Short And Sweet Kosha Mindfulness Journey

Hey there,

This is Jen with Laughing Lotus Wellness.

Welcome to our meditation practice.

Hello and welcome.

Today we're going to do a meditation that is all about mindfulness and just going from the outside layers of our experience inward and then back out again.

So to begin,

I'll have you place your hands out to your sides and begin to shake them.

A little like jazz hand style,

Just give them a shake.

And as you're sitting here,

I want you to really root through your seat,

Wherever you're sitting and then place those hands as you shake them vigorously all the way out to the sides,

As you raise them up above your head,

Continuing to shake the hands.

I always think of this as a great energetic release.

And then bringing those hands back to your sides,

Just kind of telling your body you're here,

Waking it up to start.

And now releasing those hands,

Placing the hands in the lap or on the legs,

Down to your sides,

Whatever is comfortable.

And you might begin to close your eyes here or soften your gaze,

Just looking two or three feet ahead of you if you'd like your eyes open and just beginning to take notice of your breath without any effort,

Just a neutral and natural breath here,

Paying attention as your inhale comes in through the nostrils,

Down,

Down into your lungs and exhaling that back out.

And again,

Taking another inhale in through the nostrils,

Into the lungs and back out again,

Noticing how your ribs and your back expand and contract with your breath.

And now we're going to shift our breath down into the belly.

So pulling that inhale all the way down into the belly,

Expanding the belly,

Expanding the ribs,

Expanding the chest and exhaling out.

Again,

Inhaling down into the belly,

Into the ribs,

Into the chest and exhaling that back out.

Then again,

Inhaling that breath down into the belly,

Expanding the belly,

Expanding the ribs,

Expanding the chest and exhaling and release.

Two more times at your own pace into that belly,

Into the ribs,

Into the chest and exhale that out.

Again,

Really paying attention to your connection to where you're seated,

Where your arms are.

And we're going to shift now for a moment into the mind.

And we're going to just kind of do a small puzzle together.

Counting out of order,

We will count as follows from the ends of the scale from one to ten inward and then backward to the middle.

Counting as follows.

Ten and one.

Nine and two.

Eight and three.

Seven and four.

Six and five.

And back again,

Pairing these up from the middle of the continuum all the way back out to the end.

Five and six.

Four and seven.

Three and eight.

Two and nine.

One and ten.

And now in that mind space,

We're just going to send some intention and energy for our practice today.

We're just going to set an intention and saying in our mind's eye this mantra.

I am grateful to be fully present in this moment.

Again,

I am grateful to be fully present in this moment.

I am grateful to be fully present in this moment.

I will take this present experience with me for the rest of my day.

And now imagine bringing your breath in through the mid belly between the navel and your lower ribs.

Just imagine and visualize pulling the breath in through that mid torso,

Or imagine you do.

Inhaling in through that mid belly.

And then exhale that breath up out and through the crown.

Inhaling through the crown down to the belly.

And then exhaling it outward.

Again,

Inhaling that breath through that mid torso,

Exhaling it up and out through the crown.

Inhaling from the crown down to the belly.

Exhaling out through that midsection space.

One more time,

Inhaling the breath in through that torso in through that mid belly space.

Exhaling up and out through the crown.

Inhaling through the crown down to that mid belly.

And exhaling out from that mid space.

Just returning to a normal and neutral breath,

Even inhales and even exhales.

I'm just going to list some items and I just want you to let your mind flit across them as though you're watching a movie on a video screen.

A shiny red apple.

A juicy orange.

A brilliant yellow daisy.

Freshly mown grass.

Turquoise ocean waves.

Tart blueberries.

Fresh lavender.

And now beginning to go deep within your awareness through the layers of skin,

Muscle and bone into the very marrow of your being,

Into the layers of energy,

Into the soul layer of light and wisdom.

Breathing the radiant light from outside of your body inward to the very core of the soul and then exhaling that breath back out through all the layers.

In your mind's eye again,

Breathing that radiant light from outside of your body inward to the very core of the soul and then exhaling that breath back out again in all directions.

Breathing the radiant light from outside the body inward to the very core of the soul and then exhaling that breath back out again in all directions.

Breathing that radiant light from outside of the body inward to the very core of the soul through all the layers and then exhaling that breath back out again in all directions through the layers.

And releasing that visualization now,

Returning to the neutral breath,

Calling up some of these images once again,

Just listening to the sound of my voice and calling up that image in your mind,

A bunch of sweet grapes,

Radiant blue sky,

A light blue doorway,

A beautiful succulent plant,

A ripe yellow banana,

Fiery orange setting sun,

Bowl of fresh strawberries.

Returning to the breath,

You might visualize a circle and imagine that you can see in your mind's eye a blue circle.

And imagine for a half of that circle if you were going to outline it with your finger just in your mind,

Half of that circle would be an inhale and half of the circle would be an exhale.

So in your mind's eye now,

Imagining that circle with your finger following that inhale and exhale around the circle,

Equal inhales,

Equal exhales.

And at your own time and in your own pace,

Doing five of those circular outlines with your breath.

Now,

Beginning to just come back to center,

Back to the awareness of the breath.

Back to the awareness of where your body is situated,

Whether it be seated or lying down.

Slowly and gently rubbing your hands on the floor,

Carpet,

Your legs or blanket.

Rubbing your hands up and down your arms,

Just bringing circulation back,

Feeling the nerve endings in the upper legs and your arms.

You might even rub your hands together,

Creating some nice warmth.

And then placing the palms over the eyes if you'd like or just bringing your arms back down to your sides.

Now sending that sense of hearing into the space you're in.

What sounds do you notice?

Just neutral breath here,

Feeling the floor seat beneath you.

Slowly and gently opening your eyes if they're closed or beginning to focus your gaze again as you come back into the present.

Thank you so much for joining me for this mindfulness exercise.

I hope that it leaves you feeling present and ready to go do the rest of your day.

I'll see you again next time.