Hi,
My name is Allie.
The purpose of why we're here today is to create some space to get present.
Oftentimes we think about meditation and sometimes it's overwhelming to even think about it in its full sense.
There's so many lineages and practices and people leading that for someone beginning it starts to kind of feel a little daunting to even consider where do I even start?
What do I do?
How should I sit?
And so the purpose of why I show up in the way that I do in terms of just sharing my practice is to create an approach that invites you in just as you are,
Regardless of your background,
Your experience,
So that you know that you can do this and that this practice is also for you.
And so in today's sit,
The invitation is to really just get present.
Get present to where you are,
What you're feeling,
What it feels like to even be in a certain posture and remembering that there is no right and there is no wrong.
So when you're ready,
Let's go ahead and find a comfortable seated posture.
I say seated,
But it can be lying down.
It can be in any configuration you feel most suits you.
I like to say what feels like home for you.
So it's that place that feels of such of comfort that it feels right.
And so once you feel you're comfortable and you've wiggled around a little bit in your seat,
Let's take a moment to just take a deep breath in and breathe out.
You may notice when you begin to breathe,
Maybe you find yourself kind of gasping for air or you can't quite get really deep.
And that's normal,
Particularly when you're just dropping in.
It takes a moment for your body to really warm up to the space and for you to really feel grounded in it.
Particularly if you're someone who's used to fidgeting or moving a lot.
The stillness can be a little intensive or so,
Be gentle with yourself.
So after you've taken a couple of deep breaths of just breathing in and breathing out,
Just take a moment to just start to check in with your surrounding.
Maybe where you're sitting,
There's sounds in the distance or sounds in the nearby.
Maybe you can hear people laughing or voices,
Cars driving.
And if you're just really in complete silence,
Maybe you can hear your own breathing.
Whatever you're noticing in the moment,
Let yourself really just notice it and be with it.
Almost like you're inviting those noises in a little bit closer to you.
Sometimes in the invitations of bringing them in,
We may start to notice how the mind immediately wants to push them away or push them out.
And so without that push out sort of thing,
Notice how close you can bring them to yourself.
Also beginning to notice if the sounds that you hear,
You've created judgments about them.
You've created stories that take you out of this present moment.
Being easy with yourself because the awareness is the most important thing.
So from the sounds,
Let's start to check in with maybe the temperature of the space that you're in.
What does it feel like?
Is it warm?
Is it cool?
Maybe the tip of your nose feels cold,
Your toes,
Your fingers.
And from the awareness of the space,
Let's check in with the body.
Are there sensations in the body?
Maybe you'd like to start down with your legs or your toes.
Maybe releasing your shoulders,
Your arms,
Your hands.
Maybe you feel tightness in the belly where you've been holding and gripping.
See if you can let it spill over.
If you can let everything go for a bit,
Really sinking into the earth.
And with a conscious mind on the body and the sensations,
Maybe on your next breath,
See if you can try to release just a bit more.
Notice if the mind immediately wants to start creating stories about the body or judgments about the body.
Maybe with a little bit of love,
See if you can breathe and release those.
And so from the sensations in the body,
Let's invite ourselves to the mind.
Noticing the thoughts that are arising.
The thoughts about either the future or the past,
What we're hoping to come next,
What we're trying to push away and let go of.
Regardless of which direction we're trying to look in,
Notice if the mind is moving away from right now and what's happening in this moment as you're getting really present.
You're feeling your body.
You're noticing your breath and you're just being.
So without judgments or criticisms of where the mind is going,
With gentleness and compassion,
Bringing yourself to now.
And so from the mind,
Let's bring ourselves directly to the breath again.
Without forcing a deeper breath,
Just notice the one that just exists,
The one that's right there,
What it feels like to breathe.
As we're noticing what it feels like to breathe,
We're also noticing without even noticing is what it feels like to be alive,
What it feels like to be whole,
What it feels like to be enough,
What it feels like to be complete.
So bringing yourself again back to the breath,
Let's start by taking a really deep inhale,
Breathing in everything you have and then slowly begin to exhale,
Releasing anything that you no longer need.
Again,
Inhaling in fully and exhaling out.
And so one more time,
Fully inhale all the way in,
Hold.
And when you're ready from the mouth,
Go ahead and audibly release,
Letting go.
When you're ready to come out of this,
You can start to wiggle your fingers,
Wiggle your toes.
Offering yourself some gratitude for stopping and to getting a little bit closer to right now.
