Hello and welcome to today's meditation on calming the storms of stress.
I hope that this practice leaves you with a feeling of inner peace and tranquility in your mind,
Body and heart today.
So I'd like you to begin by finding a comfortable seated position.
If you're sat on a chair I invite you to uncross your legs,
Ensure that your spine is long and your hands are rested in a comfortable position.
If you're sat on the ground I invite you to place a cushion under your sit bones just to elevate the hips so that you won't have any cramping in your feet during today's practice.
And with that if it's within your practice to do so I invite you to close down your eyes or to take a soft gaze out in front of you and just allow yourself to simply be.
Settle into this moment and to acknowledge that you've chosen to take time for yourself today to calm your mind,
To soften your body and soothe your heart.
As we settle into today's practice I'd like you to gently bring your awareness to your breath.
You may feel the cool air as it enters your nostrils on each and every inhale and the warm air as we breathe and exhale as it exits the nostrils.
During today's practice you may feel the breath in your chest or in your belly and wherever it is that you feel the breath I'd like you to observe it.
We're not here to change the natural rhythm of the breath,
We simply want to sit back and just observe and notice how our breath and our body is feeling today.
And as we focus our attention on the breath we're focusing on the present moment,
Not what's come before us and not what follows,
Just here in this moment where we've got nowhere else to be.
And just take a moment now to appreciate your breath and your body.
Sometimes we forget that the breath is what unites us with consciousness and I think that's a beautiful reminder as we soften into the practice and we observe our breath with that in our mind's eye.
And during today's practice our minds might try to tell us that we need to be somewhere else,
We've closed that door for now.
In this moment we're simply taking the time to be,
To be with ourselves,
To be with our thoughts,
To be with our body and to be with our heart.
And that door will be there following the practice.
We're sitting today to release those sensations,
Those feelings,
Those emotions and the thoughts that are leaving you feeling overwhelmed.
And as you breathe I'd like you to imagine you're floating on water.
The past is the vast depths of the water beneath you and the future is the land above you.
You're floating in between the two and you're not caught in either.
Instead you're here in this moment.
And in this moment when thoughts and feelings do arise,
I'd like you to imagine that these thoughts and feelings are the waves.
They're ebbing,
They're flowing,
Most importantly they're coming and they're going.
They don't remain,
They simply just wash over you.
You can see these thoughts,
These emotions,
You can observe them,
You can acknowledge them,
But you don't need to absorb them.
Where you are in the present moment right now,
You're at oneness,
You're connected in this moment,
You're not caught up in the past or held in the future.
And I think that brings a beautiful sense of peace that surrounds us during today's practice.
And instead of washing over you like thoughts and emotions,
Peace cocoons you in a loving embrace.
It comforts you,
It holds you.
And just allow this feeling to fill you with calmness.
And I'll let you sit with that for a few moments.
If you do notice that your mind begins to wander,
That's okay,
It's completely normal for our minds to be jumping to the next thing.
But I'd like you to bring yourself back to the moment.
Don't fixate on the thoughts that are running through your mind.
Just bring yourself back to your breath and your body as it floats on the surface of the water.
And those waves,
Thoughts and emotions are ebbing and flowing on this journey of life.
As you're basking in the peace and the calm that this moment has carved out for you today,
I'd like you to acknowledge that you've chosen to take the time to pause,
To check in,
And to simply be.
And with that,
I'd like you to gently bring your awareness back into the body,
Feeling the areas of your body that are connected to the chair or to the ground.
Observing your breath as your chest and your belly rise and fall.
I'd like you to take a moment to think about how you can carry this feeling throughout your day.
And when you feel ready to do so,
Please begin to flutter your eyes open.
Thank you for sitting with me today.
I hope you have a peaceful and gentle rest of your day.
