Hi there,
My name is Yosra.
I'm a yoga and mindfulness practitioner and instructor.
I'm also a therapist who implements mindfulness and working with the nervous system to help my clients.
As we begin the new year and start to shift back into routines,
It's important to check in with ourselves so that we can ground and regulate through all of life's chaos.
This is a short guided meditation that you can practice whenever you need to find a sense of calm,
Ground yourself,
And focus on bringing a little bit more stillness into your day.
When you're ready to begin,
Find any comfortable position for this practice.
Let your gaze lower,
Or maybe you bring your eyes to a close,
Letting hands land along your lap and softening into the body.
Let's begin with a full breath in through the nose,
Fill up to the top,
And exhale out through nostrils,
Slowly releasing the breath out.
Again,
Let's take a full breath in,
Filling up the lungs,
And a full breath out,
Letting something go.
And once again,
Inhale,
Creating space in your chest,
And exhale,
Relaxing shoulders away from your ears and softening the jaw.
As you continue to breathe,
Start to shift your awareness to the pauses in between each breath.
Try not to assign a label or a name for the pause,
But rather just keeping an acknowledgement that it's there.
Just notice the space in between the breaths in and the breaths out.
It's normal that the mind will wander from time to time,
Or for thoughts to arise.
When this happens,
Visualize the thought floating by and return to your breath,
Noticing the spaces between each breath in and each breath out.
As you continue this practice,
Notice your heart rate starting to steady,
Your body,
Your mind returning to calm.
Keep your focus on the pauses between each breath as they grow bigger and more spacious.
Notice with each exhale,
Inviting more calmness and stillness into the body.
Remember that this practice can look and feel different every day,
No matter how many minutes we've meditated for before.
And if your mind continues to wander,
That's okay.
Bring yourself back to the breath and to the pause between every breath in and every breath out.
Starting to deepen the breath now,
Inviting movement back into your body.
It might be little wiggles through the fingers,
Through the toes,
Gently taking your head from side to side.
Maybe a gentle shift of the gaze or a fluttering of eyelids back open.
As you start to let go of this practice,
Notice any shifts in your energy,
Any shifts in your body,
Keeping in mind the spacious pauses of stillness in each moment.
Let's close off together with a final breath in through the nose,
Into the chest,
And slow exhale out the mouth.
Thank you for starting your new year with me,
And I hope to practice with you again.
