5 Essential Meditation Scripts for yoga teachers By Kelly Stine ©Leading Light Yoga, All Right Reserved. "Meditation provides a deeper appreciation of the interrelatedness of all things and the part that each person plays." Ram Dass Medi tati on and Mi ndful ness are becomi ng more mai nstream. Wi th an everi ncreasi ng body of research substanti ati ng the benefi ts of medi tati on, more peopl e than ever are i nterested i n l earni ng how to i ncorporate thi s anci ent practi ce i nto thei r own l i ves. (Especi al l y yoga students! ) I t' s often assumed that yoga students have a medi tate practi ce, but that' s not al ways the case. Some don' t have the ti me. Others mi ght not know how. Sti l l others practi ce yoga for the physi cal benefi ts and don' t yet understand how mi ndful ness pl ays i n. That' s why i ncorporati ng a short medi tati on i nto the fl ow of a yoga cl ass can be SO benefi ci al ! I t has been my experi ence that students wi th a regul ar medi tati on practi ce tend to be more focused, l i sten and understand i nstructi on better, are more pl ayful and curi ous, and take on a more sel f-di rected approach to thei r practi ce. So, everyone wi ns when students are medi tati ng - i ncl udi ng you! I f you' ve been hesi tant to weave a medi tati on i nto your yoga cl ass, fretti ng that you don' t know how, I' m here to get you started! I' ve l oaded thi s PDF wi th al l the essenti al detai l s so that you know what to say and when to say i t. l et' s di g i n! ©Leading Light Yoga, All Right Reserved. Set up for Success A few key points for leading meditation: 01 Where to look To some extent, you want to meditate with the group as you lead. Keep your eyes open for the duration and maintain a soft gaze throughout. Follow your own instructions as you speak them - putting your awareness where ever you direct your students to put theirs. At the same time, remain aware of what is going on in the room. Are the students still? Are they breathing? Are they sitting tall? Notice. 02 Voice 03 Cadence 04 Speak with a natural, conversational voice and add a downward inflection at the end each statement - as thought there is a period at the end of each one of your instructions. Avoid using a dreamy or "meditation" voice unless that is your natural speaking voice. Give one instruction at a time and leave a 4-count pause afterwards so students can comfortably integrate the information. In the scripts, the recommended time to pause is indicated with "...". The parenthesis In the scripts, you'll see some instructions in parenthesis. This either indicates a leader note (this is an action you'll take, silently) or an opportunity to customize the script to fit your community or the situation. ©Leading Light Yoga, All Right Reserved. 01 Breath Awareness When to use this meditation: This is your desert-island meditation. Use it when you are instructing a group new to meditation (or if you aren't sure of their experience). It's simple and sets a solid foundation. Welcome (everyone/friends/ yogis). Let's (start/end) with a short meditation where we will focus on our breath. The focus you put in here will help you (maintain better breath awareness as you practice/breath better throughout the day/ settle your mind). create a comfortable (seat/resting position) (wait for everyone to find their seat) (omit if in resting position) Sit up tall... spine lifted and light... and rest your hands on your knees (wait for everyone to settle) Start with your eyes open... with a soft gaze... now, take a breath in through your nose... and out through your mouth.... in through the nose... out through the mouth... take a few more breaths like that and notice how the body softens on the inhales... and settles on the exhales (watch someone take 3 breaths) After the third breath, you can gently close your eyes if you'd like... seal your lips and breath naturally in and out through the nose... (watch someone take 3 breaths). See if you can notice where you feel the breath in your body... is it in the belly... the chest... the nostrils... If you can't locate the breath, gently place your hands on your stomach and see if you can feel your stomach move as you breath (watch someone take 3 breaths) Now as you feel your breath in your body, watch closely the rising sensation in the body on the inhale... and the falling sensation in the body on the exhale... (inhale) feel the body expand... (exhale) feel the body relax back to center... (inhale) focus in on this one inhale... (exhale) and this one exhale... (5 breaths) If your attention has shifted somewhere else, that's OK... that's pretty common.. see if you can gently bring your attention back to this one inhale... and this one exhale... see if you can keep your attention on the direct experience of your breath. (5 breaths) Now, take a deep 3 breaths... allowing your awareness to go wherever it likes... after the 3 breaths, open your eyes (begin class/start your sign-off) ©Leading Light Yoga, All Right Reserved. 02 Body Scan When to use this meditation: When you are theming a class around an alignment principle or a body part. You can also use this meditation technique at the end of class if you notice students continuing to stretch and move instead of rest. Welcome (everyone/friends/ yogis). Let's (start/end) with a short meditation where we will focus our attention on our body. This focus will help you (maintain better body awareness during class/sleep better tonight/ relate with your body better throughout the day). create a comfortable (seat/resting position) (wait for everyone to find their seat) (omit if in resting position) Sit up tall... spine lifted and light... and rest your hands on your knees (wait for everyone to settle) Start with your eyes open and set a soft gaze... now, take a breath in through your nose... and out through your mouth.... in through the nose... out through the mouth... take a few more breaths like that and notice how the body softens on the inhales... and settles on the exhales (watch someone take 3 breaths) After the third breath, you can gently close your eyes if you'd like... seal your lips and breath naturally in and out through the nose... (watch someone take 3 breaths). See if you can notice where you feel the breath in your body... is it in the belly... the chest... the nostrils... If you can't locate the breath, gently place your hands on your stomach and see if you can feel your stomach move as you breath (watch someone take 3 breaths) Now, with your attention focused on the interior space of your body, check in on how your body feels... start at the top of your head... and scan your attention all the way down to to your toes... Notice any sensations... where there's tension... or feelings of restlessness... you might even notice areas where there's not much feeling at all and that's OK... See if you can feel without judgement and without fixing. (5 breaths) If your attention has shifted somewhere else, that's OK... it's pretty common.. see if you can gently bring your attention back to the body and your experience of the body. (watch someone take 5 breaths) Now, take a deep 3 breaths... allowing your awareness to go wherever it likes... (you can put your sign off here/ or tell them to open their eyes and start class) ©Leading Light Yoga, All Right Reserved. 