Welcome everybody,
My name is Sarah and thank you so much for joining me for today's meditation.
This one in particular is aimed at those of us who tend to feel stressed or overwhelmed,
Maybe with your job or your work or perhaps something that's happening in your personal life.
Can you give yourselves just a couple of moments to find a quiet place,
Somewhere that you won't be disturbed.
Once you've found that place,
Begin to set yourselves up in a comfortable position that's easy to maintain.
It could be cross-legged,
Sitting with your back or your spine nice and straight.
If your energy levels are low today,
Maybe it's from your bed,
Lying down on your side or your back.
And if you're really lacking energy today,
Maybe you sit with your back against a wall or in a chair,
Just so that you have that extra support to find length in your spine and to sit up nice and tall.
And as always,
The first couple of moments of our practice is time to adjust,
To move around,
To get fully settled.
If there's anything that doesn't feel as comfortable as it could,
Make sure to take the time to change it.
And once you're in that comfortable position,
We can begin to soften or close down the eyes.
Right away,
Begin to notice those points of contact between your body and the support beneath you,
Whether that's the earth or the chair or the bed.
Allowing your body to drop a little heavier with each breath out.
There's no requirement from you to hold any kind of posture or shape.
You can really allow the body to fall heavy into that support,
Trusting that it has your entire weight.
Taking a moment to notice your body,
Noticing how it feels.
Perhaps some awareness of your energy levels,
Awareness of your mood,
Of how your physical body feels.
Is there anywhere that you're holding tension or tightness?
And with your next exhale,
Can you allow these areas to soften?
Taking note especially of the little muscles that surround the face,
To smooth across the forehead,
To relax the eyebrows.
Releasing any sense of gripping or tension from the jaw.
Allowing the shoulders to soften away from the ears,
The arms,
The hips,
The legs to feel heavy.
And then begin to notice your breath,
Just as it is.
We're not trying to change it in any kind of way,
Just bringing our full attention to our breath.
Notice how it feels to breathe.
Fully aware of your inhale and your exhale.
Noticing perhaps the rhythm of your breath,
The depth of your breath,
The sound of your breath.
And as you inhale,
A cool breath as it enters into the nose.
And as you exhale,
The breath slightly warmed by the body.
Bringing your awareness to any movement that comes with the breath.
And that can be a really subtle rise and fall of your belly,
Of your chest.
And if it helps,
Maybe placing a hand or two on the body.
And as you inhale,
The belly expands and lifts.
And as you exhale,
The belly button moves back towards the spine.
And just as best as you can,
Keeping your focus,
Your attention on your breath.
Knowing that it is totally normal for the mind to begin to drift or wander.
Just noticing when this does happen,
And really gently guiding your focus back to the breath.
For those of us with really busy minds,
It might help to say to yourselves as you're breathing,
I am inhaling and I am exhaling.
Nice long deep breath in,
Smooth steady breath out.
And repeating after me,
Silently or aloud to yourself.
I am calm.
I am safe.
I am at peace.
I am calm.
I am safe.
I am at peace.
I'm just allowing these words to wash over you now.
Acknowledging that this moment of stillness,
This connection to yourselves,
Was created ultimately by you.
If at any stage of your day,
You feel that sense of overwhelm or stress,
You can always come back to this place.
We'll take just a few more breaths here together.
Fully aware of our inhale,
And fully aware of our exhale.
And just whenever you feel ready,
Bringing a little bit of movement back into the body.
Maybe by wiggling fingers or toes,
Circling through wrists,
Ankles,
Gently moving the head side to side.
Any movement that would feel good in your body.
And in your own time,
Gently begin to blink the eyes open.
Thank you so much for joining me.
