Hello and welcome to your meditation for sitting with a moment of sadness.
My name is Victoria and I will be guiding you through this practice today.
The intention of this meditation is to create space for difficult emotions that might be present and allow yourself to be with them rather than focusing on trying to immediately change how you feel.
Take some time to find a comfortable position,
Whether that is seated or lying down.
Take anything you might need for support,
Maybe a pillow,
A blanket,
Or something to cover your eyes with.
Now welcome yourself into this meditation with a gentle hug.
Wrap your arms around your body and give yourself a loving squeeze.
Now slowly start to settle your body into stillness.
Take three deep cleansing breaths,
Breathing in through your nose and exhale,
Sigh it out your mouth.
And again,
In through your nose,
Exhale,
Sigh it out.
And one more time,
Just like this.
Begin to ground yourself into the present moment by noticing the sounds around you.
Notice your body and feel where each part of it is connected to the earth.
And see if there's any last bits of tension you can release in your body.
Relaxing all the little muscles in your face and jaw,
The neck and shoulders,
And relaxing the arms,
Fingers,
Hips,
Legs,
And toes.
Now bring your awareness to your breath.
Just noticing where in your body you can really feel and connect to your body.
Connect to the sensation of your breath.
Maybe it's the air traveling in and out of your nose,
Or it's the gentle rise and fall of your belly and chest.
Take a few natural breaths here at your own pace,
Starting to cultivate a connection to your breath.
Now giving the mind a point of focus.
As you inhale,
Say to yourself,
I am.
And as you exhale,
Peaceful.
Take a few breaths with this mantra to help ground your mind.
Inhale,
I am.
Exhale,
Peaceful.
Taking about three more slow breaths with this mantra.
Inhale,
I am.
Exhale,
Peaceful.
Letting this mantra go,
Take a moment to observe your mind and body.
Seeing if you notice any changes,
But if there are none,
Know that that is completely okay.
Now begin to imagine yourself in one of your favorite places.
Where are you?
What do you see around you?
What can you hear?
And what can you smell?
How does it feel to be here?
Maybe feelings of joy,
Lightness,
And freedom start to arise.
Take some time to let yourself exist here in your favorite place.
And allow these feelings of being in your favorite place start to fill your heart.
If your mind starts to wander away from this place,
Gently bring it back to your breath.
Noticing the expansion you feel with your inhale and the softening you feel with your exhale.
Then ground yourself back into your favorite place.
And now repeating the following affirmations after me,
Either out loud or in your mind.
These feelings are temporary and it is completely okay to feel this way.
I welcome all emotions and still treat myself with love and kindness.
Feeling this way does not make me any less worthy of receiving compassion from myself and others.
Even though I may be passing through a moment of sadness,
At my core is love and peace.
I stay hopeful and trust that lightness and joy will return.
Let's repeat these affirmations one more time to really let them settle in.
These feelings are temporary and it is okay to feel this way.
I welcome all emotions and still treat myself with love and kindness.
Feeling this way does not make me any less worthy of receiving compassion from myself and others.
Even though I may be passing through a moment of sadness,
At my core is love and peace.
I stay hopeful and trust that lightness and joy will return.
Now take a deep breath to let the affirmation soak into your mind and body.
Gently place one hand on your heart and the other on top and take another deep breath in.
Send your heart to love and compassion.
Take some time to thank yourself for being present with your feelings and caring for your mind and your heart.
If you'd like to give yourself another gentle hug to close out this meditation,
Go ahead and give yourself a little squeeze.
Now taking one last deep breath here.
As you feel ready,
Slowly start to blink your eyes open,
Welcoming yourself back into the world.
Thank you so much for taking time to meditate with me today.
I hope you have an absolutely beautiful rest of your day.
Until next time.
