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Our bodies can be restless, and when you sit to meditate, you will start to notice that restlessness beginning to manifest. The desire to shuffle around, itch, and rearrange your body into different positions can be difficult to meditate through. It may be challenging at first, but see if you can sit completely still. If you find yourself fidgety, you can also use your timer! Again, set a timer for 1 minute, and for that 1 minute, try to sit completely still. If you are successful, the next time, set the timer for 2 minutes. Work up in this way to increase your ability to sit still longer. When you move during meditation, you disturb the stillness of the mind. Like ripples disturbing the calm surface of a body of water, movement disturbs inner peace. If you can sit still, you will find your meditations deeper and more enjoyable.

When you are able to focus on your breath and keep thoughts at bay, start to turn your attention away from your breathing while still maintaining your deep breaths. Start to count to 10. If a thought comes into your mind, start over at 1. This is a great way to keep the mind free from passing thoughts but keep it focused on your breath. Another simple and powerful technique to keep the mind quiet is using a mantra. A mantra is an ancient technique where you repeat a word, simple phrase or sound in the mind as you breathe in and out. This phrase gives the mind something to focus on, and helps you to concentrate. The mind may continue to wander, but if you can just watch and not get frustrated, you’ll find that it begins to slow down. Then you will begin to experience the deep stillness that lies behind all the mental noise and activity. Some of our favorite mantras: I am strong I am confident What is for me will never pass me I am worthy of deep love In this moment, I am home. All I need is within me I have everything I need to live abundantly Everything happens for a reason Patience Everything will be alright Be the change Let it go Be here now

Remember that energy is constantly changing from one moment to the next; this is why our day-to-day lives can be drastically different than they were a day, a week or a year ago. Everyday we are exposed to a multitude of different energies. These energies can stem from the people we interact with, to the events and circumstances we are presented with, to the emotional and mental states that we experience. More often than not, when we experience a challenging, emotional, or traumatizing event, we can hold onto that energy in our body and focus tightly on it, and we may not even realize it. We often hold stress and emotions in areas of our hips and midsection, lower back, shoulders, neck and jaw. To help us live a happy and vibrant life, we must acknowledge that energy maintenance is required on all levels - physical, emotional/mental, and spiritual. If we hold on to that energy, over time, it can sit heavily in our bodies and even manifest into physical dis-ease, ailment or illness. It’s so important for us to surface, heal and let go of these energies on a daily basis. Here are some tips and tricks to help us connect our mind and body with our breath and live and happy and vibrant life.

With this breath we will inhale and exhale from opposite nostrils. Remember to breathe slowly; one round should take about 30 seconds. Sit upright with a straight spine. Bring the right hand up to the nose. Place the right thumb over the right nostril and the ring finger over the left nostril. The index finger and middle finger can rest on the forehead. Close the right nostril with the right thumb to block the airflow, lift the ring finger from the left nostril. Inhale slowly through the left nostril. Close the left nostril with the ring finger so both nostrils are closed for a moment, and hold the breath. Then open the right nostril and exhale slowly then inhale again through the right. Close the right nostril and hold the breath. Open the left and exhale. Repeat for 6-8 breaths. This breathing technique calms the mind, energizes the body, and improves concentration.

