Start this meditation by finding a comfortable position.
As you allow your physical body to settle into your resting position,
Start to become aware of your breath.
Without changing its rhythm or depth,
Just allow your awareness to rest on your breath.
As your physical body starts to relax and sink into the furniture,
Just notice each time you breathe in and each time you breathe out.
There is no need to change how you breathe,
For we are just using the breath in this moment to help us connect with our inner self.
As you breathe.
.
.
For the next three breaths,
Just say to yourself,
I'm breathing in,
I'm breathing out.
And then release your awareness on your breath and move your awareness into the physical body a little bit more.
Connect with the sensation of your feet.
Just noticing how they feel as you begin to do a light body scan.
Move your awareness from your feet into your ankles,
Calves and knees.
As though you were experiencing your body from the perspective of these body parts.
Experience how it feels to be your calves.
To be your knees.
Move upward so that you are experiencing your body as your thighs.
If you feel any of the muscles contracting,
Simply guide them to relax,
To let go,
To soften.
Allow this softness to travel up into your hips,
Your lower back,
Your abdomen and into your chest,
Mid-back and upper back.
Your simple awareness allows these body parts to soften and let go.
And now we will rest our awareness in our neck and shoulders.
This is a very common area for people to hold tension.
Stress and our posture often contribute to contraction of these muscles in an unnatural position.
And while we rest our awareness in the shoulders and neck,
We will simply breathe.
Again,
Without changing the rhythm or depth of your breath if you don't want to.
Direct your breath into your shoulders and neck.
This can be as simple as just having the intention,
I breathe into my neck,
I breathe into my shoulders.
Where we place our awareness and our attention,
Directs energy and circulation to improve in this area.
Adding the motion of the breath can often help us release energy and emotions and even physical holding that's been stuck.
So place your awareness in your neck and shoulders.
Visualizing or intending that your breath just fills these areas.
If you wish,
You can picture a beautiful white light that symbolizes your breath and allow this light to fill your shoulders,
To fill your neck and travel up into your scalp and down into your back and into your chest and your throat.
And as your upper body fills with this healing energy,
Allow yourself to give a big sigh on your next exhale.
As though you are putting down the heaviest groceries you've ever carried.
With the sigh,
Release your troubles,
Your worries,
Stressors,
Thoughts and feel the relief that comes with a sigh as it permeates your shoulders,
Your neck,
Your face,
Your jaw.
And allow this sense of relief to move up into your eyes,
Softening the creases of your forehead.
And on your next breath cycle,
Breathe the relief into the center of your head.
Allowing your entire head,
Including your brain and all of your neurons,
To be bathed in the sensation of soft relaxation.
Breathe and allow the sensation to travel through your entire head as you stay focused on sensations and visualizations and breath and dropping the thoughts that seem to come as you reconnect with your brain.
Often we feel that we are our thoughts,
But you can create a sense of separation so that you can step back,
See that the thoughts are racing,
But not engage in their runaway energies.
And as you hold a calmer position and allow the thoughts to just take form and dissolve,
Our lack of resistance against the thoughts often just lets them dissipate.
But for now,
Just allow your breath and your experience to soften your brain,
Your face,
Your jaw,
Your neck,
Your shoulders,
Your arms,
And allow this sense of softness to travel back down into your chest,
Your abdomen,
Your back,
Your hips,
The thighs,
The lower legs,
And back into the feet.
And as you allow the running energies of your mind to sink into your feet,
We will ground them out of your system and into Mother Earth,
To be recycled,
To become something new.
And in this way,
We can experience a settling in the body that allows for restful night's sleep.
In our last closing moments,
We will inform the body,
And as we allow the Earth to ground us,
We inform the mind and the body that it is time to sleep,
And that tonight we are re-establishing an amazing sleep pattern to be carried forward into every subsequent night.
