Hello and welcome.
Thank you very much for taking your time to meditate with me.
When the times are difficult,
It's very easy to be self-critical.
Blame everything on yourself.
But things go wrong even if we do everything right.
In times like that,
It is important to remember that as individuals we are also a part of a larger collective consciousness.
We experience emotions of our own as well as the others.
Have you ever walked into a crowded room and felt a sudden change of mood?
We have discovered structures in our brain,
They call them mirror neurons,
That are designed to detect and mirror behaviors of people around us.
This mostly happens on the subconscious level and we often are not aware that such feelings are not our own.
This also happens when we watch TV,
A constant stream of negativity and fear that flows out of the screen affects our mood,
Whether we want it or not.
Although we don't always have ability to control how we feel,
We do control our actions.
Famous psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl reflects this truth in his famous quote.
Between stimulus and response there is a space.
In that space is our power to choose our response.
In our response lies our growth and our freedom.
Control is a wonderful tool to develop sensitivity to those situations,
Create more space between stimulus and the response and in this way not to take all those situations so personally.
In times when we lose control and feel particularly overwhelmed with daily challenges I suggest an extra dose of self care and self compassion.
That's what this meditation is all about.
Let us begin.
Make your soul feel comfortable.
Sit in your chair upright,
Your feet on the floor grounding you,
Giving you support.
Feel centered.
Rest your hands in your lap facing up or down.
Allow your eyes to close.
Your entire body is a vessel to hold your breath right now.
In this position your breath should flow freely,
Unrestricted.
Your back is straight but not rigid,
Leaving a lot of space for free flow of your breath.
If you feel discomfort during this meditation you will be able to adjust your position.
When this happens do it gently and slowly with care and love.
Allow your shoulders to drop away from your ears.
Allow all the muscles in your face to relax.
With your mind soften the space around your eyes.
Make your jaw go limp.
Release any tension in your shoulders.
Soften your belly.
And now let us all together take a couple of deep cleansing breaths to set the stage for this meditation.
Let us breathe in and breathe out together as I guide you.
In through your nose and out through your mouth as if you try to blow a balloon.
In and out.
In and out.
In and out.
Breathe normally and feel the relaxation spreading through your body.
And now let us set an intention.
My intention for you and myself is to give myself self care,
Kindness and love.
Feel free to add your personal intention as well.
This is like planting a seed.
Once you do it,
Simply let it be.
It is going to grow as the meditation progresses.
Now start feeling your breath.
Tune in and notice the three phases.
The in-breath coming in through your nose.
The gap between in-breath and out-breath.
And then the out-breath itself flowing out.
Another gap.
There is no need to control your breath.
Make it long or short.
Allow it to be as it is.
In a sense,
Surrender to it as your body already knows how to do it and does it perfectly,
Always even without you paying any attention.
Notice how particularly during the out-breath all the muscles relax just a bit.
Enjoy this.
Allow this to happen.
Every breath is your opportunity to relax just a bit more.
And allow natural calm to come to you.
It may happen that your mind will wander distracted by internal or external factors,
Thoughts,
Sounds,
Sensations.
This is absolutely normal.
There is no need to be alarmed.
I'll be here to hold this space and remind you when this happens.
So you can gently and calmly bring yourself back to the relaxation of your breath.
As you keep paying attention to your breath,
Let us now add two simple affirmations.
With each in-breath,
You say in your mind,
May I be well.
With each out-breath,
You say to yourself,
May I be happy.
Breathing in,
May I be well.
Breathing out,
May I be happy.
See how those affirmations fit in the natural flow of your breath.
Breathing in,
May I be well.
Breathing out,
May I be happy.
It may happen that at first those words do not resonate.
And that's okay.
As everything,
Those affirmations also need time to sink in.
And if your intention is strong,
The peace and the calm that stands behind those affirmations will come.
It always does.
Be patient.
And keep repeating,
May I be well.
May I be happy.
Play those words with as much gentleness and kindness as you can master.
This is a process.
It may not happen immediately,
But it will happen eventually.
I'll be here along the way,
Guiding you,
Holding the space.
Be assured that you are safe and protected.
Breathing in,
May I be well.
Breathing out,
May I be happy.
Sinking in deeper and deeper.
Surrender to the peace and the calm.
And as you embrace the peace and the calm of your own self,
At the same time you contribute to the collective peace and calm.
Your family,
Your friends,
Your close ones.
So by doing it,
You not only act on your own behalf,
But also on the behalf of the whole community and all the people that,
Right now,
Require peace,
Kindness,
Self-care and compassion.
Breathing in,
May I be well.
Breathing out,
May I be happy.
I'll let you practice now for a minute or two.
And be assured,
I'm here with you if you need my help.
And now it's time to return.
How do you feel?
Start coming back to your senses.
Bring to your awareness the sounds,
The smells,
All the sensations that come to you through your skin.
Feel your feet resting on the floor,
Your hands in your lap.
Feel your sit bones pressing against the chair.
And now add some physical movement.
Then by wiggling your toes,
Gently move your fingers.
Tilt your head slowly and gently to the left.
Feel the muscles stretching.
Not to the right,
Back to the center.
And one more time.
Together let us take one deep cleansing breath in through your nose and out through your mouth.
And when you're ready,
Open your eyes and welcome back.
Thank you so much for meditating with me.
I hope you enjoy this meditation and gain some peace and calm.
Taking care of yourself is a very important part of your daily routine.
It's very easy to help others and we frequently are very compassionate towards the needs of others.
But remember,
This cannot happen if you are not compassionate towards yourself.
As you are the channel for the compassionate,
It cannot happen if this channel is closed.
So for today and for the days to come,
I wish you much peace and much compassion towards yourself.
Thank you for listening.
Have a wonderful day.
