Hello and welcome to this meditation today on softening.
Today we'll practice a softening meditation that will focus on letting go of tension and resistance in our body and our mind and it's a helpful way to reduce stress,
Improve relaxation and increase self-compassion for ourselves.
So to begin I'd like you to find a comfortable position where you can sit or lie down and close down your eyes and we'll begin by taking a few deep breaths.
As you breathe in I'd like you to say to yourself I am here and as you breathe out I'd like you to say to yourself I am present and as you continue to breathe in and out with each breath I'd like you to become more aware of your body.
Notice the sensations of your feet on the ground or the heels of your feet on your mat,
Your hands on your thighs and your back against the chair or the mat.
Now bring your attention to your breath.
Notice the rise and fall of your chest and belly as you breathe in and out.
Feel the breath soften the body into the chair or the mat.
Simply observing without changing the breath in any way.
You simply want to notice and acknowledge it as it is.
As you allow yourself to soften into the body this means letting go of any tension that you may be holding.
It's quite often that we hold tension in our jaw,
It's common to hold tension in our shoulders and our hips and if you feel that you need to breathe more deeply in order to soften those areas of the body then I invite you to do so but to return to your natural breath afterwards.
Just continue to breathe and allow yourself to relax.
Relaxing into the present moment as this is the only moment we will experience at one single time.
Whatever came before and whatever will come afterwards is not relevant in this moment.
As you breathe I'd like you to imagine that your breath is like a warm blanket that is wrapped around your body.
It's keeping you warm,
It's keeping you safe and comfortable.
And as we breathe I'd like you to soften into this comfortable position and continue to relax any areas of tension that you may find.
You may also want to imagine that you are breathing in peace and breathing out tension.
Or you may want to imagine that you're breathing in a bright golden light that's enriching your body and breathing out any dull light that doesn't serve you in this moment.
I'll leave you now to continue to breathe and soften into your body for the next few moments.
If you notice that the mind begins to wander just thank the mind for its creativity with your thoughts but bring your awareness back to your breath and back to your body and the blanket that is wrapped around you in this moment.
And as we soften in our meditation practice today I'd like to remind you that softening doesn't mean weak.
Allow to do on said the softest things in the world overcome the hardest things in the world.
Water can wear a ray of rock.
This is a very powerful quote and when we are soft we are open to new experiences and new ideas.
We are willing to listen to others and learn from them.
By softening it also allows us to be compassionate and understanding not only for ourselves but for how we show up for the others around us.
And as we come towards the end of our meditation today I'd like you to bring your awareness back to the body that's wrapped in that blanket and I'd like you to gently peel away the top layer and invite some gentle movement into the body.
You may wish to circle the wrists and the ankles.
You may wish to stretch the arms overhead and the feet out in front of you.
Noticing how the body feels after surrendering in today's meditation.
When you are ready to do so please open your eyes and enjoy this moment.
Thank yourself for taking the time to meditate with me today.
