Go ahead and make yourself comfortable in the sauna,
And let's begin this guided meditation
for stress relief.
Hi,
I'm Trey Henderson,
And one of my favorite places,
The sauna.
Let's address the stress we all face,
Be it personal relationships,
At work,
Or the internal
stress of not meeting our own expectations,
Feeling stuck,
Or things not changing.
If this resonates with you,
I invite you to join me.
Also,
I'm not a doctor,
So get some advice from your doctor if you're doing this meditation
in a sauna.
I'd also recommend some headphones,
Water,
A towel,
And your phone in a cool place,
Maybe
wrapped up in a towel or right outside the sauna.
Find a position so that you can feel supported and comfortable on the sauna bench.
Take a long,
Slow,
Deep breath,
And I know you're going to feel the hot air in your nose.
And when you exhale,
Close your eyes,
Bringing your attention to your breathing in and out
through your nose,
And feeling the heat gently caressing your skin,
And feeling the rising
and the falling of each breath.
And just know that throughout our time together,
Your attention will be at some points on the
breath and at other points on a bunch of other topics.
Certain thoughts may just keep coming back in and out.
Maybe even sensations in the body,
The heat,
Sweat,
It's just stress leaving the body,
Or certain feelings.
Just allow them,
All of them,
The sensations,
The thoughts,
The images,
The feelings,
To
just be there without having to spend energy or focus on trying to delete them.
Let them come and go naturally,
Like steam rising and dissipating,
Without expending
energy to control them.
If at any time you're too uncomfortable or too hot,
Drink some water or exit the sauna
for cooler air.
Come back to when you inhale,
Just repeating the word slowing,
And on the exhale,
The word
down.
So right now,
We're not deleting anything.
We're just slowing down.
And we're slowing down together.
Now sink into where the body feels supported and really feel that support wherever your
body is feeling held in place.
Part of releasing stress is releasing the need to hold all of it together,
To keep it
all moving forward,
To deal with every decision all at the same time.
Breathing in slowing and breathing out down.
Let's begin slowing down just a bit more.
Slowing the breath down as thoughts think for themselves,
As if you could just float
past them,
Because thoughts are going to be with us the whole time,
But what you think
about can be very different as you sink into slowing down.
Your breath softens your body,
Releases tension,
Strain,
Pressure,
Sweat.
Allow yourself to settle into resting so the whole body feels present.
Take your time.
There's no rush.
Slowing on the in-breath,
Down on the out-breath.
And just feel the body,
The chest rising and falling with each breath.
Not controlling the breath,
Just letting it be at its own slower tempo.
And all of those things that have been going on in the last hour or day or week may still
be going in and out of your mind.
This is quite normal.
And when you notice something may have turned into thinking about it,
Instead of a thought
around it,
Come back.
Slowing on the in-breath,
Down on the out-breath.
Inside the sauna,
Your experience may be different each time,
Just as you are different each
time you enter.
Or are you ever the same when you enter your inner world?
So imagine closing the door on the outer world.
Everything outside this moment is outside of that door that you just closed.
And now,
It's as if you could enter a place within you where all these things are known
and understood.
Perhaps finding yourself,
Going into your heart and resting.
Slowing on the in-breath,
Down on the out-breath.
Staying in your heart,
The door to the outside world is closed for now.
Even your thoughts slow down.
The situations are in slow motion,
The planning,
The strategizing,
All of it,
All the doing
in slow motion.
And when the mind goes back to thinking,
Or planning,
Or doing,
Allow a gentle breath
to bring you back softly,
Repeating slowing on the in-breath,
Down on the out-breath.
Understanding life,
The thoughts in your life in slow motion.
In a moment,
My voice will be quiet.
Allow the edges of your eyes to melt and your jaw to open slightly
and your shoulders drop.
Nothing to carry in this moment.
Nothing at all.
You may also realize that the slower you breathe,
The calmer you begin to feel.
And the calmer you feel,
The slower you breathe.
Staying in asana,
Where the world is outside.
Staying in your heart.
Coming back to slowing on the in-breath,
Down on the out-breath.
Enjoy this time.
My voice will be quiet as you keep coming back to slowing down,
As you slowly come back
to the sound of my voice.
Imagine filling your body,
Maybe pointing and flexing your feet and opening and closing
your hands.
And I want you to imagine going forward in a slower pace.
Imagine being able to slow down when making a decision.
And if it feels right,
You can begin opening your eyelids,
Looking around in asana.
Look in again with your body,
Wiping yourself with a towel.
The slow breath,
Just a gentle gaze outward.
A smile washes across your face,
Sending the message of peace and gratitude for this time.