03 Intentional Listening When to use this meditation: When ambient noise is present and students seem distracted or disturbed by it. (leader notes: wherever you see a "..." take a 4 count pause; if you choose to incorporate this at the end of class you will omit the introductory instructions ) Welcome (everybody/friends/ yogis). Let's (start/end) with a short meditation where we will focus on sound. The focus you put in here will help you (better hear my instructions during class/tune out any distractions/ increase the quality of your listening). create a comfortable (seat/resting position) (wait for everyone to find their seat) (omit if in resting position) Sit up tall... spine lifted and light... and rest your hands on your knees (wait for everyone to settle) Start with your eyes open and set a soft gaze... now, take a breath in through your nose... and out through your mouth.... in through the nose... out through the mouth... take a few more breaths like that and notice how the body softens on the inhales... and settles on the exhales (watch someone take 3 breaths) After the third breath, you can gently close your eyes if you'd like... seal your lips and breath naturally in and out through the nose... (watch someone take 3 breaths). now, see if you can tune into the sound of your own breath... can you pick it out from all the other sounds around you... without straining. (watch someone take 5 breaths) Now locate a different sound in the room... it could be (name 2 - 3 sounds you can hear or assume that they can hear)... see if you can tune into just that sound... without judging... or labelling... or straining... just noticing. (5 breaths) Now, back to your own breath... tune back into the sound of your own breath... see if you can take your listening off (repeat the 2-3 sound options you provided earlier)... and tune into the subtle sounds of your own breathing. (watch someone take 5 breaths) Now, take a deep 3 breaths... allowing your awareness to go wherever it likes... (you can put your sign off here/ or tell them to open their eyes and start class) ©Leading Light Yoga, All Right Reserved. 04 Points of Contact When to use this meditation: Use this to ground a mentally distracted group. I often use this meditation at the beginning of my 6pm classes where many students are joining directly from work. Welcome (everybody/friends/ yogis). Let's (start/end) with a short meditation where we will focus on grounding. The focus you put in here will help you (get present/better focus your attention on your practice/ settle your mind ). create a comfortable (seat/resting position) (wait for everyone to find their seat) (omit if in resting position) Sit up tall... spine lifted and light... and rest your hands on your knees (wait for everyone to settle) Start with your eyes open and set a soft gaze... now, take a breath in through your nose... and out through your mouth.... in through the nose... out through the mouth... take a few more breaths like that and notice how the body softens on the inhales... and settles on the exhales (watch someone take 3 breaths) After the third breath, you can gently close your eyes if you'd like... seal your lips and breath naturally in and out through the nose... (watch someone take 3 breaths). Notice your contact... anywhere your body is touching something... your feet on the floor... your seat on the (floor/block/seat)... your hands resting (on your thighs/in your lap)... rest your awareness there... (watch someone take 5 breaths) Now, see if you can feel the contact between your clothes and your body... maybe start where there is skin exposed... the neck... the arms... and notice the different between where your clothes touch... and don't touch. (5 breaths) Now, notice where the air contacts your skin... you might be able to sense the temperature... or the movement of air... maybe your breath on your upper lip or on the rings of your nostrils... (watch someone take 5 breaths) Now, take a deep 3 breaths... allowing your awareness to go wherever it likes... (start your sign off/ or tell them to open their eyes and start class) ©Leading Light Yoga, All Right Reserved. 05 Open Awareness When to use this meditation: Use this at the end of class. It's sightly more advanced and combines some of the skills developed in previous meditations. Here, we capitalize on the physical state achieved through an asana practice and use it to expand awareness beyond the physical body. Welcome (everybody/friends/ yogis). Let's (start/end) with a short meditation where we will focus on expanding awareness. The focus you put in here will help you (get present to your surroundings/better take in the bigger picture/integrate body, heart, mind, and spirit). create a comfortable (seat/resting position) (wait for everyone to find their seat) (omit if in resting position) Sit up tall... spine lifted and light... and rest your hands on your knees (wait for everyone to settle) Start with your eyes open and set a soft gaze... now, take a breath in through your nose... and out through your mouth.... in through the nose... out through the mouth... take a few more breaths like that and notice how the body softens on the inhales... and settles on the exhales (watch someone take 3 breaths) After the third breath, you can gently close your eyes if you'd like... seal your lips and breath naturally in and out through the nose... (watch someone take 3 breaths). Start with a body scan... start at the very top of your head... and move your attention all the way down through your body to your toes... rest your attention on each body segment for a moment to check in on any sensations... feeling tones... emotions... whatever stands out. (8 breaths) See if you can be aware of your entire body at once (3 breaths) Maintain some of your attention on your body... and now open up your attention a little further to include the sounds around you... acknowledge what you are hearing... and feel what you are feeling. (8 breaths) Continue to open... now including the thinking mind... acknowledge your thoughts... your mood... your general thinking state... hear what you're hearing... feel what you're feeling... know what your thinking. (8 breaths) Can your stretch your awareness further?... recognize whatever is present in your awareness field... if your mind or body is reacting to any part of the experience, include that... make that part of the practice. ( 5 breaths) Now, take a deep 3 breaths... allowing your awareness to go wherever it likes (after 3 breaths, begin your sign-off) ©Leading Light Yoga, All Right Reserved.
