For today's meditation,
You'll want to place your body in a position where you can be relaxed,
But stay alert.
You can be seated or lying down,
But if you know you're in a position where you might fall asleep,
Try adjusting your body to a place that will support you staying awake.
And as you settle into your place,
Call your attention to your breath.
You don't need to do anything special with your breath at this time.
Simply notice how fast or slow are you breathing.
Notice where in your body the breath is landing.
Maybe you just feel your collarbone shifting up and down,
Or your belly expanding and contracting.
Maybe it's your back ribs pressing into the surface behind you.
And as you become present with your breath,
Expand your awareness to the rest of your body.
Notice your mind.
Are your thoughts racing today?
And notice your heart.
Is it beating fast or slow?
Is there any tension in your muscles signaling readiness to get up and move,
Or perhaps just a buzz in your body as it's primed with activation?
And then bring your awareness back to your breath.
Can you actively slow your breath down?
Maybe that's adding one or two beats to the length of your exhale.
Maybe slowing the breath means adding a short,
Very gentle pause in between the legs of the breath after the inhale and before the exhale,
And again at the end of the breath cycle.
Continue to focus on slowing down the breath.
Maybe it helps to lengthen the inhale and lengthen the exhale.
Maybe it helps to remember to relax in the belly so that your lungs have more space to expand,
Thus taking in a longer breath.
Can you remember to release in between all of the ribs,
Again providing more space to intake air and using time to fill that space?
And as you slow that breath a little more and a little more,
Can you find your body very present with the contact points it's making with the surface beneath it,
Letting your bottom really sink into the cushion of the chair beneath you,
Or feeling your back spread wide against the floor or the bed,
Wherever you are.
Feel yourself rooted in your spot.
Remember that there's nowhere to be,
That I'm watching the time for you,
And that it is safe at this time to simply slow down,
A slow inhale and an unlabored,
Gentle exhale.
Slow.
Slow.
You can introduce this as a mantra,
Repeating the word slow on every inhale and down on every exhale.
Slow down,
Slow,
Slow,
Slow,
And keep following along with this mantra as you continue to breathe effortlessly in and out,
Reminding yourself to slow.
Again,
Notice your body sinking into the surface beneath it.
Let the soles of your feet relax,
The palms of the hands across the chest,
Letting the shoulders go,
Relaxing through the pelvic bowl,
In the belly,
Even letting all of the discs in between the vertebrae expand and relax.
Slow.
Can you imagine these words,
Slow down,
Talking directly to your brain,
An active invitation to let the thoughts go,
To let go of the tension and all of those little muscles around the scalp,
Imagining the structure that is your brain sinking and sitting heavily upon its perch,
Letting all of those little folds relax,
Letting the fluid that surrounds the brain just flow gently like a trickling creek,
Slow.
And can you invite this invitation into your heart?
Perhaps encouraging,
Allowing your heart rate to join you in this effort to slow down,
Slow down,
Slow down.
Take a few more moments here to practice in silence.
And stay with this sensation of slow,
But at this time,
Allow yourself to release the chakra,
Let go of the effort,
Let go of the mental work,
Let your breath flow naturally.
If your eyes have been closed,
You might begin to gently blink them open.
Notice if you can begin to become aware of your surroundings while maintaining this sense of relaxation,
This place of slow.
You might deepen your breath or gently welcome in some movement like a circle of the neck or a bend of the knee,
But as you begin your transition,
Can you continue to keep your mind and your heart in a place of slow?
Thank you for practicing with me today.
I wish you well.
