Hello and welcome.
Begin by finding a position that feels comfortable for you right now.
There's nowhere else you need to be.
Nothing you need to accomplish.
For these next few minutes,
Your only job is to rest.
Take a slow breath in.
And gently let it go.
And as you take these breaths,
Being mindful of any areas where you need to be careful.
Again,
Breathe in.
And breathe out.
These should be nice and relaxed.
For instance,
If you've had abdominal surgery,
Breathe in.
Not a deep breath.
Breathe out.
Something gentle,
Something that honors what your body has just gone through One more,
Breathe in And this time as you exhale,
See if you can just allow a little of the tension you've been carrying to soften.
Let it out.
And keep that gentle breath going.
After surgery,
It can be difficult not to pay attention to every little sensation in your body.
An ache here,
A pull there,
Some pressure,
A flutter,
Something that feels different than it did before.
And before you know it,
Your attention has narrowed until that sensation is all you can think about and all you can feel.
So for the next few minutes,
We're going to practice something different We're not going to fight those sensations We're not going to decide what they mean and we're not going to ask you to ignore something your body genuinely needs you to notice.
We're simply going to give your attention permission to rest somewhere else for a while.
Imagine that your awareness is like a light Perhaps lately that light has been shining very brightly on your body.
Searching,
Checking,
Noticing,
Wondering,
Obsessing maybe.
See if you can gently widen that light.
Notice the room around you.
Notice the sounds nearby.
The feeling of the air against your skin.
It may be the weight of a blanket.
Or the support beneath you or behind you.
Notice something beyond your body that feels neutral or comforting.
And let your attention rest there for a moment.
You don't have to check anything right now.
You don't have to figure anything out right now.
This exact moment does not require an answer.
So just breathe.
Just be in this room.
If your attention returns to a sensation in your body,
That's okay.
You haven't done anything wrong.
You're not failing at this meditation.
Simply notice it.
There it is again.
There's my attention again.
And then widen the light again back to the room.
Back to a sound,
Back to your breath.
Back to something outside of the sensation.
Your body has been through something.
And your mind has too.
Both are allowed to be tired.
Both are allowed to rest.
You do not have to supervise every moment of your recovery.
And for these few moments.
You can simply be here.
Just be.
Maybe imagine taking all of the questions that you've been carrying and placing them beside you.
Not throwing them away.
Not pretending they don't matter.
But simply setting them down for a moment.
You can pick up the ones that need your attention later.
But you don't need to hold all of these right now Just breathe.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Let your jaw soften.
Let your shoulders be heavy Let your hands rest.
And without asking anything of your body.
Simply allow it to be exactly as it is in this moment.
You are here.
You are resting.
And for now,
That is enough.
When you're ready,
Begin to notice the room again.
Listen for sounds around you.
Notice the support beneath you.
Take a slow breath in and let it go.
And as you return to the room,
Remember that you can come back to this practice whenever your attention becomes caught in the cycle of checking and worrying and wondering.
You don't have to solve every sensation in every moment.
You can notice.
And you can respond when something truly needs your attention.
But you can also give yourself permission to rest.
So for now.
Rest.
Release.
And restore.