Meditation Text: Come to a comfortable seat. You can sit cross legged, keeping the spine nice and tall, pulling the shoulders back and down. Maybe you are on a chair or couch, or maybe you are leaning up against a wall for support. Start to notice your breath. Don’t change it, just notice each inhale and exhale. As you stay focused on your breath, begin to relax the body. Unclenching your muscles. Take a full body scan, beginning at the top of the head and working your way down, letting any tension you are holding on to leave with each exhale. Notice your breath becoming more slow and controlled and allow each breath to relax your body as you release tension each time you exhale. We will now get ready to go on our journey. Keeping the eyes closed, I want you to create a picture in your mind of a quiet retreat in the mountains. Imagine yourself in a cozy cabin. Looking out the windows you can see the snowy landscape and you notice the cabin is on a mountainside, surrounded by trees and boulders. Looking out the window, you can see a crack in between two large rocks, and you notice there is a trickle of steaming water. The snow all around this trickle of water is melted, exposing the gray rocks. You can see the water flows down into a natural pool with steam rising above it. Imagine that you are wearing sandals and a warm bathrobe over a bathing suit, prepared to go explore the hot springs. You begin opening the front door of the cabin, and step out into the snow. As you walk briskly along the path, some of the snow touches the top of your bare feet. It is so cold, you feel a tingly, almost burning sensation where the snow touched your skin. You rush toward the water, seeing the steam rising from the hot springs. There is so much steam, the air around you is foggy. You reach the side of the hot springs, where the hot water has melted the snow all around. The springs are perfectly clear, and made of rock. The water at the side of the springs is shallow. You take off your bath robe, lay it on the warm, dry rocks where the snow has melted and step out of your shoes and into the steaming water. The water at the edge of the pool is ankle deep……..After the feeling of the cold snow, the water feels so hot on your feet. The air around you is cold, and you notice snow flakes begin to fall softly. To get relief from the cold, you step further into the hot springs and can see that the rocks make natural seats in the water. You begin to slowly lower yourself down into the water, which comes up to just below your chin. Feel the luxurious warmth all around you. Your hands and feet feel tingly and hot at first ... eventually settling into a pleasant feeling of warmth. The water is just the right temperature. Your feet rest on the smooth rock bottom of the hot springs, and you can lean back against the gently sloped stone sides of the pool. Imagine leaning back and closing your eyes with a sigh. Allow your body to completely relax. The warmth of the water surrounds you ... Let your arms rest at your sides, floating just a little ... Allow the muscles of your arms to relax completely. Your arms feel heavy and relaxed ... and at the same time, weightless. It is such a calm, pleasant feeling. Feel your neck and shoulders relaxing ... surrounded by warmth. The healing water brings relaxation and calm. Your shoulders lower slightly, relaxing, easing the tension away ... becoming loose and relaxed. Feel your upper back relaxing ... your collar bones, and chest ... You are so relaxed. You can feel the water against your skin. Gently moving. You feel the occasional bubble tickle your skin as it brushes against you while it rises to the surface of the water. Allow your stomach and lower back to relax ... letting go of any tension left in your body. Feel your legs relaxing, all the way from your hips ... to your knees ... to your feet. Your legs are so warm and relaxed. Like your arms, your legs feel heavy, but also weightless as they float slightly in the water. Feel the warmth all around you. The hot springs sooth your muscles. You can relax completely. Feel the coolness of the snow flakes on your forehead. It feels so pleasant, a wonderful contrast from the hot water. Let all your stresses escape, drifting away like the rising steam. (Pause) Notice the beautiful scenery around you. Snow, trees, and rocks peering through the fog. It is so quiet here. The only sound is the quiet trickling of the water from a crack in the rocks. You can hear the water, as it flows into the pool. Just relax, enjoying these beautiful hot springs. (Pause) When you are ready to reawaken and return to the hours ahead, imagine stepping out of the hot springs, onto the warm, dry rocks beside. See yourself putting on your bath robe and sandals, and going back inside the cabin. The snow that touches your feet feels pleasantly cool, and helps you to wake up. Imagine opening the cabin door, and going inside. The cabin is warm and dry. Keep with you a feeling of warmth and calm, as you gradually return to the present. Notice your actual surroundings, and become reoriented to where you are right now. Move your arms and legs, and feel your muscles waking up. Sit quietly for a moment with your eyes open, returning to full wakefulness.

