Welcome to the Meditation as Deep Rest practice.
Beginning by settling into a really comfortable lying down or seated position.
As you settle you might like to take a few moments to stretch,
Move,
Adjust in any way so that the body can relax as much as possible.
Noticing any obvious places of tension or holding,
Seeing if it's possible to soften or just rest your attention in those places gently.
Often as we do that a sense of settleness,
Softening,
Opening starts to enter.
Taking a moment just to tune into the environment that you're in through your senses.
Noticing what's coming in through your eyes,
Colors and shapes,
Sounds around you.
And then tuning into the sensations of contact of your body with the floor,
The surfaces beneath you,
Seeing if you can actually feel them,
Sense into them.
Noticing how your weight is distributed,
The temperature of the air on your skin,
Perhaps even movement of the air.
The whole body lying or sitting here,
Held by the floor beneath that body earth.
And tuning into a sense of this earth,
Steady,
Vast,
Deep earth,
Rising up to meet you.
It's okay to let go into it,
To soften.
There's no need to hold yourself up.
This powerful act of self-care.
Also this conscious time of resting,
Restoring and nourishing.
You might like to place one hand on the heart region,
One on the belly.
Connecting and feeling the body moving as you breathe.
Letting your hands be hands of warmth and kindness,
Of support.
Meeting the breath as the body rises.
And just offering this supportive presence as the body sinks and releases.
Noticing the in-breath coming in as it's happening.
The body expanding,
Rising,
Filling.
Taking up a little more space,
And the out-breath going out as it's happening.
One breath unfolding at a time.
Seeing if you can just stay present with each breath unfolding.
And if the mind wanders,
That's no big deal.
Just as soon as you catch it having wandered,
Bringing it back.
Remembering this is just like training a beloved puppy to heal.
You want to bring the mind back with care,
With love,
With encouragement.
Not with criticism or punishment.
It's okay,
This is natural.
You can stay with the whole body breathing or come back to it any time.
Otherwise,
When you're ready,
On the next out-breath,
Letting your attention travel down through the body into the feet.
And feeling into the feet and lower legs,
Noticing sensations here.
Opening to what's here,
And it may be very simple or ordinary.
Sensations of contact,
Temperature.
So regardless of whether what you're feeling here is remarkable or unremarkable,
Subtle or intense,
Seeing if you can allow it to be as it is.
On the next in-breath,
Directing the breath into the lower legs and feet.
Letting it soothe and support and soften.
And as you breathe out,
Letting go,
Releasing.
And moving your attention gradually in your own time,
Up into the knees and the upper legs.
Tuning in to sensations here,
Opening to the life that's here.
And when you're ready,
On the next in-breath,
Breathing in,
Directing the breath into the upper legs and knees.
And as you breathe out,
Softening,
Letting go.
Continuing to travel up through the body with your attention,
Into the pelvic region,
The lower back and belly.
Opening to the life that's here.
When you're ready,
Breathing in and directing the breath into the pelvic region,
Lower back and belly.
As you breathe out,
Letting go.
Moving your attention gradually up into the middle of the torso,
Middle of the back and belly,
Sides of the back.
Opening to the life that's here.
And as you breathe in,
Directing the in-breath into the middle of the torso,
Letting it soothe and support.
Letting the breath be a breath of kindness,
Encouragement,
Warmth,
Friendship.
As you breathe out,
Letting go.
And continuing with your attention to move up into the upper back and shoulders and the chest,
Noticing what's here.
Seeing if you can tune into each region of the body as if for the first time.
Bringing that beginner's mind,
That open,
Fresh eyes and ears to whatever is here.
Sensations of the language of the body.
Breathing in to the upper torso,
Upper back and shoulders and the chest.
Breathing out,
Softening,
Dropping into rest.
Tuning in to the upper arms and letting your attention gradually move down through the arms,
Into the hands and each finger and thumb.
Simply noticing what's here,
If anything.
And then breathing in to the arms and hands.
And as you breathe out,
Softening,
Letting go.
Moving your attention up into the neck,
Throat,
Head and face.
Opening to the life that's here.
No particular way we're supposed to be feeling.
We're practicing opening to what's here.
Letting go of the constant shoulds and just allowing and meeting what's actually here.
Developing wisdom and compassion and skill to open to all of life as it unfolds.
Not thinking that it should be different,
Not wishing we were somewhere else.
This is all we have,
This moment,
Here,
Now,
Unfolding.
This is the mystery of life.
When you're ready,
Expanding your attention to the whole body.
Head,
Neck,
Shoulders,
Arms,
Hands,
Torso,
Pelvis,
Legs and feet.
The whole body,
Breathing,
Alive in this moment.
Inviting you to continue practicing with any regions,
Areas in the body,
Any parts that need a little extra care.
And then in your own time,
Perhaps tapping into a sense of gratitude.
For some aspect of this living organism that is your home.
The miracle of being able to see and hear and feel,
Taste,
Touch,
Smell,
Move.
For reconnecting with the wonder of being alive.
