Welcome to my Insight Timer meditations.
My name is Astrid Bernkopf and I'm grateful you have chosen to meditate with me.
Don't forget to follow me for more content and let me know how you found my meditations.
We will now begin our Midsummer Yoganetwa journey.
I invite you to find a comfortable position to meditate in.
You may sit upright or lean back,
Putting your legs up onto the sofa or a table.
If you feel like laying down feel free to do so.
There is no way to get this wrong.
Take a moment to see which position is the most relaxing today.
Now allow yourself to relax and sink even deeper into your meditation pose.
Make yourself even more comfortable.
Take a deep breath,
Maybe it's the deepest breath in the day.
Enjoy it.
And slowly exhale allowing all air out of your lungs.
Perhaps you might wish to give an audible sigh when exhaling.
Luxurious Aha.
Let's take a few more deep breaths.
Breathing in through the nose.
And out through the mouth.
Again in through the nose.
And alongside out through the mouth.
A final one to completely relax.
In through the nose,
And a long exhale out through the mouth.
Now let your breath return to its normal pattern.
Trust your body to find its natural pace.
I imagine you're in the countryside.
You're in a wide and open meadow.
In the distance are the trees of a forest.
The sun has just set.
And you enjoy the remains of a hot summer day.
Near you is a big bonfire.
Its flames flicker and illuminate the approaching night.
You sit down near the fire and stretch out your legs.
The warmth of the fire seeps into your body and it relaxes you.
Your toes uncurl and the tiny muscles let go of tension.
The soles of the feet soften and all of the muscles relax.
Your ankles release.
The calf muscles soften and softness wraps around your shins.
Your thighs let go of tension.
The hips relax and are free.
The abdomen softens and rises gently with your breath.
Your chest relaxes and your shoulders fall to the sides.
Your spine melts into the ground.
Your neck is free and relaxed.
Maybe give it a little wiggle to relax it even further.
All the muscles in your face relax and soften.
Give your jaw a wiggle and relax.
Take a breath and with a long exhale allow your entire body to soften.
Enjoy the warmth of the fire.
Night has fallen and wraps itself like a soft blanket around the ring of fire.
You're comfortable.
You feel safe.
You feel relaxed.
Now become aware of the tip of your nose You feel cool evening air when breathing in.
When you breathe out,
You feel warm air leave your body.
You start to follow this pattern of warm and cool air for a while.
Now you shift focus and become aware of the wide meadow outside the ring of light.
You get up and slowly leave the fire.
In the dark night you can make out long grass.
You guess where the darker shadows of trees are in the distance.
Here and there you notice little lights in between long clusters of grass.
The fireflies are out.
You observe them,
Fascinated by their little glimmering lights.
You Again and again,
Little glimmers flash up across the dark meadow.
You start to reflect on glimmers,
Little gestures of kindness that we scatter in everyday life.
Tiny moments of light we give and receive.
Just like the fireflies spreading their glimmers.
I invite you to reflect on glimmers you receive.
Glimmers may be kind words from a stranger.
A coffee with a friend.
Smile to someone.
Tiny moments we spread to those around us without even realising.
Take a few minutes to enjoy those memories.
You And now let go of these memories.
Let go of any focus for a while and simply enjoy the feeling of a summer night.
Dancing fireflies.
Or the flickering fire.
Or maybe.
.
.
You don't focus on anything at all.
If you wish,
You can remain here longer.
If you wish to end the meditation start to deepen your inhales.
Sense how the inhale presses your body into the floor.
Start to become aware of your body again.
Start to become aware of your surroundings.
When you're ready,
Open your eyes and consciously take in your room and any objects in it.
I truly acknowledge them.
Thank you for having joined me in this meditation.
If you wish you can still take a few moments to reflect on how we can spread tiny glimmers of kindness to those around us and make the world just a little bit nicer.