Hello my beautiful friends. Today we will go on a journey to meet and maybe even communicate with our spirit guides. We are going to offer the desire to have their presence be known. Lets start by finding a comfortable and quiet place to sit. You can sit in a chair with your feet planted firmly on the ground. Or you can sit in a crossed legged position, maybe with your back resting against a wall or stable surface. Remember you can always return to this meditation, anytime you would like to encounter the energy, love for you, and knowingness of your entire being from your spirit guides. Perhaps this has been a long time coming, connecting with your spirit guides. Maybe you just found out about spirit guides today! Wherever you are in your journey or understanding of spirit guides, Welcome! I want you to start by coming more in tune with my voice, still present in reality. But sinking deeper and deeper into relaxation. Lets start to connect with our breaths. Taking a nice deep inhale and a full exhale out. Lets do that again. INHALE….. and EXHALE…. As you release your stresses and tensions with each exhale, find yourself becoming more and more relaxed. Lets get our-self grounded to the core of the Earth. Start by imagining a beautiful warm light emanating from the earth and flowing directly into your body. And as this light moves into your body- it helps you to relax all the way to your muscles through your joints, tendons and ligaments. Allow this light to feel warm and inviting helping you to relax even more. Allow the warm light to flow all the way through the body… through the top of the head, relaxing the mind. Take a few more breaths in and out. You may even feel energy moving around you as your aura gets larger and expands, because we are going to be meeting our spirit guides, we will actually be connecting aura to aura. Now start to become present in your third eye chakra- right in the middle of your head. And let's create a sanctuary together. Maybe you already have a favorite place where you like to go when you journey through your meditations, or maybe you want to create a new one. In this space in your mind, create a sanctuary just for YOU, a place where you feel safe, relaxed and empowered. Maybe you are on top of a mountain. Maybe you are near the ocean. Allow your mind to show you what you need--what works for you best and really engage in this private beautiful sanctuary. Now that you are here in your sanctuary, we are going to place an intention that you will meet your spirit guides. And we are going to allow the information to flow in to you easily. In truth, you have already met these guides many times before. Perhaps just not consciously. Now in your sanctuary, you notice a door. It may not have been there before. But it is now. We will begin our journey by walking through the door to meet our spirit guides. As you walk through the doorway, you see you are entering a hallway. The is a beautiful courtyard, full of light, music, and happy feelings that begin to engage the inside of your being. The inside of this area is absolutely beautiful. As you head towards the end of this corridor, you notice there's yet another door. You begin to approach it, taking notice of the new hallway you are in. As you come to the second door, you start to move through it. As you enter a new room, you feel complete serenity. As you look closer, you notice there's a table, just like a large altar in front of you. As you start to approach the altar, you notice its shape and color; you approach the altar a bit more and begin to sense energy. You start to notice a very bright, beautiful light just behind the altar. You blink your eyes and a figure starts to appear – you see this figure begin to emanate from the glow of the light. You realize you are in the presence of your spirit guide, who is thrilled to meet you through your consciousness- maybe you shake hands, or maybe you notice the kind and through the familiarity you decide to embrace them. You Suddenly feel there is so much to talk about. And you remember that you have known this person for a very long period of time. Use this time to ask your guides questions. Maybe start with they decided to be your spirit guide. How do they feel about your journey today in connecting and communicating with them. Now it's time to say goodbye, you hug them and whisper a gentle goodbye. You know you can come back to this place anytime you choose. Before you leave, your spirit guide gives you one more piece of the puzzle. They present you with a gift. Something perhaps you've always wanted to have the answer to, is represented by this gift. Maybe something that will help clarify a certain situation you are currently going through in life, or a message they wanted to share with you from the past. They tell you it is time to leave; you turn away from the altar and start to head back to the hallway, back to the corridor from which you came. You start to notice another bright light, this time it is coming from above you. You notice that the light starts to surround you—it lifts you off the ground and sweeps you away. You realize this light is moving you back into your body. Remembering the gift your spirit guide gave you, you put it in a special spot in the back of your mind. Your intuition, Wherever you're sitting, begin to gently and slowly bring your awareness back to the room. Maybe make those small movements in the body, wiggling the fingers and toes. Opening and closing the palms of the hands. And then when you're ready, you can begin to open your eyes.

