Hello, I'd like to invite you to do a guided imagery meditation with me, sort of to begin really connecting with the artist within you. And guided imagery is something that I'm going to use every single class. And what I do when I do guided imagery, I'd like you to create where you go into a sacred place, you center yourself, you close your eyes, and you follow my words. And I'm going to invite you each week to go on a journey, that sort of is about the theme of that week. This week I am going to do a guided imagery that's about reclaiming the artist within. So I invite you right now to find a comfortable position and sit down. Or you may want to lay on the ground. Allow yourself to be completely relaxed, letting the chair or the floor hold you up. I want you to feel supported so you can begin to let go, follow your breathing, and go into the imagery exercise. Now some of you many not actually experience imagery and that is okay. Everyone experiences this differently. Some of us are more visual, some of us go into more feeling states in our bodies. Some of us may see color, and sometimes you may simply fall asleep. Whatever happens to you is perfectly okay. You cannot make a mistake. But this will take you deep into your inner world. And at least begin for you to come into your own experience within. So I invite you, to sit up straight. The most important thing is to sit up straight and let your spine be straight, and your body be supported. And then you begin to relax and focus on your breathing. So I'd like you to begin. Ready. [SOUND] Close your eyes. Allow yourself to relax. Begin to focus on your breath. Breathing in and breathing out. And as you breathe in, begin to feel your body progressively become even more relaxed. As you go inside yourself, experience the witness in this moment. The part of you that's listening to my voice. And the part of you that is simply being in this moment. As you breathe in, I invite you to center yourself however that feels, whatever comes for you. You may focus your breathing on the area around your heart, or maybe on the area around your belly. Allow yourself to be breathed. Relax, let go. In this moment, feel yourself becoming expansive. Allowing your inner world to open. Now in your mind's eye, feel yourself becoming larger. Feel the energy source within you. Connect to a life force energy. You may see this simply as a pulsing or as a rhythm of your breathing or a wellspring. Allow whatever you feel to be what it is. Now go deeper. Allowing yourself to relax. Feeling yourself in this moment, and there's nothing else to do but listen to my voice. Now in your minds eye, I invite you to remember a time in your life where you were a child. And you are making art. You may be dancing, or writing, playing, painting. Allow that memory to return. See yourself in this place. Uninhibited, allowing the joy and the spontaneity of your expression flow through you. Feel the child-like wonder, the inspiration just be able to make art. Feel you're expansive, energetic, being, flowing, allow yourself to return to this childlike place where you're willing to play. I invite you in your mind's eye to see yourself as an artist now in this moment. If you could do anything you wanted, reclaiming the artist energy within you. In your mind's eye, see yourself embracing that part of yourself. Feel your body, what it feels like when you open and allow yourself to move, to sing, to paint, to draw, to listen to music. You are an artist. You can make no mistakes. Your creative energy comes from the essence of your being. It flows naturally. And beautifully. Invite this creative self to come forth in your life. Invite the creative spirit to return embody the artist, embody who you are. Embody the freedom and expression. You are an artist, welcome. Now in a few moments, gently open your eyes. And I'd like to welcome you to this work and this journey because every single one of us is an artist. Every single one of us has a wellspring of creativity that's infinite and boundless and beautiful and positive and negative and fun and hard and all kinds of things that expresses itself in all kinds of ways. This is the beginning of you on honoring your own artistic expression. You are an artist. [SOUND] Thank you.
