Hi and thank you for joining me in today's practice.
So go ahead,
Assume a comfortable seated position with a tall spine,
Allowing yourself to just be Letting your arms relax and just place your hands wherever it feels comfortable for you.
Now if you've done a high intensity workout it is likely that you are still breathing quite heavily.
So just take a couple of moments here to settle in and to slow down your breathing.
To do this just take a couple of deep breaths in and slow down the exhale,
Breathing in through the nose and gently exhaling,
Inhaling through the nose,
Expanding the belly,
Slowly exhaling.
Good,
Keep going.
Great,
Now as you are settling in and slowing down your breath you'll notice that the body starts to automatically relax.
So just scan the body now to see if you're holding any tension that you might be able to let go of.
Let's start at the crown of the head,
Just noticing that area and relaxing every muscle in the scalp and allow your ears to relax,
Allow your neck muscles to let go of tension and now bring your awareness to all the skin on your face.
Just notice that entire area,
Feeling the skin on the forehead,
Skin on the cheeks,
The chin line,
The neck area,
The throat area.
Just let it all relax,
Relaxing that space between the eyebrows and just see if you can relax your eyes.
Sometimes when we close our eyes we naturally press the eyelids together.
Just see if you can loosen and soften that area just a little bit.
If you are holding any tension in the jaw,
See if you can unclench that.
Then notice what the tongue is doing.
Perhaps you want to rest it deeply in the base of the palate.
Do whatever feels comfortable for you.
Just give yourself this time to fully relax and unwind.
Now continue to breathe naturally.
Then shift your awareness to the shoulders.
Notice if you're holding any tension here.
Just see if you can let the shoulder slide down a little bit more.
Just letting go of any remaining tension there.
Now feel your upper arms become really heavy.
Feel the gravity pulling your arms down into the earth.
Notice the entire length of your arms and just notice what it feels like to let every muscle go fully slack without anything to do,
Without anything to hold on to.
These muscles have your permission to relax into this moment.
Allow the fingers to naturally curl and just relax every muscle in the palm of your hand.
Then shift your awareness to the torso.
Relaxing the muscles in the chest.
Noticing the ribcage as you inhale and exhale.
If you are holding any tension in your belly,
See if you can soften that area a little bit by breathing into the area.
And as your awareness flows down your body,
Feel where your sit bones are connected to the surface beneath you.
Just feel that area and relax all the muscles.
Muscles at the front of the hip.
Muscles at the side of the hip.
Relaxing all glute muscles and just feeling yourself sink deeper into this moment.
And as you shift your awareness to the upper legs,
Notice the quads,
The inner thighs,
The hamstrings.
Notice all these muscle groups and then give them permission to relax.
Letting go of any tension.
Relaxing the kneecap.
Softening all those little muscles around the knee and at the back of the knee.
Then notice your lower legs.
Consciously relaxing the calf muscles.
Relaxing the front of the shin.
And then shift your awareness through the ankles and the feet.
Relaxing all your toes.
Relaxing the ball of the foot.
Letting go of tension in the arch of the foot.
And just letting everything fully relax.
Now notice how nice it feels to have the body in this deep state of relaxation.
When we are training in the gym or doing a high-intensity workout,
We are always on.
We are turned on for what's next.
The next set.
The next rep.
The next exercise.
The next hill sprint.
The next boxing combination.
By giving ourselves a moment to turn off,
We are switching off from everything else outside of us and we are giving ourselves a moment to turn inwards.
To turn inwards into that ever-knowing,
Ever-healing capacity.
And by you practicing meditation,
You are helping the body heal and recover.
So congratulate yourself on taking time out for your health and well-being.
And as you are congratulating yourself,
You are naturally feeling this shift to gratitude.
Gratitude for the ability to train.
Gratitude for looking after your health,
Your body,
Your cardiovascular health,
Your muscular health,
Your mental health.
Now I want you to take a moment to really generate those feelings of gratitude.
It may help to name the three things that you are very grateful for in this very moment.
Now go ahead and name those things in your mind.
Good work.
Feel that feeling of gratitude and joy and bliss.
Imagine that feeling of gratitude inside yourself like a radiating gold ball.
A golden orb inside of you that is spinning,
Spreading this love,
This gratitude,
This bliss throughout your entire body.
Touching every cell,
Every tissue,
Every muscle fiber.
Helping you heal,
Helping you feel amazing.
Now slowly start to bring yourself back to this moment,
Noticing the room that you are in.
Gently wiggle your fingers,
Wiggle your toes and open your eyes.
I hope you enjoyed this meditation.
Have a wonderful day.