We can enhance our meditation practice by pairing simple tools based on our mood and energy. Using essential oils and crystals can help you create a positive environment by shifting the energy and vibration around you. These subtle, yet powerful, tools affect the environment energetically to help support, comfort and motivate you. The use of crystals and essential oils can help you achieve your goals in a healthy and fun way. Essential Oils can enhance meditation, promote relaxation and encourage spiritual openness. You can use essential oils by This can help stimulate the senses, promote relaxation, and create an ambient space to help you focus. You can also apply the oils directly to your skin. They can be applied to sore areas (think muscle soreness) that may distract your mind, they can be applied to your palms for a self-directed inhalation, or to your pulse points. Here are some of our favorite oils: -Sandalwood: Extremely cleansing oil that can help break up negative thoughts and stress in the mind. If you find you have an overly active mind that inhibits you to focus and relax while you meditate, this is the oil for you! Sandalwood is also a hypotensive, which can help lower your blood pressure, which will help you physically relax. This is also a great oil to help you feel more balanced and grounded. -Lavender: Lavender is one of the best essential oils for meditation due to its calming properties, which can help clear the mind to achieve clarity. Lavender is also an anxiolytic, antidepressant and relaxant. Since this is such a calming oil, it is great to use if you find yourself restless during meditation. -Clary Sage: You may have used sage to help remove negative energies from a space like your home. Clary Sage oil has a similar effect; it can help clear negative energies and thoughts that distract the mind from focusing. Clary sage can also elevate the mood and aid in a positive meditation experience. -Frankincense: Frankincense is said to be the most powerful essential oil for the spirit. It is great for grounding, balancing and openness. It can also help relieve stress, rid pain and inflammation and clear the nasal passages. -Eucalyptus: If you find your airways are blocked or inflamed causing difficulty in finding your breath, this is the oil for you. Eucalyptus is an expectorant and will help clear the airways and help relieve chest tightness to help you breathe deeply. -Neroli: This is a spiritually transformative essential oil that can help achieve mindfulness, clarity and inner peace.. When it is used during meditation, it can promote self-love and acceptance, inspire creativity and reduce fears. It can also help reduce pain and inflammation and decrease blood pressure and cortisol levels.

Did you ever notice the long gorgeous strand of beads your yoga instructor wears? These strings of beads are actually a traditional tool of meditation used by a variety of cultures across the world. They are called mala beads and are used during meditation when you focus on repeating a mantra or intention. The mala itself traditionally has 108 beads and is used during meditation as a way to count breaths or repetitions of a mantra. For examples of mantras take a peak back at Day 2 of our challenge! Most malas have a tassel or guru bead, which marks the beginning and the end of your meditation. Malas are a helpful way to keep your mind focused and help guide your attention if your mind drifts. How to Use Mala Beads: Set yourself up for your meditation. Find a comfortable, quiet seat. Focus on the mantra or intention you will be meditating on. Using your right hand, drape the beads over either your middle finger or the ring finger. Repeat the mantra in your mind, drawing the mala toward you with your thumb. One bead equals one repetition. When you reach the guru bead, you have made it through one cycle. You can choose to stop here or maybe continue your meditation by rotating the mala and counting down the other side.

