I'm Gary,
A meditation teacher with over 20 years of experience helping people find greater calm,
Balance and clarity through meditation.
And stillness.
As co-founder of Yoga Breaks in Spain,
I've spent many years creating spaces where people can pause,
Breathe,
Reconnect with themselves.
My approach is simple,
Warm and grounded,
Shaped by Buddhist philosophy,
Mindfulness and a deep understanding of the mind-body connection.
And one gentle reminder I always share,
Never forget your daily dose of vitamin G.
Vitamin gratitude.
Now settle yourself into a comfortable position.
And allow the body to rest completely.
Ready for this Yoga Nidra meditation.
Nothing to achieve,
Nothing to fix.
Nowhere else to be.
Take a slow breath in through the nose.
And a soft breath out through the mouth.
Again breathing in calm and breathing out effort.
One more time,
A full nourishing inhale.
And a long,
Slow exhale.
As we continue to breathe,
Feel the body being supported beneath you,
The ground asking nothing from you except surrender.
And tonight we travel inward.
Not by force,
Not by concentration,
But by softening.
As you continue to breathe at your own pace,
Imagine yourself standing at the edge of a beautiful hidden coastline somewhere along the Mediterranean at dusk.
The sea is still warm from the day's sun.
The sky glows amber,
Rose gold and deepening blue.
There is a small stone path ahead of you.
With every step along this path you leave behind another layer of noise.
The conversations,
The responsibilities,
The expectations,
The endless mental tabs left open in the mind.
As you breathe at your own pace,
Step by step,
You begin returning home to yourself.
As you walk,
Notice lanterns gently lighting the way.
Each lantern holds a single word.
The first lantern says,
Slow down.
The second.
Breathe.
The third,
Trust.
And finally,
Enough.
You realise in this moment that you have never needed to become more worthy of rest.
You only needed permission to receive it.
As you continue to breathe at your own pace.
Now become aware of the body.
Feel the crown of the head softening.
The forehead smooth.
The tiny muscles around the eyes releasing.
Relax jaw.
The tongue,
The throat.
Allow the shoulders to melt downward heavily and naturally.
On soft.
Hands relaxed.
As you continue to breathe,
Feel the chest rise and fall effortlessly.
No need to control the breath now.
The body already knows how to breathe.
And the heart already knows how to beat.
Now bring your awareness to this stomach.
The lower back.
The hips.
Let gravity carry what you no longer need to hold.
The legs soften.
Knees relaxed.
Ankles loose.
Feet completely at ease.
The whole body resting.
As you continue to breathe at your own pace,
Now imagine above you a warm golden light.
Not bright or overpowering Gentle Ancient Kind This light carries the feeling of gratitude.
Not gratitude forced by the mind,
But the quiet gratitude that appears naturally when we finally stop rushing.
The gratitude of simply being alive.
This golden light slowly pours down through the crown of the head.
Flowing through the mind.
Washing away pressure.
Through the throat,
Dissolving unspoken tension.
Into the heart space.
And here it pauses for a while.
You notice that your heart has been carrying many things quietly,
Some heavy,
Some tender,
Some unfinished.
The golden light asks for none of it to disappear.
Only to be held differently,
With compassion instead of resistance.
With understanding instead of judgement.
And as the light expands through the chest,
Silent repeat to yourself,
I allow myself to rest.
I allow myself to soften.
I allow myself to simply be.
Let's take a short pause here.
Long enough to feel the truth beneath the words.
Now the golden light continues downward through the entire body,
Through the abdomen,
Hips,
Legs,
Feet.
Until every cell feels warmed from within.
As if the body itself is a remembering balance,
Remembering peace.
Remembering that beneath all the layers of identity,
Striving and noise,
There is stillness.
A stillness that has always been there.
And in this stillness there is clarity.
In this stillness there is healing.
In this stillness,
There is you.
As you continue to breathe at your own pace,
Now imagine yourself sitting quietly beside the sea once more.
The moon reflected across the water like silver silk.
You notice something surprising.
The ocean does not apologise for its waves.
The moon does not apologise for its phases.
And perhaps you no longer need to apologise for being human.
For having tired days Emotional days Uncertain days You are allowed to ebb and flow too.
Take a slow deep breath in And as you exhale,
Please find one final thing you no longer need tonight.
And release it.
A pressure.
A thought.
A burden.
Let the sea carry it away.
Now rest here in silence for a few moments,
Simply breathing,
Simply being.
Now begin gently deepening the breath Invite small movements into the fingers and toes,
Perhaps a stretch of the body asks for it.
And before returning fully,
Bring one thing into your awareness.
One thing,
However small,
That you are grateful for today.
A person.
A moment.
A breath.
A sunrise.
A second chance.
Your daily dose of vitamin G.
Gratitude.
Now there is nowhere to rush to.
Allow yourself to remain here for quite a few moments longer.
Resting deeply and peacefully.
Begin to notice the natural rhythm of your breath once again.
Slowly becoming aware of the space around you.
The air on your skin.
The sounds nearby.
The genital support beneath your body.
There is no need to suddenly awaken the body or mind.
You may want to softly circle your wrists or ankles and maybe allow the jaw to loosen or the shoulders to gently roll.
If it feels comfortable,
Take a deeper breath in.
And exhale slowly with ease.
You may wish to stretch the body carefully,
As though waking from a long,
Nourishing sleep.
And before opening the eyes,
Pause for one final moment of gratitude.
Acknowledging the time you have given to yourself to rest,
Heal.
And simply be.
And when you feel fully ready,
Gently blink your eyes open.
Allowing the light to return slowly.
Taking your time.
Remaining calm,
Steady and grounded as you re-enter the rest of your evening.
Thank you for sharing this time with me.
And I'll speak to you soon.
Namaste.
