Meditation for Developing Positive Attitudes
We have arrived Girlfriends! Today is the final chapter of my four part guided meditation series. Today, I am going to give you one final hand mudra (and again mudra which is simply a yogic way of saying hand gesture) to use as a support tool for restoration, relaxation - who couldn’t benefit from that right now? So, if you are new to using hand mudras to direct prana breath in your body, today your deep self and nervous system is in for a treat! I offer this meditation for developing a positive attitude and as a way to connect you to renewal, reset and wellness.
First let’s review. we're going are going to talk about four important steps for reducing stress and re-establishing balance. Again, after this podcast I invite you to listen to the previous three episodes to map these concepts out completely.
1 - The Art of Deep Relaxation
4 - Cultivating a Positive Attitude
These first three steps help to reduce stress, but in order to manage our level of stress continually, we need to change our attitudes and beliefs in order to see ourselves and our lives more positively.
Which brings us to number four - LETS BEGIN -
Meditation for developing Positive Attitudes.
Mudra and affirmations are extremely helpful in cultivating more positive attitudes. Mudras also support the release of limiting beliefs and patterns of conditioning, allowing us to see life with fresh eyes as a field of possibilities. Today's hand gesture is one of the best mudras for creating and cultivating a positive mental attitude.
The Sanskrit word for this meditation is Ushas mudra. The word Ushas means Dawn. The Ushas mudra supports us in welcoming each day enthusiastically as a field of infinite possibilities. If we integrate greeting each day with fresh positivity, we release any judgments we hold about ourselves or others, allowing us to celebrate life as it is, rather than complaining how it should be or how we would like it to be different. When we embrace each morning as a field of appreciation and one as a state of growing and learning - we are able to live more fully and in the present moment with greater appreciation and presence of all the possibilities that life has to offer. Allowing for our paths to unfold naturally and thus creating a cycle of well-being where we step fully into our creativity and can live joyfully.
Let’s give it a try.
Bring both hands out in front of you at waist level with palms facing upwards.
Interlace the fingers loosely and rest the hands on the lap with a palms continuing to face upwards.
Let the tips of the thumbs lightly touch each other.
Relax the shoulders back and down and with the elbow slightly away from the body the spine naturally aligns.
Yes Girlfriends, we are simply folding our hands and placing them in our laps. But as you hold this hand gesture, begin to take several natural breaths to attune to all the feelings and sensations awakened by this gesture.
Notice how your breath flows smoothly throughout your entire torso from the base of your body all the way up to the crown of your head. Begin to sense how each inhalation cultivates a sense of enthusiasm and uplifting energy while each exhalation instills a sense of serenity allowing you to relax completely.
This balance of enthusiasm and serenity allows you to greet each day as a unique opportunity to unfold all of your talent and possibilities. To cultivate this more open way of seeing, visualize yourself in the pre-dawn, ready to embrace the new day with fresh eyes as if seeing life for the very first time.
With the sun's first rays, take several breaths to visualize the sky, transform it into a watercolor of orange and gold a canvas upon which all your possibilities naturally unfold. The background of this water color is a clear crisp blue sky - a reflection of your own openness and receptivity inspiring you to paint your life canvas creatively.
As the sun rises slowly, notice how it's dissolved light bathes each part of your body progressively, allowing you to absorb and the brilliance of this new dawning day.
Begin by taking several breaths to sense the sun's rays softly illuminating your face and allowing you to see your life in fresh new ways. Now the Rising Sun gently warms your throat and neck as you take some time to sense a growing clarity and which you communicate positively and authentically.
Infused with clarity, the dawning rays bathing your shoulders and chest, take several breaths to fill your heart with uplifting energy and your lungs with vitality.
Your arms and hand now receive the dawn’s growing light, enhancing your sensitivity, allowing you to touch and be touched by other beings and a natural balance of giving and receiving. As the sun rises higher, it's rays gently warm your solar plexus. Here at your very center you are awakening the inherent self-esteem that allows you to overcome all challenges along your journey.
As the sun's full-strength iluminates your pelvis, your legs and feet, take several breaths to sense the support of the earth beneath, allowing you to step forward into life confidently. Now the suns full rays burn the early morning mist away, reflecting your openness and clarity, allowing you to fully appreciate the miracle of this new day.
With openness and clarity, repeat the following phrase in your mind’s eye silently:
I receive each new day openly and enthusiastically as a field of infinite possibilities.
I receive each new day openly and enthusiastically as a field of infinite possibilities.
I receive each new day openly and enthusiastically as a field of infinite possibilities.
Slowly release this hand gesture, taking several breaths to sense your infinite possibilities, and when you're ready flutter open your eyes returning slowly and gently - welcoming each day as a Marvelous Mystery to be lived fully and joyfully.
I hope that felt wonderful Girlfriends! I could feel the breath and awareness in my entire front of the torso, creating a massaging effect that I know was helping all of my circulatory systems. This meditation practice is so yummy on the nervous system - it has a harmonizing effect whenever you're feeling a little bit off balanced and I just find the effects so soothing in helping me cultivate a New Perspective. The flow of breath through both nostrils evenly cultivates a greater sense of equanimity. The combination of harmonious breathing and greater sense of equanimity helps us balance while allowing us to engage in life completely and recognizing that the results of our actions are often beyond our personal control.
Those of you who have been following me for a while now know that I am a total Chakra girl and the effects of this meditation on the energetic body is amazing. I can feel the breath balancing both upward and downward currents of energy and this hand mudra really opens and balances the first through fifth chakras. Whether you're into chakras or not, I hope experiencing this guided meditation with hand mudra just cultivates calm and mental clarity for your centering so that you can view life just a little bit more positively. I want you to be able to clear your mind, reduce negative thinking and allow yourself to do daily activities and projects with a sense of openness and curiosity so that you can tap into harmony, enthusiasm and clarity, I hope all four in this mediation series helped your connect to your life path and all of it’s possibilities while experiencing deep appreciation for each and every moment as you connect with your true being.
I believe that we're shards of glass broken from the same vessel. It is in looking at our own pieces of shattered glass that we seek to unify these pieces and recognize that same light in others.
I am here to support you, you know where to find me, GirlfriendsGuru.com but regardless of the actions you choose to take, the essential element will be the internal gesture of choosing to remain in love, It’s all that is needed.
Namaste girlfriends!