If your past week has been anything like mine,
Then there's been a lot of busyness,
Some stress,
Too much activity,
Leaves me feeling quite scattered and anxious.
And I find it hard to settle and to focus and to really concentrate on the things I need to concentrate on.
So we're going to take this 10 minutes just to relax and reset a little bit.
And by the end we're going to be feeling a little bit calmer,
A little bit more focused and ready for whatever's coming next.
Get yourself comfortable.
We begin.
By just taking a few deep breaths.
It's good to breathe in through the nose if you can.
So we breathe in deep,
Fill the lungs and then breathe out through your mouth long and slow.
Breathe in again,
Nice deep breath,
Fill your lungs.
And then let it all go.
Breathe out long and slow.
Now on your next breath in,
Take a deep breath,
Fill your lungs,
Hold the breath for a moment and tense your body,
And then breathe out with a double exhale.
And let everything go.
Let's do that a couple more times,
Breathe in deep.
Fill your lungs.
Hold the breath and tense your body and then double exhale.
Let it go.
Just once more,
Deep breath in,
Really fill your lungs,
Hold the breath,
Tense your body all over.
And then double exhale.
Let it go.
And completely relaxed.
And as we just settle into the next few minutes,
Just let your breath flow naturally.
Maybe your breath is shallow.
Now your breath is deep.
It doesn't matter,
Just let it flow as it wants to.
And just notice your breath.
Your natural breath.
Notice when the breath is coming in.
And notice when the breath is going out.
You might like to place one hand on your belly.
So you can feel the belly rising as you breathe in.
And feel the belly falling.
As you breathe out.
Or perhaps you can just feel the breath as it flows in through your nose,
And then feel it as it flows out again.
Noticing your breath.
Noticing the sound of the rain.
If you are holding any tension in your jaw just let your jaw relax.
You can wiggle it around a little bit if you like.
And often we hold tension in our shoulders as well.
Maybe just roll them back a little bit.
Move them around,
Whatever feels good.
Breathing into your shoulders and letting your shoulders soften and relax It's good just to be still.
To stop.
Breathe.
To feel whatever's going on in your body.
Just being aware of any sensations See if you can allow it just to be there.
Because as we allow things to flow.
As we allow things to be.
It removes a bit of the tension from the mind.
Softening down.
Allowing the body to be.
Allowing the breath just to flow.
And of course often the biggest challenge is our thoughts.
A mind can feel very busy.
Can feel very spiky at times.
But that's okay,
That's very normal We all experience mental tension and overactive thinking from time to time.
Or what can feel like all of the time.
As we bring our attention to the body.
To the breath.
To the beautiful sound of the rain.
Just allowing the body to be there.
To feel whatever you're feeling.
To allow the breath.
Just a flower.
Then maybe we can begin to just allow our thoughts to come and to go.
Not to give them too much importance.
Just observing them.
Letting them float on by like leaves floating down a stream for the next little while,
Maybe you'll just notice your breath.
Maybe you will be aware of the sensations in your body Maybe the sound of the rain.
Is where you will put your attention.
Or for a bigger challenge,
Just notice your thoughts as they come.
And as they go.
And whatever happens.
Just let it be.
Allow.
Whatever you notice.
Just to be there.
Exactly as it is.
Wonderful.
As we come to the end of a meditation like this I encourage you to move very slowly.
You can wiggle your fingers and toes.
Blink your eyes open.
Becoming aware again of the space around you.
As always I encourage you to meditate with me for 10 minutes a day for the next 10 days and I'm sending you peace,
I'm sending you love,
And I'm sending you happiness for the rest of your day.
