>> Hi, I'm Dr. Shilagh Mirgain and this meditation is a practice that you can use
to have a healthier and happier heart.
I invite you to get into a comfortable position.
You may be seated or lying down.
Turn off your phones and make sure you're undisturbed during this period of time.
You might close your eyes or have a softened, lowered gaze and begin
to just leave the concerns of the day, just let them kind of fade in the background
and drop down and back into yourself.
Notice your breath.
Follow it as it rises and falls.
And as you begin to observe your breathing, you might see if you can center a little bit more,
almost like a stone going through water -- sink down and back into yourself.
And scan the body from the top of the head down to the tips of the toes,
noticing any areas of tightness or tension.
And on the inbreath, breathe in some relaxation.
And on the outbreath, just release any areas
that might be constricted or any areas of holding.
Just let them go.
You could imagine a nice wave of relaxation going wherever it needs to in the body.
And on the outbreath, just breathing out some of that tension.
On the next inbreath, I invite you to focus on that area around your heart,
your beautiful heart, and you could even put a hand
over your heart to help build that connection.
As you breathe in, just breathe in some relaxation, some lightness, into the heart area.
And on the outbreath, just allow maybe some softening in any tension you might be carrying
in the heart or chest or upper torso.
As you continue, just see if the breath can deepen and lengthen into your heart.
As you keep this heart breathing, I invite you to bring to mind a positive memory,
maybe a time you felt peaceful or joyful or loved, a moment of kindness,
a moment of connection -- maybe with a friend or a pet or even a time in nature,
or even just a moment where all felt right in the world.
See if you can bring that memory to mind and then re-experience that emotion and draw it
into the heart center, almost like your heart is a sponge, soaking up all this positivity.
As you breathe in, breathing in that positive experience.
And breathing out, just see if you can let go a little bit more
of anything you don't need to hold on to.
And breathing in like that sponge, just see if it can get stronger and stronger.
And almost like it's overflowing from the heart, that positivity, spreading out like ripples
in a still pool of water, rays in the Sun,
and just allow this feeling to get as strong as it wants.
And taking a few more breaths, you might even set the intention that as you go about your day,
you can spread some of this positivity to help make somebody else's heart happy.
And then, as we end this practice, you might stretch a little bit or wiggle your toes.
And I want to wish you a really wonderful day.
Thanks for taking this time to do this simple practice.