Come to a comfortable seat. -You can sit on a chair, feet planted on the ground. Spine nice and tall. -You can sit on the floor, couch or bed in a crossed-legged seat. Spine nice and tall. Close your eyes and bring your attention to your breath. Take a nice deep slow inhale through the nose; fill up the lungs with air. Then exhale through the nose or month, emptying as much breath as you can. When you notice your mind starting to wander—don’t worry, its just human nature—return your focus to your breath. Maybe say the words INHALE and EXHALE on each breath to give you something to focus on. We are going to start by letting our minds think about everything and anything. Sometimes when we tell ourselves to stop thinking about things and become quiet, our mind retaliates and goes into hyper-drive. For 1 whole minute, I want you to Let your thoughts pour in… You can think about your stresses from your day or week, and all of the possible scenarios you have been obsessing over. I will call you back when your minute is up. ((TIME ! MIN)) What did you notice about the thoughts you let flood your mind for the last minute? Were these mostly positive or mostly negative thoughts? Likely these thoughts were your most stressful, pressing and likely negative thoughts But that’s ok, for the next 1 minute, we are going to guide our thoughts so that they are only positive, and shower ourselves with gratitude. We are going to start by simply saying thank you quietly to ourselves. Say thank you for everything you are thinking about and all that you are grateful for. Then, let your “thank you’s” be more specific: “Thank you to my body for supporting me each day I wake”, “Thank you to my feet for taking me everywhere I need to go”, “Thank you to my heart for allowing me to love myself and others”… I will call you back when your minute is up. ((TIME 1 MIN)) Were you able to flood your mind with positive, loving thoughts? If not, that is okay… we will now turn our attention to our breaths. Begin by noticing your breath, do not change or manipulate it. Notice if your breath is short and shallow or quick and sharp. Now start to even out your inhales and exhales. You can inhale through the nose and exhale out the mouth or inhale through the nose and exhale through the nose. If a thought comes in, simply say thank you and return to your breathing. Your mind should begin to quiet. If thoughts continue to bombard you, you can turn your attention to saying “inhale” silently in your mind on each in breath, and “exhale” on each out breath. You could also visualize a cloudy sky and send those thoughts on a cloud to gently passing by, letting them know you will acknowledge them later. Try not to get frustrated if you end up down the rabbit hole of thoughts and loose focus of your breath, simply reset yourself and regain your focus. We will now anchor ourselves with the breath and guided visualizations. We will also use some mantras for self-empowerment and inner confidence that will also help us Let's start with a deep inhale through the nose and a nice full exhale Take another deep inhale, filling the belly and exhale Relax your shoulders-- inhale, focus on filling the belly and expanding the ribcage. Continue with these deep breaths. …….. Use this meditation as your opportunity to get grounded in the present moment. Check in with yourself, how is your body and spirit feeling? Maybe you had an exhausting week- or maybe your week is just starting… Let's take another deep inhale through the nose, allowing our chest to expand broadly and proudly. INHALE, releasing any tension in the shoulders on the exhale. Be proud and feel confident. If the mind wanders, that is perfectly okay. Just refocus on the breath and choose to come home to the mind. Every time you wander, come home to the breath. We will get ready to introduce some mantras, and focus on each of our chakras. As you repeat these mantras to yourself, take ownership of the words. Send your breath to the base of your spine, the root chakra. Visualize a glowing red light, shining bright. Repeat the mantra: “I am safe” , “I am safe” , “I am safe” Moving up to your low belly/pelvis area, envision a bright orange light, the sacral chakra. Repeat the mantra “I am creative.”, “I am creative.” , “I am creative.” Bring you attention now to your abdomen just above the navel, the solar plexus chakra. Envision yellow energy shining from you here. Repeat to yourself “I am confident” , “I am confident”, “I am confident”. Taking your attention to your heart space. Breathe in a glowing green light. Think about what the words mean as you say softly to yourself, “I am love.”, “I am love.”, “I am love.” Imagine crystal clear blue light moving through your throat with every inhale and exhale, our throat chakra. Silently repeat to yourself, “I am truth.” , “I am truth.”, “I am truth.”. Now bring your attention to your forehead, Imagine a purple light swirling in the middle of your browline, our third eye chakra. Speak, “I am wisdom,” to your inner self. , “I am wisdom,”, “I am wisdom,” Finally, bring your attention to the top of your head, the crown chakra. Visualize a swirling ball of indigo light, as you repeat, “I am whole.”, “I am whole.”, “I am whole.” Take a deep inhale through the nose taking in the power of these words, filling the lungs all the way down to the belly filling in with all the opportunity that's in the air As you exhale, heal and release, letting go of any remaining tension. Lets turn our awareness in our imagination. We will go to a mountain top. I invite you to visualize yourself. You're standing tall and proud, confident that you are inherently magnificent. Envision the mountain you are on and the scenery around you, feel yourself connected to the earth. You are inherently grounded. You are inherently strong. If you find thoughts or ideas, cross your mind. I invite you to visualize them as clouds in the sky. Observe them at first and then allow them to float by. Sometimes there will be big clouds and sometimes there will be small ones, but remember there will always be a blue sky above, you will always have your higher level of awareness. Thank the clouds for visiting and allow them to pass. Take a deep inhale, relaxing into this mountain top visualization. I now want you to visualize your body surrounded by a white shining light orb. Think of this as your aura shining bright . Notice with each inhale and exhale your light starts to shine brighter and brighter. Feel strong, proud and confident that you have balanced all of your energy centers and remember you can return here to this mountain whenever you need. Take 3 more deep inhale’s and exhales, and slowly start to bring your attention back to your body in the current moment. Start to take small movements in the body- maybe wiggling the fingers and toes, opening and closing the palms of the hands, maybe even rotate the neck from side to side. And slowly begin to open your eye. I hope you had a wonderful journey my friends, you should feel so proud you took this trip, and all you accomplished along the way. Until next time my friends, NAMASTE.

Learn methods to quiet the mind and stay connected to your breath (5 minutes is longer than you think!)

Today you will be guided through a 10min visualization meditation. We will take a trip to our cabin in the woods and enjoy a soak in the natural hot springs.

Today we will close the eyes and tune inside our bodies to harness the power and energy of our chakras.