Welcome to a guided meditation designed to ease the mind and calm the body.
Take some time to nestle into a comfortable meditation position.
Whether on the floor or on a chair,
Your weight is evenly spread between both sit bones.
As you take a deep breath in,
Find length through your spine.
On the next breath out,
Shoulders melt away from your ears,
Creating space and length in the neck.
Chin is gently tucked towards the chest.
As you draw your shoulder blades together and down your back,
Your chest feels broad and open.
And if it feels comfortable gently closing down the eyes,
Give yourself a few moments in the beginning to let everything slow down.
Take the time to check in with how you're feeling.
On a scale of 1 to 10,
If you could give yourself a number,
1 being very stressed and overwhelmed,
And 10 being completely relaxed,
What would it be?
Let go of all judgment and simply acknowledge your answer.
Know that by taking some precious time out to reset,
All else in your life only stands to benefit.
Give yourself full permission to be here,
Placing everything to one side.
You can deal with it later.
Today we'll focus on the breath as a way to bring the body and mind into a state of rest and repair.
As always,
Make sure your body is fully relaxed and comfortable,
Knowing you can shuffle,
Cough,
Yawn,
Sigh,
And stretch whenever you need to.
There's no need to force the body into a state of calm.
See if you can give up all control and let everything unfold naturally.
Set the intention to bring a gentle curiosity with you as we explore the breath.
Start by observing the natural rhythm of your breath,
Connecting to the gentle rise and fall of your belly as you breathe in and out.
Feel deeply rooted and grounded in your lower body.
Your upper body is light and open.
Notice how your body responds to the inhale and softens with the exhale.
Contemplate that you only notice the exhale because of the inhale and are only aware of the inhale because it's different to the exhale.
Be here with your breath observing its natural pattern and depth for the next few moments.
We'll now move through some simple breath patterns.
Make sure that your breath remains smooth and comfortable.
If it becomes choppy or rough at any point,
Then please reduce the breath count.
Remember to put your physical comfort and ease first.
On the next breath in,
Counting softly in your head to five,
Feeling the lower belly,
Upper belly and chest expand.
On the next breath out,
Smooth exhale to a count of five,
Connecting to a sense of release and groundedness.
We'll continue on with this breath pattern of five in and five out.
Welcoming a sense of expansion and nourishment with every breath in.
Sensing a softening and a heavy in with every breath out.
Continue with this smooth,
Even breath pattern for the next few minutes.
And there's no need to block out thoughts,
Sounds or sensations.
Make room for all of these things as you continue to connect to the breath.
If you find your mind becoming distracted and you lose connection with the breath,
Take a moment to congratulate yourself for noticing.
Simply pick up where you left off.
Some days you'll be able to focus better than others.
Remember that meditation is a practice and not a perfect.
So try your best to accept whatever's happening for you today.
We'll continue on with this breath pattern for another few rounds,
Allowing your breath to bring harmony into the body and mind.
And now we'll begin to lengthen the exhale.
Breathing into a count of four and breathing out for a count of eight.
If this feels uncomfortable or awkward,
Try in for three and out for six.
You're also welcome to lengthen further,
Breathing in for a count of five and out for a count of 10.
Whatever pattern feels best for you today,
Make sure your breath out is twice as long as your breath in,
Maintaining a consistent rhythm throughout.
This pattern can have a wonderfully calming effect on the body and mind.
Enjoy each long,
Slow,
Smooth exhale,
Imagining that the body is able to fully let go and surrender with every breath out.
See if you can relax the whole body,
Softening the muscles of the face,
Heavy through the shoulders,
Spine is tall,
And there's a heavying in the hips and pelvis.
And if you lose count or become distracted,
Simply come back to the breath,
Counting the inhale and extended exhale softly.
Let go of the breath and gently in your head.
Let your breath guide you into deeper and deeper levels of relaxation.
As you imagine any stress or tension ebbing out of the body and mind with every breath out.
A few more rounds.
Now release that pattern,
The breath in,
And the exhale.
Now release that pattern,
The breath returning to its natural rhythm.
Find the perfect breath for this moment.
When we enter a deep state of relaxation,
We give our bodies the chance to rest and repair.
Enjoy resting here for the next few moments,
Steeping in any feelings of comfort and calm you've cultivated.
Let's take a deep breath in and out.
Bring some deeper breaths back into the body.
And as we begin to draw to a close,
Notice how your body and mind are feeling,
Absorbing any final sensations of calm and clarity.
Ask yourself once again how calm you feel on a scale of 1 to 10.
This may or may not have shifted from the start.
Some days our practice comes more easily to us than others,
And that's okay.
The important thing is to cultivate awareness of how we're feeling and to develop our ability to use meditation as a way to self-soothe and connect when we feel stressed.
Gently wriggle the fingers and toes,
Bringing some energy back into the body.
Gently stretching the arms and legs,
And opening the eyes when you're ready.
Your time in meditation is complete.
