We go through so many things during the day that we literally forget the body.
We often live in our heads,
Attempting to solve everything with our analytical minds.
And when we do focus on our bodies,
They are often too tired or exhausted.
If you feel lost in thoughts,
Spaced out,
Or just tired,
This meditation can help you bring awareness and life to your body and feel more grounded.
For this meditation,
It's important that there is no pressure on any part of the body.
So instead of a cross-legged position,
I recommend that you sit straight on a chair and put your feet down.
When you are ready,
Close your eyes.
Take a very slow,
Deep breath,
And hold it,
Hold,
And let it out,
Release all the tension.
Another calm,
Slow breath,
Feel the air,
And hold it,
Hold.
Relax and let go now.
Let your breathing be calm and easy,
And slowly turn your attention to your body.
Become aware of its weight.
Feel the natural heaviness of the legs,
The arms,
The torso,
And the head.
Now feel all the body at once.
I'm going to direct your attention to certain body parts.
As you turn your attention to that specific part,
You can become aware of different sensations.
Just relax and focus with an open awareness.
Bring your attention to the soles of your feet.
Feel the soles touching the ground.
Feel the point where they meet the ground.
Inhale without moving them.
As you inhale,
Imagine fresh energy flowing into your soles.
As you exhale,
Let the soles relax.
As you breathe in and out,
Your brain is consciously bringing awareness to that specific part of the body.
With increasing relaxation,
It's natural to feel tingling in your feet.
It means the blood flow is relaxing and tissues are flooded with oxygen.
Say hello to your feet.
They are alive and they are wonderful.
Become aware of your toes and direct your breath there.
With each inhale,
The toes breathe in freshness.
With each exhale,
They relax more.
They let go.
Sometimes it's a big relaxation.
Sometimes it's very subtle,
But it's not important.
Let your own breath connect with the body and cleanse the tissues.
For a few moments,
Feel your toes.
Relaxing more and more.
Turn your attention to the heels.
Feel your heels.
Feel the inside and the outside of your heels.
And breathe into your heels.
Make sure the breath is relaxed and gentle.
Your body loves being nurtured and gentle is nurturing.
You may feel some sensations in your heels changing as you breathe.
Your attention brings energy to whichever body part you focus on.
Just relax,
Observe,
And breathe.
Keep your attention on the heels for a few moments.
Now become aware of both feet.
As you breathe calmly and easily,
Let any stress or discomfort in the feet dissolve.
You may use your imagination.
By imagining the feet becoming softer,
Like a loose rubber band.
Observe the changing sensations as you gently breathe in and out.
By observing your own body,
You can gain insights into the workings of your mind.
Breathing and breathing.
Become aware of your ankles now.
Imagine breathing into the insides of your ankles.
Let your breath be smooth and relaxed.
Feel the insides of your ankles and let those parts of the body be relaxed.
Gently become aware of the outside of your ankles.
Imagine the energy of breath flowing there.
Imagination is circulating around the bones and penetrating into soft tissues,
Relaxing deeper layers in your ankles.
As you are relaxing and observing,
Your mind is now mastering the art of body awareness.
It's important to relax the body,
The attention,
And the breath.
If any thoughts come to mind,
Let them go by and return to your breath.
For a few moments,
Feel your toes,
Your feet,
And your ankles.
Turn your attention to your calf muscles.
Let the breath infuse freshness there,
Just like an abundant river cleansing the river bank.
Sensations in the calf muscles may change.
The temperature may change due to deep breathing and relaxed blood flow.
The tone of the muscles relax,
And you are calmly observing,
Relaxing with each breath.
Let any stress or tightness dissolve.
While your attention is on your calf muscles,
Remember to keep your whole body loose.
Soften your shoulders and face muscles.
Relax the jaw.
It's easier to attend when the body is relaxed.
Breathe in gently,
Exhale and relax.
Begin to feel your kneecaps.
Draw the breath around and underneath the kneecaps.
Let all the little nerves and muscles relax.
Your knees are shock absorbers.
Whenever you take a step,
Whenever you get on and off a vehicle,
They act like a spring.
When you relax,
The knees become more flexible springs.
Breathe in and breathe out.
Feel freshness,
Exhale and let go.
And you may direct the breath to the back of the knees.
As you go through different parts of your body,
Remember to thank this wonderful vessel which carries you all day long.
Feel your knees,
Your calves,
Ankles and feet.
Let your thighs relax now.
Layer by layer,
All the stress is dissolving away,
And with each gentle breath,
The thighs are turning loose.
The life energy is spreading into the thighs.
Slowly begin to feel your hips.
Feel the current sensations there.
Imagine the breath flowing into the hips,
Around the big hip bones and permeating the deep tissues.
Relax your hips.
Let any stress in the hip area dissolve with the breath.
There is nothing to do,
Nothing to hold on to.
Breathe in and breathe out.
Just for a moment,
Feel your whole lower body.
Bringing your attention to your abdominal area now.
Take note of the sensations in your lower and upper abdomen as you breathe in and out.
