- So let's get started with a meditation.
This is from, this is gonna be adapted from a script
from The Meditation Initiative in San Diego, California.
So a couple of things to note before we begin,
and if you'd like to turn off our video,
you're more than welcome to do that right now.
So nothing's gonna happen to you.
If you haven't practiced meditation before,
then please rest assured that nothing's gonna happen
to you within these couple of moments.
You might feel a little bit calmer,
you might feel a little bit more relaxed,
or you might not, so come in to it
with a sense of skepticism, if you like,
a sense of curiosity, a sense of openness.
Another thing to consider,
you're not gonna float away.
You're not going to not think about anything.
It's very hard to have a blank slate of a mind
when we're human beings and that's what our brains do,
we think, we investigate, we judge,
that is something that the human brain does,
so don't think that you're gonna have
a blank slate right away.
You're not gonna stop your mind.
You probably will not have
any mystical, magical experiences.
If you do, great, but if you don't,
then you're still doing everything correctly.
You won't solve all of life's problems
within these next couple of moments.
There's no right or wrong way to practice.
You're simply going to sit and breathe
and try to come into stillness.
So whatever you're doing is right.
But try to come into it with no expectations,
without having something attached to it.
So if you'd like to join me for a meditation,
then come in to a posture that is comfortable,
but will also allow you to stay awake.
So back as straight as possible.
If you're sitting against, not against the chair,
but a few inches away from the back of the chair
so that you're comfortable,
but you're also holding yourself upright.
If your legs are crossed, you can uncross them.
If your arms are crossed, then uncross them
to bring balance to the limbs.
Shoulders relaxed, away from the ears.
Your hands can rest gently on the knees or in your lap.
And energetically, if you would like to be open
to receiving today, then have their palms up.
If you'd like more grounding, then place your palms down.
Feet flat on the floor.
Eyes can be closed, if that's comfortable for you,
or a soft gaze.
Mouth can be open or closed.
Try to have a little space between the jaw.
We hold a lot of tension in our jaw.
Try to have just a little bit of space.
Here you can breathe through the nose or the mouth,
whatever's comfortable for you.
Sometimes if there are allergies or respiratory problems,
it's difficult to breathe through the nose,
so whatever feels best for you right now.
The most important thing is to be comfortable
in your breathing.
So I will guide us now as we begin this meditation.
(meditative music)
Taking three deep breaths,
inhale and exhale.
And once more, breathing deeply in,
inflating like a balloon,
exhaling, contracting, deflating.
Now settling into the natural rhythm of the breath.
Knowing throughout this practice that you'll hear sounds
inside of your room or the space that you're in or outside,
these are not distractions, they're not disruptions,
they're simply what's happening as we sit and breathe.
Begin to notice the mind as it wanders,
jumping from thought to thought,
gently guide the attention
and focus on the stomach or the chest.
As you breathe in, feel them rise.
Breathing out, feel them fall.
Simply continuing this practice,
observing sensation of the breath,
notice your mind,
noticing thoughts,
releasing that thought,
returning attention and focus to the breath,
the rise in the fall, the inhale and the exhale.
Breathing in, follow the breath in.
Breathing out, follow the breath out.
The mind wanders, gently guide attention back to the breath.
Letting go of expectations, of judgments,
just sitting in breathing.
Breathing in, stomach rises.
Breathing out, stomach falls.
Comfortable in the stillness
and knowing what it's like to just sit and breathe.
Now we'll close by taking another three deep breaths,
inhaling and exhaling.
Inhaling, rise, exhaling, fall.
Wiggling fingers and toes, slowly opening eyes,
getting to move.
Rock the neck side to side.
Coming back to the space,
thank you for practicing with me today
and again, this was a script from The Meditation Initiative
in San Diego, California.
(meditative music)