Welcome to the Inner Smile Meditation.
First and foremost,
Of utmost importance is your comfort.
So you may wish to find a nice tall seat,
Perhaps lying down.
Really see if you can find yourself,
No matter what position you're in,
Just feeling nice and supported by the earth,
Perhaps some pillows and cushions around you.
You may soften your gaze and close your eyes or simply just keep that softened gaze,
Not staring at anything in particular,
Allowing our eyes to rest.
Just briefly scan the body,
Noticing if there's any areas of hidden tension,
Any particular areas calling to us.
See if just by sending our own sweet attention to these places that maybe we begin to let go on their own.
Just by our own intention and awareness begin to find release in these old holding patterns of stress and tension.
Allow your jaw to soften and release,
Your tongue to widen into the floor of the mouth behind your lower teeth,
Our eyes continuing to go quiet behind heavy lids,
Softening the eye sockets,
Releasing the brow,
Keeping the muscles of the mouth and lips completely relaxed,
Perhaps conjuring up the feeling of a smile in this space without having to move the muscles at all.
Perhaps you can think of someone you love or a time that you were incredibly happy.
See if you can conjure up the energetic feeling of a smile,
Your mouth and lips.
Just be aware of that sensation,
That smile as a field of radiant energy and you are the one there observing it all,
Taking it in.
Now gradually we'll allow that sensation of a smile to grow and spread,
Sending that feeling of a smile down our throat,
Esophagus,
Into our stomach.
Feel a sense of our stomach smiling,
Finding an ease,
Release.
Just being aware of a growing sensation of a smile in your stomach.
There's no right or wrong way to do this and if it's hard to picture that's okay,
Just keep trying.
Doesn't matter if you can fully picture it or not,
It's still doing something for you.
Really just feel our whole belly,
Our whole torso smiling,
Moving the sensation now particularly down into our intestines,
Circling around our navel,
Filling our abdomen with warmth.
The smile continues through the ascending colon,
Across the transverse,
Down the descending colon.
Feel the whole abdomen warm and smiling.
Feel a sense of the belly content and smiling.
And as you continue to become aware of this spreading,
Growing,
Smiling energy and sensation,
Begin to notice that the smile,
The sensation itself,
Is not limited or bound to your skin but can radiate into a field around you.
The inside of a light bulb can be quite small but its light can fill an entire room.
See if we can allow the sensation of the smile to begin to radiate out further,
Radiate out from beyond our skin,
Feeling the space around us as if we are held in a warm,
Nurturing,
Glowing embrace.
Keep the breath relaxed and easy,
Just feeling a sense of that light,
That warmth,
That sensation of the smile radiating outward.
As you exhale,
Feel a sense of the smile moving back through into your body,
Beneath your skin,
Charging every cell and every space in between.
As you happen to inhale,
You feel this warm energy radiating out of you in all directions.
As you exhale,
The smile charges every cell back into your body.
Every cell begins to glisten,
Radiating a smile.
Continue to observe this with each inhale and exhale,
Becoming aware of where it feels right and good to have that glowing energy stored.
Perhaps it's shrunk down to a tiny little spark in your belly that you can keep with you or maybe you feel like radiating bright and strong all around you,
Leaving,
Moving into the rest of your day.
Again,
There's no right or wrong,
Whatever feels right for how open you want to be right now.
And then in your own time,
We're gonna gradually begin to reorient to our surroundings,
Maybe wiggling fingers and toes,
Maybe stretching our neck around or opening and closing the jaw.
Turn your head side to side subtly,
Taking a few deeper breaths,
Maybe stretching our arms overhead,
Any movements to awaken the body,
Reengage with the world,
No rush.
As you're ready,
If you're lying down,
Go ahead and bend your knees.
Bring your knees into your chest for a moment,
Eventually rolling over onto one side into a fetal position,
Or if you're seated,
You may just rest seated.
Taking another breath here,
Just pausing,
Expressing gratitude for this practice,
For you showing up and taking the time to practice this practice.
You are the one making magic happen,
My friend.
You,
You,
You.
The world is so hungry for what you have to offer it.
May you go out and shine brightly into the world.
As you're ready,
Reawaken,
Ready to take this transformative energy into the rest of our day,
May we bring a little bit more kindness,
Lightheartedness,
And joy.
Namaste.
