During my time at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition, our participation was required in “Coaching Circle” calls. These calls were set up with a leader and seven classmates. During each 90 minute call, one student would be in charge of leading the “new and good” section and one would be in charge of the grounding exercise. Asking people what is “new and good” - no problem. Leading a grounding exercise - a little harder.
When it was my turn to lead the grounding exercise...I was stressed. It seemed natural to lead a meditation as a grounding activity, but it was harder than reading a poem or quote. No one had done a meditation yet, and I could feel the self doubt. Who was I to lead a meditation? At that time, I hadn’t even started yoga teacher training!
I began to search through guided meditations. I needed a meditation that could be meaningful, yet also completed in five minutes. I ended up adapting this heart meditation from The Yoga Deck by Olivia Miller. My classmates loved it, and I have found myself coming back to this meditation when I just have a few minutes and am looking for some calm.
I have included the meditation below.
Before you begin, make sure you are all seated comfortably with a tall spine and gently close your eyes.
Now bring your thumbs and forefingers together to form a triangle over your heart center.
Take two deep breaths. Inhaling to a count of 6 and exhaling fully to a count of 8.
Now lower your hands back to your sides, continue breathing, ask yourself the question: If my heart were planted, what would it grow?
Sit with this question and breath deeply as you visualize an answer or image. If other thoughts come to mind, focus on the visualization and breathe.
Set a timer for 4 minutes.
When the timer goes off, spend 1 minute continuing to breathe and bring yourself back to the present.
I would love to hear your visualizations in the comments!
Xoxo
Lisa