Powerful Pause Meditation: New Beginnings

This meditation is themed around the idea of new beginnings and is designed to calm a busy mind by gently guiding you back to yourself.

We get curious about how each new breath creates space for new awareness by bringing us back to the present moment. 

This guided meditation was inspired by our Powerful Pause meditation sessions, where we come together to meditate every few weeks. If you're a Performer member you can take advantage of these free sessions (please ensure you're opted in to receive our emails for upcoming dates and booking information).

25 minute listen. We recommend listening to this meditation with headphones on.

Listen to other meditations in the Powerful Pause series.

Meditation Transcript:

Bea Grist, Mental Health and Wellbeing Manager: 

Hello, my name is Bea and I’m the Mental Health and Wellbeing Manager at Spotlight. 

I’m recording this in January

And in this new year of 2022

This is an opportunity for you to see if you can bring something new to your practice today

And that might be finding a new position

Or becoming aware of a new sensation or feeling in your body

Or perhaps just being aware of the new space that gets created when you breathe.

So wherever you are

Finding a comfortable position

Making any adjustments that are needed

You can sit for this meditation or you may prefer to lie down

Just take a moment to check in and see what’s going to be most supportive for you today

Making sure your warm enough so perhaps having a blanket over you.

And if you’re sitting

Ensuring that you back is nice and straight

You might like to have a pillow or cushion behind your back to help you sit up straight

Just allowing your arms to rest softly wherever is comfortable

Softening into the hands

Releasing any tension here.

And let’s take a nice big inhale here

And sighing out through the mouth

Just taking a moment to arrive into this moment

Switching gears

Slowing down

Knowing that there is nothing you need to do

And nowhere you need to be.

Let’s do a few shoulder rolls together now

So breathing in - bringing your shoulders forwards and up towards your ears

Breathing out - rolling your shoulders away from your ears

Feeling any tension in your shoulders melting away as you do this.

Let’s do that again but this time see if you can bring a beginners mind to your shoulder

Almost like you’re aware of them for the first time

Being really curious about how they feel and how they move

Breathing in

Bring your shoulders up to the ears

Breathing out

Letting your shoulder drop back down and away from the ears.

Let’s do that one more time

Breathing in

Bringing the shoulders up

Breathing out

Releasing them back down.

As we take this time to turn towards ourselves

Let’s see if we bring a new awareness to ourselves

A gentle curiosity of what it means to just be

To meet ourselves in stillness

In quiet.

Gently take your attention to your face now

Noticing how the face feels

And softening into any areas that might be feeling tight or perhaps tense.

It might feel nice to take a really big yawn

Feeling any tension in your jaw starting to release

When you close your mouth

Let you tongue rest at the bottom of your mouth

And feel a soft openness in your jaw muscles.

And if you’ve not already done so

Just closing your eyes now

Or softening or lowering your gaze if that’s more comfortable.

You have chosen to take this time for yourself
So maybe take a moment

to give yourself some gratitude for showing up today.

And as you sit there

Just take a couple of nice deep breaths

Breathing in through the nose

And breathing slowly out through the mouth.

As you breathe in through the nose

Feel a sense of taking in fresh new air

The lungs expanding

The body expanding

Breathing in positive, radiant energy

Allowing it to nourish every part of your body.

Following the flow of new air

As it goes in
and comes out.

And now just imagine the warm tropical rain
Showering the body and the mind

Washing away any tension or tightness

Feeling the body get heavier and heavier
as it relaxes and melts into the ground.

And the next time as you breathe out
Maybe letting go of anything you’re ready to release

Letting go of any feelings of uncertainty, fear or perhaps doubts

Letting go of whatever has been going on for you today or this morning.

Inviting a gentle current of softness into the body

Welcome any sensations of peace and heaviness that may be in your body.

Breathing in

And taking a long deep exhale out

This is your time

To be with yourself.

Deep breath in

Exhale out.

Just a couple more times

Taking deep breaths in through the nose

And out through the mouth.

And as you sit there just enjoy that initial sense

Of putting everything down

And just that feeling of being present again

Knowing that by choosing to accept the moment

You are also choosing calmness, relaxation and peace.

Starting to notice how the body feels now

And allowing any tension or emotions to come to the surface

Knowing that’s a good thing

Let yourself really welcome

Whatever it is that you’re feeling.

