Hello and welcome to this baby loss meditation.
My name is Lucy,
I'm a mindfulness for loss teacher and today's meditation is a meditation which is all around working with unhelpful thoughts.
So finding somewhere then to rest comfortably whether you are sitting down or choosing to lie down during this practice.
If you're feeling extremely tired today then I would suggest that you find somewhere to sit in an upright but relaxed position.
You can gently allow the eyes to close if that feels comfortable but if you're finding this difficult at the moment to close your eyes then just lowering your gaze will also be helpful.
So beginning then by taking three long slow deep breaths.
Breathing gently in through the nose and breathing gently out through the nose.
And then just allowing the breath to return to its natural rhythm and its natural pace as you rest here just for this short amount of time today.
Focusing on the present moment,
Listening to this recorded meditation,
Listening to my voice.
So I want to invite you then to notice the present moment.
Notice what it's like to be in this moment right now.
Tuning into the sounds that you can hear.
Tuning into the sights that you can see if your eyes are gently open.
Tuning into the sensation of touch as your body rests back on the surface beneath you and behind you.
And tuning into the breath.
If this feels comfortable for you just following the in breath and the out breath.
Using the breath as an anchor into the present moment.
If it's too difficult for you to focus on your breath right now you may choose to use a different anchor.
So it may be that you choose instead to focus on touch or sound.
Focusing on something in the present moment helps us to stay grounded and engaged with what's real.
Giving us space and time to rest.
So it's extremely common then during a meditation practice when we focus on something for our mind to become distracted,
Lost in thought.
And especially following loss our mind sometimes doesn't feel like a nice place to be.
It brings up lots of distressing thoughts and memories,
Thoughts around the future,
Fears around the future,
Regrets about the past and lots of other thoughts can come up which causes so much distress.
But what we can learn to do is we can learn to develop a skill using mindfulness to try and help us to acknowledge these difficult thoughts or emotions.
To allow them to be there and to create some space.
Mindfulness helps us to recognise the difference between helpful and unhelpful thoughts.
Helps us to catch those thoughts and check them.
Meaning checking whether those thoughts are true or false.
So what I want to do is invite you then to practice using mindfulness to help recognise these thoughts and to help create some space.
So what we're going to be doing is going underneath the thought.
Focusing on what happens in the body when this thought arises.
So inviting you then to focus on the breath or focus on your anchor whatever it is that you choose to today.
Focusing on everything about this anchor so if it's the breath,
Focusing on sensation of breathing,
The expansion of movement in your body.
If it's sound,
Focusing on the sounds that are closer or the sounds that are more distant.
It may even be touch so focusing on the sensation of touch,
Changes in temperature maybe.
And you may have or you may have not already noticed that thoughts are maybe there now,
Coming in thick and fast.
So when you notice these thoughts coming in I want to invite you to acknowledge the thought,
Acknowledge that it's there.
Don't push it down,
Don't push it away,
Just allow it to be there.
Check it,
Really investigate whether it's a true thought or a false thought.
So rather than jumping into the thought,
Getting carried away with this thought,
We're going underneath the thought.
What does it feel like in the body to have this thought?
Is there any tension,
Tightness?
And then breathing with those sensations,
Allowing them to be there.
When we bring our awareness to something it changes.
When we bring our awareness to the present moment,
However we may find it with kindness,
With acceptance of whatever's there and with compassion.
So let's play around with that then just for a couple of moments.
Focusing on your anchor and when a thought comes in,
Acknowledging it,
Allowing it to be there.
Focusing on the physical body and using the breath.
And you may have to do this time and time again,
That's okay.
Thoughts will come in,
We're not trying to empty our mind,
We're just allowing those thoughts to come in,
To pass through,
Seeing if we can let the thoughts go,
That we're able to.
And the thoughts that we're not able to let go,
Just allowing them to be there,
Giving them space.
But understanding that you do not have to be defined by those thoughts,
You don't have to jump into those thoughts and by practicing mindfulness in this way,
Noticing these thoughts,
Noticing what it feels like in the body,
Breathing with those sensations and returning back to your chosen anchor.
By doing that time and time again,
Engaging in this practice,
This repetitive practice will help to build your ability to become more aware and more able to do this when difficult thoughts and difficult emotions arise.
So I hope this meditation found you at a time that you needed it today.
Remember mindfulness is completely free,
It's something that we can apply to our everyday life and when we've lost a child,
It can be extremely helpful in regards to loss and all the difficult thoughts and emotions that arise with grief.
So sending all my love to whoever you are,
Wherever you are in the world,
And you take care.
