My name is Jess Roddick and welcome to this practice of New Beginnings.
A practice aimed at creating space and expansion to allow for new beginnings to arise.
New beginnings often come once we've given ourselves the time and space to open up.
So go ahead and get yourself comfortable.
Take any last movements you might need and then settle in.
Sometimes we come to our practices ready and sometimes not.
Our minds are busy,
We have thoughts,
Feelings.
Know that that is okay.
I invite you to land as you are today,
With no judgment.
Letting go of any expectations you might have brought in with you and see if you can be here just for the experience without putting too much pressure on it.
Start where you are.
Use what you have.
Do what you can.
Begin by bringing your attention to your breath without trying to change it or judge it.
Just notice it in its natural rhythm.
Notice how the breath flows in and out.
Notice the quality of your breath,
The pace,
The size and how it feels in your body today.
Gently starting to create a little bit of space in our body.
Gently inhale.
Notice the little pause and then gently exhale.
See if you can start to even out the breath so the inhale and the exhales are the same length.
This might be something that feels natural or you might like to count to the breath.
I find a breath of three or four often feels really nice.
Take a few breaths just like that,
Feeling the natural rhythm,
The natural pauses that are in your body.
Starting to gently expand the breath and allow the exhale to empty you out.
Taking a few more breaths just like that.
The inhale to open and expand.
The exhale to empty before we begin.
And when you're ready,
Gently letting go of that breath pattern and letting the breath settle back into its natural rhythm.
Noticing again how the body feels.
New beginnings.
New beginnings can be exciting,
Inspiring.
Can you remember a time when you felt ready for something new?
It felt like it was time to move on,
To try something different.
But perhaps the opportunities haven't come.
Perhaps you've been so focused on what you want to do or where you want to go that you've missed the path.
We spend a lot of time focusing on the thing,
The future.
But the mind gets busy and full of thoughts.
And there's no space.
If you've ever felt this or if you feel like this now,
Perhaps it's because you need to clean out the garage first.
The mental garage that might be full of old ideas,
Broken things,
Life's pressures,
Past conversations,
Future worries.
Unnecessary expectations or even fear.
These things can weigh us down.
They take up so much space that nothing new can fit in.
So we need to declutter our mind.
Start to let go of the things that we're holding on to.
So take this moment,
This time and space that you've given yourself,
This stillness to gently start to clear out,
Let go and create space.
And there's a quote which I love that says,
Even in stillness,
There is movement.
Sometimes it takes time for the molecules of change to shift form.
Even when it feels like nothing is happening,
Transformation is taking place.
So take this time and space to breathe in what you need.
To let go of what you don't.
Clear out the old to make space for the new.
And rest in this space.
Take the time here to be open and allow for creativity,
Ideas,
New opportunities to present themselves.
Notice how it feels to take up space,
To be open to these new adventures,
These new opportunities,
These new beginnings,
Whatever they look like for you.
Start inside,
Within you.
Clear out and then open up.
Know that you can come back to that practice time and time again.
New beginnings come when we create space to open up and expand.
Take a moment now to embrace who you are in this space.
To clear out and then be open and accepting to whatever may show up.
Remembering that nothing has to be forced or hurried.
That this is a practice that is always here for you,
That you can revisit as many times as you need.
And as we draw this meditation to a close,
May you go into the world with a clear mind and open heart to be able to see what new beginnings are waiting for you.
