Welcome to a guided meditation designed to ease the mind and calm the body.
There's no such thing as perfect focus or a perfect meditation.
Our week two meditation will be messy and include lots of different things,
Just like the tendency of our minds to jump from place to place and to be easily distracted.
So first of all,
Make yourself as comfortable as possible,
Either on the floor or supported by a chair.
Take a moment to check in with the body and intuitively adjust your posture so you can fully relax.
Find a position where your spine is nice and tall.
The rest of your body is heavy and soft.
Before we begin,
A gentle reminder to welcome any distractions as they happen,
Knowing they're a normal part of the meditation experience,
And to bring the principle of curiosity along with you for the journey.
Let's start with our eyes open,
Taking in the space around you.
Explore what you can see as if it's the very first time you're taking it all in,
Even if the space is very familiar to you.
Scan the visual scene in front of you,
Noticing the interplay of light and shadow.
Become aware of the different colours,
Spending a few moments lingering on each colour and soaking it in before moving on to the next.
Appreciate the different textures and materials around you.
Taking in the various objects,
Noticing their subtle details.
Bring curiosity and your full attention to whatever you're looking at,
Even if it's just a simple object or something on the wall.
You may notice the mind's tendency to name,
Judge or label what you can see,
Or coming up with stories or memories.
This is the thinking mind at work,
And is perfectly normal.
Perhaps you can also notice that there's another part of you that's simply taking it all in,
Quietly sensing and perceiving.
Now rest your eyes on one spot or object.
Let your gaze linger here for a few moments.
While your focus remains,
Start to expand your awareness in all directions.
Engage your peripheral vision in taking the area above,
Below,
To the left,
And to the right of what you're looking at.
It's like you're taking in the whole scene at once,
Absorbing all of the visual information around you.
As you continue to gaze,
Your eyelids start to soften and grow heavy.
For the next few rounds of breath,
If comfortable,
Close down your eyes.
Enjoy a few moments resting from the world of looking,
Peering into the soothing darkness behind the eyelids.
Begin to feel a heaviness in your hips and pelvis.
Start to gently allow your torso to sway from side to side,
Like seaweed lightly swaying in the ocean.
Take your time here,
Continuing to rock from side to side,
Fully surrendering to this gentle movement.
Start with bigger movements and then with each round of breath,
See if you can make each movement smaller and smaller,
And more and more subtle.
Until almost of its own accord,
The torso comes to a point of stillness and balance.
Feel into this sense of centeredness for a few moments.
Keeping the body still,
Repeat this with your head.
Enjoy being mindful and simple as you move the head lightly from side to side.
Take your time luxuriating in the precision of this movement,
Making the movements finer and finer,
And smaller and smaller until your head comes to a natural center point,
Resting directly on the spine.
Do you notice how the body is feeling and any sensations of balance,
Stability or centeredness?
Resting in this feeling for the next few moments.
Bring attention to your hands,
Place your palms face up,
Resting comfortably on your knees.
Notice any sensation in the back of the hands.
Bring awareness to the palms of the hands.
Notice the temperature of your hands.
Bring awareness to the fingertips now,
Seeing if you can detect any subtle sensations.
Starting with the pinky finger,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Thumb,
All fingers together.
Taking in the whole hand as one,
Resting your awareness on the hands for the next couple of moments.
Make this effortless,
There's no need to try and force anything.
Guide your awareness over to your breath.
Notice how the breath travels in and out of your body.
Feeling a sense of energy and expansion as you breathe in,
And a groundedness and release as you breathe out.
Now imagine a line running through the central axis of your body,
Starting from the base of your spine all the way up to the top of your head.
Feel the breath moving up this line as you breathe in,
From the spine up to the top of the crown,
And from the top of the crown back down to the base of your spine as you breathe out.
Repeat this a few more times.
You're welcome to picture each breath as golden light gently rising and falling,
The golden light providing nourishment and space to the inner body.
Continue this breathing for a minute or two.
Now imagine a line running through the central axis of your body,
Starting from the base of your spine all the way up to the top of your head.
Feel the breath moving up this line as you breathe in,
From the spine up to the top of your head.
Now take a few moments to notice how centered or stable the body feels.
As we bring attention to the body and go through each body part,
Spend a few moments noticing the contact it makes with the floor or chair,
And then get a sense that that part of the body is softening,
Sinking or becoming heavier.
Left foot,
Right foot,
Left calf,
Right calf,
Right thigh,
Left thigh,
Letting go of any tension in the surrounding muscles,
Enjoying a sense of softening and relaxation,
Surrendering to the downward pull of gravity.
Left buttock,
Right buttock,
Hips,
Pelvis,
Left arm,
Right arm,
Whole body being drawn down and made heavy by the pull of gravity.
Sink into this feeling of heaviness for the next few moments,
Allowing the mind and body to soften.
For the last part of this meditation we'll come into stillness and silence,
Giving the body and mind a chance to absorb all of the benefits of your time and meditation.
Feel free to let yourself be exactly as you are,
Resting in any sensations of calmness or relaxation you've created.
If you feel restless or if this is uncomfortable,
You're more than welcome to return to a previous meditation technique that you found comforting and enjoyable.
Remind yourself to make yourself comfortable,
To welcome distractions as your thoughts come and go,
And to remain present and curious about your experience.
There's nowhere to go,
Nothing to do in this moment,
So just be here.
I'll guide you back out shortly.
For more information on our free course,
Visit www.
Mesmerism.
Info Bring some deeper breaths back into the body,
Sensing into the space around you.
And as we return to the body,
Notice how your body and mind are feeling,
Absorbing any final sensations of calm and clarity.
Gently wriggle the fingers and toes,
Bringing the body and mind into a state of calmness.
And toes,
Bringing some energy back into the body.
And briskly rubbing the palms of the hands together to generate some heat.
Placing the palms over the eyes.
Feeling the warmth being absorbed by your skin.
When you're ready,
Hands coming back down onto the lap and opening the eyes up.
I hope you feel relaxed and rested.
Your time in meditation is now complete.
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Mesmerism.
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