before.

I hope you meet people with a different point of view.

I hope you live a life you're proud of.

If you find that you're not,

I hope you have the courage to start all over again.

And that last line,

One more time,

I hope you have the courage to start all over again.

Keeping your hands on your heart and belly if you chose to put them there,

Let's take a big inhale through the nose.

Let that belly expand,

Expand,

Expand,

And let it all out through your mouth.

Release your hands.

Go ahead and bring some gentle movement back to your body,

Maybe wiggling your fingers and toes,

And when you are ready,

And only when you are ready because it's your practice,

You can open your eyes.

Thank you so,

So much for practicing with me today,

For showing up.

I will see you next time,

Friends.

Take care.