I thought we could start the day off with a short meditation for calming the mind. And you may like to add this meditation on to any of the classes, either before or after the classes. And this week we’re focusing on just energizing the body from when you wake up in the morning so you can basically just roll out of bed, roll on to your mat, and then start moving your body. And some of the classes build maybe a little bit of heat in the body, some to calm the body a little bit.
But just taking all the poses and the classes this week, just gently and with ease, you remember you just waking up, you’re just starting to stretch out. You may start to feel the the the fresh air starting to release and just easing into your day. So let’s begin by starting off as a meditation. You want to just get into a comfortable seated position sitting up on a meditation stool that my husband made. But you can sit on a chair.
You can welcome to sit on the ground or on a bolster, just something that a position that you can stay in for about ten minutes and be comfortable. And then once you’re seated, you can just move from side to side, maybe backwards and forwards to see if you can find your center and find balance between the left and the right side of your body.
Once you feel that balance to settle into stillness, just relaxing your arms, you may like to just really close your eyes, soften the shoulders, relax your jaw. Begin by noticing the feeling of your body on the ground, whether that be your buttocks, shins, the tops of your feet, or if you’re sitting in a chair with the soles of your feet. Can you allow your body to yield a little bit more into the pose to get that sense of being grounded and connected with the Earth below you?
Notice what the ground feels like. If you’re sitting on something, observe a chair or stool cushion feels like. Noticing if it feels hard or soft, spongy. To your support. Become aware of the feeling of your clothes against your skin. Can you sense and feel the material of each item of clothing. Notice if there are? Any areas that the clothing is a little bit uncomfortable. And if there’s any discomfort you may like to just adjust to before you settle into the meditation.
Become aware of your bare skin and the parts of your body that are not clothed or covered. Start to observe the temperature of the air that gently washes over your skin. What does the air feel like? Doe’s it feel cool or does it feel warm, does it make you feel tingly? Does it make your hair stand on end?
We’ll continue on this sensory journey. Move your awareness to your mouth. Notice any lingering taste in your mouth, anything that you may have eaten. Maybe lingering there. Brushed your teeth, just notice whatever you notice in your mouth. Notice what it tastes like. And shift your awareness to your nose. Become aware of any smells around you without reacting to them. Let them, be there. Notice them. Notice what they smell like. Do they smell sweet?
Or maybe a bit stinky. Can you smell more than one smell? Just notice. Start to bring your awareness to your eyes, and if your eyes are open, you may like to look around you take in your surroundings. Notice something that’s different that you haven’t noticed before. If your eyes are closed, can you sense a light in the shade, maybe the slight dance of color between your eyelashes? Bring your awareness to your ears, begin to notice the sounds around you.
Listen for the farthest sound that you can hear. Now, listen for the obvious sounds. Listen for the less obvious sounds, the very subtle sounds. Just listening without creating a story around what you hear. As you hear a sound can let that hear that sound pass. And then listen for the next sound, making it like a game to hear a sound, listen for the next sound. Just allowing sound to become passing events. Become a bystander to sound.
Start to bring your awareness back to your body. Listen to the sounds of your body. The sound of your breath coming and going. Very subtle body vibrations. Now, hear gurgling in the stomach, the sound of your heart beating. Just being so still and attentive. Just listening. You can start to again notice the feeling of your body on your mat or on your chair, the feeling of you connected to the ground below you.
And before you begin to move, take a few moments and just notice any thoughts, any feelings that may present themselves to you. Notice any physical sensations. Notice your energy levels. Do you feel like your nervous system has started to slow and calm down?
Ready to meet the day. Take a moment just to give yourself gratitude, relishing the time that you spent doing something good for your body and for your mind. So you soon.
