This is Joshua Young and you are listening to a meditation for rest.
This series of meditations are community offerings and I hope that they serve you well.
So to start this meditation off,
Just go ahead and find yourself in a comfortable position.
My suggestion is lying flat on the stomach and starting with the right ear on whatever surface you're lying on.
If you find that this is uncomfortable for you,
You might start by adjusting your neck and maybe even adjusting the head.
So lifting the chin up just a little bit so that it doesn't fall down towards the shoulder.
And if that doesn't work,
Maybe coming onto either your right or your left side.
And so whenever you get here,
Just start to connect to your breath.
And so all you're doing is taking this as your opportunity to really get familiar with the breath.
Really starting to notice what the breath feels like in the body.
And so just continue in this way,
Breathing in through the nose and out of the nose.
Just continuing to notice what the breath feels like in the body.
And so what you might notice is the rising of the belly on the inhale and the falling back of the belly towards the spine on the exhale.
And so if you're lying flat down on the stomach,
What you might notice is the belly pressing down into the surface.
And on the exhale,
There being a little bit more space between the surface and the belly.
And so just continue paying attention and noticing what that feels like in the body.
And so just continue with this breath and just start to notice what the body feels like.
Notice if there are any points in the body that are heavy with tension.
And so you can just allow the attention to move to any place in the body that still feels a little tense or a space that is still holding itself up with muscle.
And when you find that space,
Just allow the attention to rest there and just continue taking deep breaths until that space relaxes down.
And so if you'd like to,
You can allow the attention to move to another space in the body that needs a little bit more of your attention.
But if you find that you need to stay here a little bit longer,
You're welcome to do that as well.
And so whenever you make it to wherever you need to be,
Just allow the breath to welcome the body into rest.
And so you're welcome to continue breathing in this space.
But if you find that there's another opportunity in the body to relax down a little bit deeper,
Just allow the attention to move to that space.
And whenever you make it to that space,
Just allow the body to relax and just notice how your breath is assisting you in rest.
And so just know that you're welcome to stay in this space.
But if you notice there's another space in the body which really needs more attention in order to rest down a little bit deeper,
You can just let your attention move to that space and just notice your body relaxing down as you inhale through the nose and exhale through the nose.
And so if you're lying flat down on the stomach,
You can just take this as your opportunity to turn your head to the other side.
So just placing the opposite ear down on the mat to create a little bit of balance in the body.
And here you're still connecting to the breath.
So just noticing what the breath feels like and noticing how the body is responding to the breath.
And so over the next seven breaths or so,
You might just affirm on your inhale,
I am resting because I need to rest.
And when you exhale,
Just allow any tension to be removed from the body.
And so again on the inhale,
You might affirm,
I am resting because I need to rest.
And you're just letting it all go on the exhale.
So just continue this breath about five more times on your own.
You should have about three to four more breaths left.
And if you have more,
Then just continue until the breaths are complete.
And so once you've completed your breaths,
You can just start to bring the attention back to the body.
Just noticing what that feels like.
You can bring the attention back to the breath.
Noticing what that feels like.
And then just start by gently moving one finger at a time.
Just bringing some soft and gentle movements back into the body.
And when you've brought movement into all of the fingers,
You can start to move the toes.
And just start to wake the body up.
Take about two more deep breaths.
And then you can turn over onto your right or your left side.
And when you get there,
Just take this as your opportunity to notice what the body feels like after this practice.
And then press yourself up into a comfortable seat.
And when you make it up,
Just take this as your opportunity to show yourself and your practice some sort of gratitude.
Thank you so much for listening to this meditation.
Be well.
