And welcome to the Stillpoint Meditation.
My name is Deb and I'll be guiding you through your next practice.
These are uncertain,
Unsettling times.
There's a palpable,
Almost tangible anxiety.
A weight of worry hanging heavy like a miasma in the skies.
And the part of our brain that has evolved over thousands of years of evolution to keep us safe at times like this is screaming at us to run away.
That this is not the time for rest,
To slow down.
That we need to be on guard at all times.
Be vigilant.
And even afraid.
This is a perfectly natural,
Healthy response to the extraordinary circumstances we find ourselves in.
But rest is exactly what we need,
What our entire being is craving right now.
Because living in constant fear and anxiety for long periods of time is so,
So draining to our vitality.
And it's not just our worry that we're having to process.
It's the anxiety and fear of the collective.
Because if this crisis has shown us anything,
It's just how connected we all are.
So as these events play out over the coming weeks,
We need to turn to techniques that can help us to navigate the coming challenges.
The uncertainty of not knowing with a little more grace and ease.
Techniques that can create some space between us,
The worries and fears of the mind and what is actually going on.
And in that space,
Allow us the opportunity to release some of the stress that builds up each day.
To recharge our energy.
To repair and heal the body when it most needs it.
And to build our resilience,
Our capacity and adaptability to handle what is being put in front of us.
And meditation is that technique.
So let's begin.
Start by finding a comfortable position for the body.
Sitting down,
Lying down,
It doesn't matter.
Just take a pose that feels really nourishing and supportive for the body.
Let yourself settle.
Nestle in.
And as you do that,
You just feel the body almost instantly wanting to soften.
Now that you've got cozy and comfy,
Let's start by taking in a really nice deep belly breath.
Fill up as much as you can.
Hold that fullness.
And then let it go on a big open mouth sigh.
Do another one like that.
Breathe even more into the body.
Fill up completely.
Hold that fullness.
Then let it go on a big sighing breath out.
And one more time.
Breathe right to your edges.
Hold it.
And a softening sigh to release.
And as you do that,
Let yourself feel the body.
Let it release.
And as the exhale falls out of you,
You feel your whole physical body start to relax even more.
And you welcome that feeling.
It feels nice to lay down your suit of armour,
Your worries,
Your concerns.
And just allow yourself to be that little bit more gentle.
Relax.
The skull becomes heavier.
The lines of worry on the forehead begin to smooth out.
The skin around the corners of the eyes starts to soften.
And the eyes themselves rest that little bit heavier in their sockets.
Relax the cheeks.
And gently invite the jaw to start to unclench.
The mouth.
Start to bring some softness to the mouth now.
Even the tongue.
And let this internal softening descend down into neck and throat.
And the shoulders.
Shoulders where we carry the weight of the world.
What does it feel like to invite some inner softening here?
Breathing into the shoulders.
Starting to feel some of that rigidity melting away.
Now the arms get nice and heavy.
And the shoulders.
Getting heavy.
Feel them soften.
The hands.
Now drift back up to the chest.
Can you let the chest cavity soften?
Then the belly.
Can you invite some softening into the belly now?
Feel it start to unclench as you do so.
All those knots,
Tangles of worry that we hold there beginning to unravel.
Then the back body.
Maybe taking a breath or two into the back body.
Feeling that start to soften and let go.
Then let the awareness move down into the pelvic bowl.
Can you feel everything drop?
Relax.
Get a little bit heavier.
And as you take a breath or two into the pelvis,
Into the hips.
Feeling that inner softening taking place.
Do you have the sense that you're becoming just that little bit more grounded?
Soften through the thighs now.
Let those muscles unclench.
The lower legs.
The back of the head.
The back of the head.
The lower legs.
The feet.
The feet are soft now.
The whole body is gentle.
Heavy.
Relaxing.
Relaxing.
Now I'd like you to take your awareness back up into your belly.
And if it feels comfortable for you,
I'd like you to move your hands so that they come to rest on the belly.
And let that gentle weight of the hands resting on the belly act as an anchor.
Allow it to settle you.
Ground you in the solidity of your body even more.
And now I'd like you to just take some breaths into the belly,
Into the hands.
Breathing naturally and just noticing,
Feeling the hands rising upwards and outwards as the belly balloons and expands.
And breathing out,
Feeling everything gently contract and draw back in towards your center.
Just working with your natural breath here.
But feeling that beautiful expansion,
That fullness of the inhale.
And the release,
The letting go of the exhale.
Continuing to breathe into the belly like this just for a few more moments.
Enjoying the simple rising and falling away of energy,
The expansion of the breath in,
The gentle contraction,
The release,
Pulling to center of the breath out.
And as your breath and your awareness becomes more centered at your navel,
You might start to become aware of some warmth that builds at this energy center.
A soothing,
Calming,
Healing warmth.
And I'd like you to start to visualize that this warmth has a healing light.
And on the expansiveness of your natural breath in,
You begin to effortlessly radiate this light outwards to fill up other parts of the body than the navel.
So perhaps on the next breath in,
You feel the rest of the stomach,
The chest and the hips being bathed,
Filled with warmth and light.
And energy naturally pulls back to center on the breath out.
You just continue to work with the rhythm of your breath,
Sending that warm,
Soothing light to travel a little further outwards each time.
And then back to center.
Radiating,
Expanding warmth,
Calm,
Healing light outwards.
And then back to center.
And you just let yourself enjoy this beautiful pulsation,
Breathing like this,
Drawing the awareness down from the busy mind and back to your center.
Until eventually,
This expansive inhale,
Sending healing energy further and further outwards in the body,
Starts to feel like the light of the breath in is radiating out to the very edges of your being.
Every nook and cranny,
Every shadowed corner and part of you,
Bones,
Cells,
Muscles and tissues,
All being bathed,
Surrounded in this beautiful healing energy that you are creating yourself.
And you just continue to enjoy breathing like this and the sensation of warmth and healing and calm that it brings for a few more moments.
So relax.
Warm.
At peace.
This endless rhythm of the breath rising and falling away.
This dance of energy to expand and then contract once more is a cycle that we see repeated everywhere throughout the natural world.
Because we are made up of the same atoms as trees and stars and oceans.
And just like the natural world,
We are subject to the same forces that make the light and busyness of day turn to the stillness of night.
The blooming and activity of spring and summer retreat into the hibernation and gentleness of winter.
We are in periods of expansion,
Always full of energy and potential.
But then nature must rest and return to balance by slowing down,
Retreating inwards.
So rather than trying to cling to the phase of expansion,
Can we loosen our grip on how we think life should be and allow ourselves to be guided into a period of rest.
Slow down.
Take stock of what's really important without the distraction of an endless to do list.
Take the time to replenish our energy reserves.
Heal and rest.
Trusting that we will need our energy because soon enough,
We will be being moved once more into our next phase of expansion.
Now on your next exhale,
Feel that beautiful healing light coil back to your center once more.
And you release the visualization of the breath.
Just allow yourself to rest in stillness.
Notice how you feel in this space.
Has anything shifted?
Even just a little bit in how you feel mentally,
Energetically,
Physically since you first sat down.
And then out of the field of stillness.
We slowly start to reemerge.
Breathing deeply again.
Send the breath out to your edges once more and start to make some little movements there.
Wiggling fingers,
Toes.
Take a stretch,
Full body yawn to bring yourself back in a way that intuitively feels good for you.
Take your time to return,
To come back fully.
And only blink open the eyes when you're ready.
Thank you for practicing with me today.
Stay well.
