This will be a 20-minute guided meditation on the body and the breath.
Sit comfortably with your spine as straight as possible.
If you're not comfortable sitting cross-legged,
Then please sit in a chair.
The most important thing is that you'll be comfortable for 20 minutes.
Close your eyes,
And allow yourself to be here in this very present moment.
Allow your energy to settle.
Take a few deep,
Relaxing breaths,
Preferably breathing in and out through the nose.
And once we start the meditation,
You'll be breathing in and out through the nose.
And now we'll start the meditation on the body.
We'll scan the body,
Starting with the feet,
And we'll finish at the top of the head.
And the instructions are to simply place your awareness in each part of the body as I guide you,
And relax that part of the body.
You're gonna be both relaxing each part of the body,
While at the same time,
Bring your awareness into that part of the body,
Feeling the energy,
Feeling the life force there.
Starting with the toes and the feet,
Feeling where the feet make contact with the earth,
And relaxing the toes,
Relaxing the feet,
Relaxing the ankles,
Relaxing the shin bones,
Relaxing the calves,
Relaxing the calf muscles,
Relaxing the knees,
Relaxing the thighs,
Relaxing the groins,
Relaxing the hips,
Relaxing the pelvis,
Relaxing the waist,
Relaxing the belly.
Let the abdomen be nice and soft,
No tension in the belly.
Relax the back,
The lower back,
The right side of the lower back,
And the left side.
Relax the shoulder blades,
Relax the upper back,
The right side of the upper back,
And the left side of the upper back.
Relax the chest,
The rib cage,
Relax the heart,
Relax the collar bones,
Relax the shoulders,
Relax the upper arms,
The biceps,
The triceps,
Relax the elbows,
Both the outer elbow and the inner elbow.
Relax the forearms,
Relax your wrists,
Relax the back of your hands,
Relax the palms of your hands,
Relax your fingers and the fingertips,
The fingernails,
Relax the throat and the neck,
Relax the right side of the neck and the left side.
Relax your jaw,
Relax your lips,
The gums,
The teeth,
Relax your tongue,
Let the tongue rest behind the teeth.
Relax the space between the upper lip and the nostrils,
Relax the nostrils,
Relax the nasal cavity,
Feel the space inside the nasal cavity leading up into the space in the head.
Feel the spaciousness within the head.
Relax all the facial muscles,
Relax your cheekbones,
Relax your eyes,
Relax your eyebrows,
Relax the space between the eyebrows,
Become aware of the space between the eyebrows.
Relax the forehead,
Relax the top of your head,
Relax the back of your head,
Relax your ears,
Relax the inside of the ear,
The inner ear,
Relax your whole head and relax your brain.
Imagine that you're allowing the brain to relax.
Let the brain completely calm down and now feel the whole body.
Feel the energy in the entire body.
There's no effort,
You're simply observing the sensations and feelings in the body.
You're simply being aware,
Observing what's naturally there.
Now bring your awareness to your breath.
Breathe in and out through your nose.
Bring your awareness to the tip of the nostrils and feel the cool air enter the nostrils with your inhalation.
Travel down the throat and all the way down into the belly.
And then follow the breath out,
Feeling the warm air as it exits the nostrils.
Focus on the temperature of the breath and the path of the breath as it comes in and as it comes out.
Place your full attention on the breath,
Feeling the cool air enter the nostrils,
Travel down the throat and into the belly.
And then feel the warm air exiting the nostrils.
Practice this for some time,
Focusing on the temperature and following the path of the breath.
And if your mind wanders at any point,
Simply and gently bring it back to the breath.
And now we'll focus on the breath and the space between the breaths.
So starting with an inhalation,
Inhaling,
Feeling the breath come all the way down into the belly.
And then pausing and relaxing in the space before the exhalation.
And then exhaling fully.
Imagine you're going out with the out-breath.
And then when the out-breath is fully out,
Pause,
Relax.
And then let the inhalation come naturally.
So inhale,
Pause,
Exhale,
Pause.
Focus on the space between the breaths and relax in that space.
Don't hold the breath.
Allow a natural pause.
Practice this for some time.
If the mind wanders,
Bring it back to the breath.
Following the breath and resting in the natural pause between breaths.
Without forcing anything.
And now see if you can shift your focus completely to the space between the breaths.
So the breath is happening naturally,
Without effort.
And the awareness shifts from the breath to the space between.
And now we'll conclude the meditation by chanting one Aum and three Shantis.
But if you feel like continuing to meditate,
Keep going.
Aum.
Shanti.
Shanti.
Shanti.