Breathe into the abdomen.
Feel energy and warmth.
Your abdomen is where your life energy flows,
Where all the organs are kept at a certain temperature.
As you are relaxing,
Visualize your breath cleansing the organs,
Removing residues of stress and bringing more and more relaxation to your system.
You are relaxing your abdominal area,
It's soft,
Relaxed and calm.
You may feel a sense of safety and inner peace gradually spreading.
Breath makes the abdomen softer,
Calmer and peaceful.
Let your attention turn to your lower back and relax those muscles.
Let them turn loose,
Become really soft.
This area is like a bridge connecting the lower body to the upper body.
When you relax,
It brings flexibility and confidence in movement.
As you breathe in,
Relaxation and life energy is spreading to deeper layers in your back.
As you breathe out,
All the muscles are relaxing more and more.
While you are relaxing,
Take a moment to scan your whole body and see if there are any areas that require extra relaxation.
Start by scanning your face,
The jaw and shoulders and gradually release any tension you might be holding in those areas.
Focus on the lower half of your body and become aware of the sensations you feel there.
Life energy is flowing through you,
Carrying healthy blood flow throughout your body.
With each breath,
You are charged with energy.
Gradually shift your focus to your chest area and allow it to relax.
This area often accumulates emotional stress.
As you breathe in and out,
Allow yourself to surrender and let go.
It's okay to release any emotions that you've been holding on to.
This is a safe place to let go.
Inhale slowly and deeply and exhale,
Releasing all the stress.
With each breath,
Allow your heart to relax and release tension.
Breath like the wind is invisible but powerful.
The energy is flowing through you,
Spreading from the toes to the feet,
Going up to the calves,
Permeating into deep layers of the legs,
Warming the abdominal area and surrounding the upper body.
With each breath,
You are bringing in more energy and as you are relaxing,
Let the soothing relaxation flow into your shoulder blades.
Feel the shoulders.
Become aware of their weight and let them surrender.
With each exhale,
Let them become heavier and heavier.
Imagine the joints relaxing more and more.
As you relax and breathe,
You are using your natural healing capacity to bring life to your body.
You are reconnecting with your own nature.
Breathe in and breathe out.
Just for a moment,
Feel the energy flowing in your body.
It might be a pulsing feeling,
Warmth or coolness in some parts of the body,
Or you may experience some tingling sensations,
For example in your fingertips.
Or it might just be a level of relaxation.
As you are relaxing,
Direct your attention to your neck area and let the breath begin to relax the throat.
Soften the muscles around your throat.
If there are any emotions in your neck area,
Just let them dissolve,
Becoming softer and more relaxed.
Neck is the connection between the heart and the mind,
Between emotion and logic.
It's the gateway for self-expression.
As you continue to relax,
You may release any tension in your neck,
Allowing it to become even softer.
Breathing calmly will make it easier to relax.
Feel the relaxing sensations in and around your neck.
Do not force anything.
Just let go.
And as you are relaxing,
Make sure the breathing is calm and easy.
It might be deep or superficial,
It doesn't matter.
As the breath is flowing,
Turn your attention to your jaw.
Feel the space it occupies.
Relax your jaw and let the lips open as you relax.
Feel your jaw becoming loose and cheeks becoming softer.
Slow down to attend to your body.
Feel the face muscles becoming peaceful as they surrender.
You are safe and you are relaxing.
With each inhale,
You are drawing energy into your body.
Abundant flow of life energy is spreading to all the parts of the body,
Bringing more energy,
Health and vitality.
Become aware of your face now and direct your breath to the deeper tissues in the face.
Eyelids become really heavy.
The muscles around your eyes turn loose.
Just like before you go to a deep sleep,
Feel all the effort dissolving.
You are in the land of effortlessness.
And as you breathe in and out,
Let the flow of breath spread into your forehead and to your temples.
All the face muscles are relaxing.
Softness in the face is the face of compassion.
Compassion begins by understanding yourself and empathizing with others.
Relax more and more.
See how it feels.
Observe the changing sensations in your face.
Just let your face relax and your eyelids be heavy.
On your forehead,
You relax even more.
Now feel the breath flowing through the whole body.
As you breathe in,
Inhale peace and wholeness.
As you breathe out,
Relax even deeper.
Every exhale is a letting go.
Follow the slow circulating breath,
In and out,
At your own rhythm.
With each inhale,
You are bringing more energy and life force into your body.
Now feel your whole body as you breathe in and out.
Gently begin to scan your body from the tip of your toes to the top of your head.
Slowly go through each part of your body.
Any new sensations?
Just observe and take note.
When you reach to the top of your head,
Begin to move your fingers,
Then move your toes.
Slowly move the hands and feet.
Calmly open your eyes.
Stay still for a moment and observe your surroundings.
Take two slow conscious breaths.
When you are ready,
Slowly stretch and take this awareness to the rest of your day.
And remember,
Your breath is a powerful force.
May the force be with you,
My friend.