And just starting to notice the breath now as well

The breath is also a good indicator of how we’re feeling in both body and mind.

And without trying to change the breath in any way

Just noticing if the breath is long, short, deep or shallow

You can just gently place your hand on your stomach or the sides of the body

If you find that easier to feel that movement.

And even though thoughts may continue to pop in

Perhaps about what’s happened during the morning or day

Maybe where you’ve just come from

Or possibly even jumping ahead about what’s to come

Each time you see the mind wandering off

Just letting go of that

And coming back to the present

Back to the new beginning that the breath always offers

It is our present moment anchor.

Remember that mindfulness is not about having a blank mind

It’s normal to think

So don’t judge yourself for thinking

Simply allow any thoughts to come and go

Imagine placing each thought on a white fluffy cloud

And then watch them float away.

So in meditating we’re changing our relationship with the passing thoughts and feelings

We learn how to view them with a little more perspective

And when we do this we naturally find a place of calm.

We will sometimes become distracted

And that’s ok

But as soon as we remember

We’re back watching those clouds again

Knowing they will pass through

Perfectly at ease

In both body and mind.

Thinking is not important here

Realise that you are

More fully yourself
when you’re not thinking.

And when you’re not thinking

You can realise what being is

What it means ‘to be’
And you can sense the being that you are.

Feeling that sense of being present in your whole body now

Feeling the aliveness inside the body
Being present with every cell of the body

See if you can explore something new in your body

Maybe an area that you don’t often feel

Or a place that you’re very often not connected to

It might be behind your ears

Or perhaps your fourth toe on your left foot

Maybe the area between your shoulder blades

Just have a little explore and see what is new for you.

When we sit in this presence

We are in our natural state

This is where we are most ourselves

This is the place where we belong

In presence

In peace.

Actual presence is when there is no background commentary
We are just simply being

In the moment

So just notice the impact

When you’re in this place.

What is it like to be here?

What’s possible from here?

Just notice what comes up for you

There are no right or wrong answers here

Only what is true for you

So give yourself permission to let go of any expectations that might be here

And just lovingly accept whatever comes up.

All we’re doing is realising presence

We’re just noticing what it means to be present in our lives.

There’s no time here

Past and future become irrelevant in presence

You are already complete

You don’t need the past to realise you who are

You don’t need the future to be more fully yourself.

And when we’re present

We’re more able to lead a happy and fulfilling life

Because we’re not transforming the challenges of life into an unhappy life

or an unhappy identity

We’re able to see the challenges of life for what they are

And we can address them in the present moment.

And we have our breath to remind us of this.

Because each new breath as a new beginning

And it reminds us to come back into the present moment

So when your mind is busy

Let the breath guide you back to yourself.

When you focus on your breath

You are always focused on the present moment

You cannot get back a past breath

You cannot breathe in a future breath

You can only breathe this breath

Right now.

I’m going to give you 2 minutes now to just focus on your breath

Try to stay present with your breath

You may like to count the breath which can help with this

So breathing in 1

Breathing out 2

Breathing in 3

Breathing out 4

And so on until you get to 10

And then begin again.

When we are being with what is
We are in our natural state
When we get out of our own way
We find peace.

We can always switch from doing to being
And find the gift in the present moment.

And know that this place
is always available to you.

And let's give the mind plenty of space now
So if the mind wants to think, let it think.

Soon we’ll bring this meditation to a close
So let’s inhale for 3
1, 2, 3,
And then just sighing it out

Inhaling again for
1, 2, 3
And letting it go.

Noticing how you feel
Staying present
Just keep observing
Noticing what thoughts come up
Just letting it unfold as it is.

Another deep breath now
returning to this space and this time
Breathing in the space
breathing in your presence 

And wherever you are just begin to find some
soft, gentle easy movement with the neck
So maybe just very gently moving the neck from side to side
You might like to very gently shake the head yes and then no
Just taking some soft easy movement with the neck and the shoulders
So maybe rolling the shoulders back or forwards a few times
Easing out any kinks or tightness.

Just allow this movement to spread throughout the body

So maybe taking a nice wake-up stretch

Maybe a yawn.

And before you open your eyes
Just take a moment to notice how you feel
And then when you’re ready
slowly open your eyes.

Main Photo by Ian Stauffer on Unsplash