Stress Helps Us Grow

Let's start by finding a comfortable posture. This could be sitting, standing or lying down. If it feels okay to do so, you can close your eyes. And we'll take one deep breath together to settle in. Breathing in through the nose.

And slowly out through the mouth. Inviting the jaw to relax. Letting the shoulders be at ease. As well as the hands and the belly. And as the body starts to settle in, you can let your breath come back to its natural rhythm.

No need to force a particular breathing pattern. And just feel yourself ease into this relaxed awareness of the present moment and of your breathing. In today's meditation, we're going to practice reconditioning our relationship to perceived frustrations or stressors. Now there may be some obvious discomforts or stressors that you're currently working with. And it's also possible you may be experiencing a sense of peace right now.

The way this will work is we'll give ourselves one thing to focus on. This could be the breath, or it could be something else. You'll use that as your home base. And when the mind goes someplace else, or you get caught in something that feels distracting or stressful or frustrating, we're going to perceive that as an opportunity, as a chance for us to strengthen our presence, as a chance for us to practice, acceptance, letting go, relaxation. And we don't get this opportunity without something that stresses us a little bit.

So regardless of what comes up in your practice, perspective you're taking is at this as an opportunity for me to develop some quality of my mind. I'll give you some time in silence to practice. As we come to the end of our meditation, let's take one more deep breath together. In through the nose. And slowly out through mouth.

You can begin to reorient yourself back into the space. And allow your eyes to open. Good job today. As you go about the rest of your day and into tomorrow, as you experience various stressors notice what your default response is to that. And whatever it might be, see if you can recondition yourself to see these moments as opportunities, opportunities to expand your heart opportunities, to take action opportunities, to grow.

How we view stress, impacts how we experience it and what comes next. You're doing great. Thank you for your practice and take care.