This is a meditation for renewal,
Realignment and engendering of a refreshing new attitude with which we can embrace a brand new year,
A brand new month,
A brand new day or even a brand new hour.
The Jewish New Year celebrates that first moment,
The creation of mankind and our holy texts teach us that that first moment came about through breath.
The word for soul in Hebrew is Neshama and the word for breath is Neshima.
At that first moment the pure soul entered the body of mankind.
This meditation will embrace that first moment,
Will embrace that new breath and we will expel the stale air,
The stale air of things that don't belong,
The stale residue of past.
So make sure that you're sitting in a comfortable position without any distractions as you prepare to start breathing and entering into this calm space of realignment and connection.
Making sure that you're comfortable either on the chair that you're sitting on or on the floor or on a bed that you're lying on.
Feel the sensation of being held by the floor or the bed or the chair.
Find yourself at ease,
Letting go of any tension,
Letting go of any tension in your neck,
In your shoulders,
Let your body just relax as you sit or lie and let your eyes close gently coming in to this present moment.
Once again tune into your body and ask yourself is there any obvious tension,
If so just focus on that part of the body and feel free to let that tension go.
Focus on your heart,
Gently soften it,
Accepting kindness and compassion to yourself.
Paying attention to the aliveness of this moment as your heart beats life throughout your body.
Now we'll gently turn our focus to our breath,
Taking a long deep breath in through our nose,
Hold and then breathing out again.
Once again,
Breathing in,
Long deep breath through our nose,
Noticing the cooler air as it comes in,
Hold and then expelling the air,
Noticing the warmth as it passes through our nostrils.
One more time,
Breathing in through our nose,
Noticing the sensation,
The feeling with complete attention as the air passes through and into our lungs.
Once again,
Breathing out,
Letting go,
Noticing the shape of your body as you breathe out the stale air.
Continue breathing in with long deep breaths,
Holding for a few seconds before you expel the air again.
Join me now in this visualization as we utilize this force of life,
This force of breath,
This force of vitality to give us new energy.
So now as you breathe in,
Filling yourself with air,
As you breathe out now,
Just breathe out the old,
The old breath,
All that doesn't belong,
All that is not welcome with you,
Within you,
Let it out,
Push it out.
As you breathe in life,
Breathe in this new breath,
New opportunities,
New starts.
As you breathe out now,
Breathe out the old year,
The old year with all its months,
Everything that happened.
And as you breathe in now,
Welcome a new year with its new vistas,
With the new doors that will open.
As you breathe out,
Expel all the old perspectives,
All the old ways of seeing the world.
And as you breathe in now,
Breathe in a new way of showing up with child's eyes,
Embracing the new,
The magical.
As you breathe out,
Breathe out old habits that are anchoring you and holding you down.
And breathe in new rituals,
New practices,
New skills.
As you breathe out now,
You're breathing out old feelings,
Old emotions that don't belong anymore,
Breathe them out,
Breathe them out.
And as you breathe in now,
Breathing new opportunities,
New discoveries,
New openings.
As you breathe out,
Breathe out old misgivings,
Old mistrustings,
Old feelings of jealousy and hurt,
Breathe them out.
As you breathe in now,
Breathe in a new sense of embracing all that's around you,
A new life,
Restarting,
Realigning,
Beginning again right now.
And keep breathing out,
Letting go,
Letting last year's ship sail away,
And breathing in,
Breathing in new directions,
New life force,
New energy,
And new hope.
And you can continue like this for as long as you wish,
Breathing out that which has gone past its sell-by date,
Breathing out feelings,
Emotions that you would rather turn a new page on.
And when you breathe in,
Turn that page,
Open that book,
A blank piece of paper,
In a beautifully bound notebook,
Your future,
Your new fresh future,
Is yours to write.
And feel free to continue like this for as long as you wish,
And whenever you're ready and it feels right for you,
Take one last deep breath in,
And a last deep breath out,
And gently come back into the room,
Refreshed,
Realigned,
Renewed.
