Hi my name is Marta and today we're going to meditate together.
I invite you to set your phone in silence mode.
Place it somewhere close to you but where it won't bother you.
Adjust the volume to a comfortable level and then avoid looking at it until this recording has finished.
Decide if you want to listen to this recording sitting on a chair with a long back and relaxed shoulders or you might want to lie down.
In this case make sure you lie down comfortably.
Maybe placing a pillow under your head and another one under your knees.
Covering yourself with a blanket and softly closing your eyes.
Now if you have done all of this well done.
You're on the path towards meditation.
I could give you so many complex theories about what meditation really is but the ultimate reality is that meditation is just this.
Making space in your life to be with yourself without any distractions.
Being with ourselves has become one of the hardest things in our times.
Our phones inhabit our hands and our gaze naturally falls to their screen whenever we have a pause.
We drive,
We run,
We climb,
We work,
We write,
We read,
We watch but when do we stop if not for sleeping?
Meditation is to stop.
To be here now.
To be present and aware of what is happening within you.
To connect with your body,
Your breath and your mind.
So let's give it a go shall we?
I invite you to connect with your breath as you feel the fresh air coming in through your nostrils and the warm air leaving your body through your nose or through your mouth.
Breathe in deeply to feel your lungs and breathe out slowly to relax your body.
Feel the points of contact where your body is touching the earth.
If you're lying down notice the legs,
The hips,
The arms,
The shoulders and the head relaxing into the ground.
If you're seated notice your feet in contact with the earth grounding you.
Notice your long back sustained by your hips and your spine allowing it to float effortlessly in space and notice your head too,
Lightweight almost as if floating in space too.
Come back to your breath and as you bring your attention to it I'm going to ask you to inflate your abdomen with every inhale and relax it completely with every exhale.
There is no rush.
This exercise is just for you.
You might want to place your hands over your abdomen for the first couple of breaths until you feel them moving away from your body with every inhale and moving closer with every exhale.
Keep breathing.
Now I want you to bring to your mind a person or a pet for whom you have deep feelings of love.
Imagine or sense this person or pet and notice the feelings you have for them arise in your body.
Feelings of love,
Comfort and acceptance start to surround you and maybe a smile spreads through your face.
Whatever it is that you're feeling allow it to be.
Eventually I invite you to let go of this image or sensation and keep the feelings of warmth and comfort or whichever other feelings have arisen.
Keep these feelings with you as you keep breathing.
Now think of someone from your life that used to be in your life but that is now in your life that you feel immense gratitude for.
This person changed your life.
They believed in you when no one else did or raised your self-esteem at a critical point in your life or taught you the meaning of love.
Select the first person that comes to your mind.
No need to go searching.
Visualize this person sitting at a short distance across from you.
Visualize the real person in flesh and blood,
Not a picture,
Not a drawing,
But the real person.
This person is looking at you with respect and affection.
Look into the eyes of this person and reconnect.
Continue breathing as you look into each other's eyes and sense your chest opening,
Radiating gratitude.
Surround this person with your gratitude as if it was your last opportunity to do so.
This person feels touched by your gratitude and as they continue to look into your eyes,
They reach forward to touch you.
Gently and respectfully they tap your shoulder to acknowledge your connection.
Keep breathing as you surround yourself with this feeling and notice how humbling gratitude is.
Gratitude is always followed by humility.
Keep breathing.
Keep this feeling within you as you connect again with your breath,
With the sensations in your body,
Feeling again the points of contact in which your body is touching the earth.
And remember that everything that you did today came from you,
From your center.
So whenever you feel out of sorts,
Angry,
Afraid or irritable,
Know that you can tap into your inner resource.
You can feel love,
Warmth,
Acceptance,
Gratitude and forgiveness because all these feelings live within you and are available to you whenever you need them.
You can recall these feelings or repeat the whole exercise whenever you need to.
When you're ready,
Take your time,
Open your eyes,
Place one hand on your abdomen and the other hand over your heart.
Congratulations!
You just did a wonderful meditation.
I hope you enjoyed it.
Thank you for joining me.
