Find a comfortable position to sit or lie down.
Take a deep breath in through your nose and out through your mouth.
Take another deep breath in through your nose and out through your mouth.
Take one final deep breath in through your nose and breathe out all the heaviness,
Any anxiousness or stress that you might be feeling.
Now continue to breathe normally.
Observe the breath as it goes into your body.
Can you feel the breath as it enters through your nose?
And then as it gently goes out.
Or maybe you notice how your belly rises as you take a breath in and then falls as you breathe out.
Can you observe the surface beneath you?
Where is it in contact with your body?
Feel how it holds you up,
Stable and sturdy.
Now picture yourself walking down a white wooden staircase that leads to a beautiful beach.
The sun is shining brightly and feels warm on your skin.
The temperature is just the way you like it and you feel perfectly comfortable.
You see a beach chair positioned close to the shore.
Simply sit on the chair and look out into the vast ocean,
Looking out as far as you can.
It seems like it goes on forever.
You see the waves ripple and the glowing colors,
Deep blues,
Turquoise,
Teal,
And the little peaks that look almost white with the glistening sun bouncing off them.
Little bubbles form in the sand as the waves ripple in.
A gentle warm breeze brushes your skin.
You hear the rhythmic sound of the ocean waves as they gently come up to the shore.
You feel so relaxed.
As you take a slow deep breath in through your nose,
You catch the sweet scent of coconut coming from your sun lotion.
You exhale,
Breathing out a sigh of relief.
It feels so good to be here.
Your feet feel warm as they sink into the sand,
And you can almost taste the salt coming from the sea as you take in another deep,
Open breath.
This time,
You exhale feeling lighter and even more relaxed.
Walking to the edge of the water,
You look down to your feet and watch the waves come up and wash over them.
The water feels warm around your toes and the sand soft and smooth.
Another wave comes in,
This time splashing your calves.
You begin to walk into the ocean.
The water reaches your ankles,
Now your knees.
Farther in now,
It covers your hips and then goes up to your waist.
You dip in completely,
Wetting your shoulders and your head.
It feels so refreshing.
Now you float up onto your back,
Letting your body relax as the water gently carries you up.
You feel light as a feather,
The water cradling you softly.
As your body sways slowly in motion with the water,
All the tension releases from your muscles.
In your neck,
Shoulders,
Arms,
Legs,
Hips and feet.
Your body feels totally and completely relaxed.
With your ears just under the water line,
It's as if you're in a sound bubble as the sea has muffled out the other noises around you.
You hear your breathing at the forefront of this underwater soundscape,
In and out.
In and out.
You breathe long,
Slow,
Peaceful breaths,
Which begin to sound like the rhythm of the ocean.
You feel so relaxed,
Floating and continuing to gently sway with the movement of the water.
You feel as if you've entered another world,
As you stare up into the blue sky.
A small,
Fluffy white cloud hangs in the air above.
You examine its interesting shape,
Floating in the vast space before your eyes.
You are totally at peace.
Now you gently let your legs float down until your feet are touching the sand beneath you again,
And you're standing in the water.
Slowly you make your way back to the shore,
The water moving down to your hips,
Your knees,
Down to your ankles and feet.
You walk back to the beach chair and wrap yourself up in a big towel.
Now you lay down,
Continuing to gaze out toward the ocean,
Enjoying this feeling of comfort and rest.
The sun shines down warmly on your face.
All is well.
You are at rest.
You are at peace.
All is well.
Now you can continue to stay in this place and just drift off to sleep,
Or you can gently bring yourself back to the room that you're in,
To the surface beneath you.
And when you're ready,
Open your eyes.
Take a long,
Slow,
Deep breath to seal in all that peace and rest deep into your heart,
Your mind,
Your body,
And your soul.
And thank yourself for taking this time to take care of yourself.
