Hello.
My name is Stacy.
Today.
I will guide you through a meditation.
That you can turn to when you seek to leave your day behind.
Before we do that.
Please invite yourself to find a comfortable position.
For this guided meditation.
You may be sitting.
Lying down.
Or resting in whatever way feels right for you today.
There is nothing special that you need to do with your body.
Just give yourself a moment to arrive.
Let your eyes close if that feels comfortable or simply soften your gaze.
Notice the surface beneath you.
The chair.
The floor.
The bed.
Whatever is supporting you right now.
You do not have to hold yourself up quite as much.
When you allow yourself to feel that support.
Take a slow,
Comfortable breath in.
And let that breath leave your body naturally.
And again,
A comfortable breath in.
And an easy breath out.
You do not need to change your breathing.
You do not need to take particularly deep breaths.
Just notice that your body is breathing.
For the next little while.
There is nowhere else you need to be.
Nothing else that you need to accomplish.
No problems that you need to solve.
This time is simply a place to pause.
A place to set the day down.
Before we begin to relax the body.
Take a moment to acknowledge that you have had a day.
Maybe.
It was a good day.
Maybe.
It was difficult.
Maybe it was busy.
Maybe it was exhausting.
Or maybe.
It was completely ordinary.
Perhaps you aren't even sure how you feel about it yet.
You do not have to decide whether today was a good day or a bad day.
You do not have to analyze it.
You do not have to make sense of everything that happened.
Just recognize,
This was today.
And now for a little while.
You do not have to carry all of it.
Imagine that you have been carrying a bag throughout your day.
Inside.
Are all of the things you have had to think about.
The conversations.
The decisions.
The responsibilities.
The things you remembered.
The things you forgot.
The things that went well.
And the things you wish had gone differently.
You do not have to empty the bag.
You do not even have to look inside of it.
Just imagine setting it down beside you.
It will still be there later,
If you decide you need it.
But you don't have to carry it for these next few minutes.
Let your shoulders soften if they want to.
Let your hands become a little less busy.
Let your jaw loosen.
Nothing is being abandoned.
Nothing is being ignored.
You are simply giving yourself permission to stop carrying it for a while.
Bring your attention to your feet.
Notice how they feel right now.
Perhaps warm.
Perhaps cool.
Perhaps heavy.
Perhaps barely even noticeable.
There is nothing you need to change.
Just notice.
Bring your attention to your lower legs.
Your calves.
Your shins.
The space around your ankles.
Notice if you are holding on to any unnecessary effort there.
And if you are See what happens when you allow just a little of it to soften.
Move your attention to your knees.
You're fine.
Your hips.
This is an area where we often hold ourselves together without even realizing it.
See if your legs can become a little heavier.
A little more supported.
Let the weight of your body be held by whatever is underneath you.
You do not have to hold everything up yourself.
Bring your attention to your abdomen.
Notice the gentle movement of your breathing.
The valley rising.
And falling.
With breath.
No need to make the breath deeper.
Just notice that the body continues to breathe without being told how.
Bring your attention to your chest.
Your ribs.
Your upper back.
Perhaps there is still some of the day here.
Effort.
Tension.
Readiness.
The feeling of being on.
You do not have to force that feeling away.
Just give it some room.
And perhaps with each exhale,
You can allow the body to become.
Just a little less prepared for whatever comes next.
Bring your attention to your shoulders.
Notice their weight.
And imagine.
That you do not need to carry.
The day on your shoulders anymore.
Let them drop.
As much as they naturally want to.
Move down through your arms.
Your elbow.
Your forearms.
Your breasts.
Your hands.
Notice your fingers.
Maybe they can uncurl.
Maybe the palms can soften.
You do not need to do anything with your hands right now.
They can simply rest.
Bring your attention to your neck.
Your throat.
Your jaw.
Let your teeth separate slightly.
Let your tongue rest.
Allow the muscles around your eyes to soften.
Your forehead.
Your temples.
Your skill.
And now notice your whole body.
Your feet.
Lies.
Hips.
Abdomen,
Chest.
Arms.
Shoulders,
Neck.
Fakes.
Your body does not need to be completely relaxed.
It only needs permission to stop working so hard.
Now,
Notice your mind.
Not what you are thinking about specifically.
Just notice the activity of thinking.
Maybe your mind is quiet.
Maybe it isn't.
You might notice a conversation from earlier.
Something you need to remember.
Something you should have said.
Something you're worried about tomorrow.
Something completely unrelated to today.
That is okay.
The goal is not to empty your mind.
Instead.
Imagine that your thoughts can pass through this space without requiring your attention.
A thought arrives.
You noticed it?
And you let it continue on.
You might quietly say to yourself.
Not right now.
Not because the thought is not important.
Just because it does not need your attention at this moment.
If there is something you need to remember tomorrow.
You can trust yourself to return to it tomorrow.
If there is something you need to solve.
You don't have to solve it from this position.
And if something from today still feels unresolved,
You do not have to resolve it tonight.
Sometimes,
The mind wants closure before it will let us rest.
But not everything gets closure at the end of the day.
Some things simply remain unfinished.
Some questions remain unanswered.
Some conversations remain incomplete.
And it is possible to rest anyway.
Imagine now that there is a place beside you where you can leave whatever you do not want to carry for the rest of this evening.
It might be a table.
A shell.
A chair.
Quiet room.
A place in nature.
Or simply unimagined space.
There is no need to make it beautiful.
It only needs to be somewhere you can set things down.
You might place today's responsibilities there.
The things you need to do.
The things you did not get done.
The conversations that are still on your mind.
The decisions you have not made.
The things you wish you had done differently.
The things that went well.
Even those.
You do not need to keep replaying them.
Set them down.
One at a time.
And notice what it feels like when you do not have to hold them for a moment.
You can come back for them tomorrow.
For the next day.
Or whenever they actually need your attention.
For now,
They can simply be here.
And you can be here.
There is a difference between setting something down and letting something go forever.
You do not have to let go forever.
You are simply putting it down.
And giving yourself permission to rest.
Notice yourself breathing again.
Notice the support underneath your body.
Notice the weight of your body being held.
You do not have to become a different person during this meditation.
You do not have to become completely calm.
You do not have to feel peaceful.
You only have to give yourself a little less to carry.
Maybe there is still tension somewhere.
That's okay.
Maybe your mind is still busy,
That's okay too.
Rest does not require perfection.
You can be tired and still have thoughts.
You can be unsettled and still rest.
You can have an unfinished day and still allow the day to end.
Take another comfortable breath in.
And slowly let it go.
And notice.
You.
Are here.
The day is behind you,
And for these few moments.
.
.
You do not have to go back into it.
Imagine that bag of the day still sitting where you left it.
You have not lost anything.
You have not forgotten anything.
You have simply stopped carrying it.
You can pick it up again when you need to.
But you do not need to do that yet.
For now.
Let yourself be here.
Let the body rest.
Let the mind wander if it wants to.
And let the breath move naturally.
There is nothing you need to accomplish in these final moments.
The day can be finished without being perfectly resolved.
You can leave some things unfinished.
You can leave some questions unanswered.
And you can leave some thoughts for tomorrow.
Nothing more is required of you right now.
Stay here for as long as you'd like.
For now,
You can set down the day.
And simply rest.
