I had the immense pleasure last week of guiding a meditation workshop for a beautiful group of NYC editors in a breathtaking loft on the west side highway in honor of the unveiling of KIND snack’s latest baby, KIND breakfast bars! When my friends at KIND reached out to me about creating a “KIND way to start the day”, we were immediately on the same page about how important the first few hours of your day are for setting the tone of how everything else flows. They put together a fabulous event that included Tara Milhem from TheWholeTara.com mixing together her favorite smoothie recipes, Lauren Taus taking us through a rise and shine morning yoga flow and myself guiding a few meditations to let go of any stress or anxiety and reconnect to our inner truth. Of course, I didn’t want you to miss out on all the fun, so I’ve included a play by play of my little meditation “buffet” as well as some fun snaps of the event!
Oh and how can I forget about our guest of honor? KIND breakfast bars are available today at Targets all over but you can also purchase them with a special 15% discount at KindSnack.com by putting in the code: KINDBREAKFAST. These bars are great to grab on the go with a coconut yogurt or packet of almond butter. The cocoa bar is also a pretty divine dessert-for-breakfast treat with a cup of hot tea!
My Morning Meditation “Breakfast Buffet”
We began with the kundalini meditation “ego irradicator” while listening to Florence + The Machine’s “You’ve Got the Love”.
Refresher: Sit cross-legged with your arms up at a 60 degree angle, fingers touching the top pads of your palm and thumbs plugging into the sky. Close your eyes and begin breath of fire, breathing aggressively out the nose like you are blowing a piece of hair off your lips, focusing on the exhale and allowing the inhale to come naturally. When the song ends, allow thumbs to magnetically float together and hold, extending all the fingers as you take a deep breath in and hold it for ten seconds. Release your hands down around your body coming to touch your finger tips to the floor.
Next, we channel our inner light while listening to India Arie’s “I am Light”.
Refresher: Sit cross legged, palms face up resting on your knees, close your eyes and visualize a glowing ball of light at your hearts center. With each breathe watch and feel this ball of light grow bigger till it’s so big that it’s seeping through every pore of your being and surrounding you in a golden bubble of light. Let the light wash away any stress or strain, negative emotions or beliefs that aren’t serving you. When the song is coming to a close, take a deep breath in and hold it for 10 seconds allow yourself to feel completely surrounded and supported by this light that has emanated from the core of your being. Exhale.
We then moved on to a kundalini meditation for balance and purification while playing Megan Trainor’s “Close Your Eyes”.
Refresher: Sitting on our heels, we folded our arms like “I dream of Genie”, right arm on top of left, fingers touching elbows, at chest height. We close our eyes and allow our breath to support us through the next few minutes apply pressure to the juncture of the hands and elbows which allows us to lengthen our spine and balance our posture. After 3 mins or when the music is coming to a close, take a deep breath in and apply even more pressure to the arms, holding them super tight for ten seconds and then releasing.
Lastly, we closed with the simple mantra “Let Go” on our breathe to help us release any anxiety or frustration around the agenda for the day ahead. Simple closing our eyes and saying silently to ourselves, “LET” on the inhale and “GO” on the exhale. If you’d like to listen to a guided version of this meditation feel free to check out https://cassandrabodzak.com/guided-meditation-beginners. It’s a great place to start your practice with just a few minutes a day!