A hug of love - meditation for anytime, anyplace, anyone

A hug of love is my meditation for everyday in February. I like to do this with groups if I'm giving a talk, or by myself - recently I've been enjoying doing it outside. Last weekend barefoot on the grass, or this morning watching the sun rise over our local reservoir as the geese drifted on by, and watching the sun reflect in the windows of the sailing club club-house.

It's an easy and straightforward one and you can adapt it to suit yourself....

I'd love to know what you think - or see where you end up enjoying the meditation - feel free to drop me a line to em@emmacolley.co.uk.

Happy meditating!

Em x
 
If you can, stand up, making sure there’s some space in front of you for later in the meditation.  Breathe normally for a moment, noticing your breath move in and out of your body. Then take a deep breath and place your hands on your stomach. Notice how your stomach goes in and out as you breathe. And out loud, or just to yourself, keeping your hands on your stomach, say “I’m here”. Feel yourself really present, really here.
 
Move your hands upwards to place them over your heart. Breathing in, feeling your hands on your skin or on your clothes. Once you’re ready, you can say out loud, or to yourself, “I’m open”. Feel your chest expand outwards, allowing your heart space to fully open to yourself and the people and world around you. And you could say again “I’m open”. Breathing in that openness and enjoying the feeling of space.
 
Move your hands upwards to your head, one on each side of the top of your head. Breathe in and notice your hands against your hair or your skin on your head, and out, feeling your whole body relax a little with the out breath.  And when you’re ready, to say, out loud or to yourself, “I’m awake”. Feeling how alive you are here and now in this moment. Knowing that life is a collection of moments like these. You can repeat “I’m awake”.
 
Now reaching upwards to the sky with your hands above your head, stretching out your finger tips to the sky, feeling your arms reach up towards the ceiling in the room or the sky if you’re outside. Breathe in a deep breath and hold it for a second before breathing out. Then release the breath, keeping the arms stretched upwards. Either out loud or to yourself, just say “Thank you”. “Thank you for the air, for the seasons and the different weather we get to nourish us and make our food”.
 
Then a lovely big in breath, hold for a second and breathing out whilst you lower your hands to the floor, or as low down as you can stretch your hands. Here we’ll thank the earth for allowing us to be here today. So breathing in, holding it a moment and then breathing back out. Either out loud or to yourself, say “Thank you”.
 
Pause here for a moment then roll upwards, feeling your spine straighten out and feel just how tall you are, standing proud. Standing in your own space, feeling the love within and around yourself.
 
Take a moment to imagine yourself surrounded with love, like a big hug wrapped all around you and really breathe that in fully. Breathe it down to your feet and into all your cells. If you can expand that love to everyone in the room, then to everyone in your friends and family circle, your town, the county, feeling that love in the air and around everyone.  So then imagine giving the world a hug, reaching your arms around it and gently filling the whole world with love.  Feel that love, that hug and imagine people feeling the warmth around them. Breathing that in fully and really feel it coming back to yourself too. Gently, gently, let your focus come back to yourself, to the people in this space knowing that you can act from the heart with love for yourself and for the others around you. Imagine that energy coming back to you, from the world, the country, your family and the people in the house or the room where you are right now. Know that you are loved.
 
If you’re in bed then you can take a few breaths in and out, breathing that love around your body and saying thank you as you start to drift off to sleep. Thank you.
 
If you’re about to get going for the rest of the day, feel that hug around you and know you’ll have lots of energy for everything ahead of you. When you’re ready you can wriggle your fingers and toes and open your eyes. Thank you.