Self-Care Meditation To De-Stress

Self-care is not selfish, self-care is what fuels us. This meditation is a time for you to pause and calm your nervous system as you perhaps prepare for the day ahead, recover from the day that has been, or simply pause, in the middle of your day for a bit of a break.

Transcript

Hi,

I'm Angela.

Welcome to your self-care meditation practice to help you to de-stress.

This meditation is a time to pause and calm your nervous system as you perhaps prepare for the day ahead,

Recover from the day that has been,

Or to simply pause in the middle of your day for a bit of a break.

Ideally calming our nervous system is one way of allowing our bodies and minds to recover from life's inevitable stresses.

Doing so is an act of self-care.

Self-care isn't selfish.

Self-care is what fuels us.

Ideally in this practice,

Your body will relax and your mind will settle.

Whatever you experience in this practice is fine,

Just as it is.

This is your time,

Your practice,

Your experience.

And by all means,

If you find yourself drifting off to sleep,

That's okay.

Allow yourself to rest.

In this practice,

I'll guide you through a breathing exercise and a body scan practice.

In addition to becoming aware of your senses,

Your body,

And your breath,

You may also become aware of your emotions and thoughts,

All things that are part of our human experience.

I invite you to approach all of these with a playful curiosity rather than with a desire to control.

In our time of stillness,

Sometimes just the practice of watching our thoughts,

Emotions,

And the sensations in our body can be a bit of a reprieve from the demands of our daily lives.

And if your thoughts take you to some far off place during this practice,

That's okay.

Eventually you will hear my voice again.

If at any point in this practice,

Your emotions or thoughts become a little bit too full on for you,

You may wish then to shift your attention toward your breath,

Noticing where you are you feel the breath in your body and the effects it has,

Or perhaps shift your attention to your physical body and how it's resting in the comfortable position that you're in.

Before we get started,

Just taking this time to settle in and get comfortable in all of the ways that your body knows how,

Whether you are sitting or lying back,

Just finding the right position for your head,

For your neck,

Your shoulders,

Your hands,

Your hips,

Legs and your feet.

And as your body settles into the position that is right for you,

You might just have a little look around and notice if your eyes are drawn to anything in particular.

Are there any textures,

Shapes or colors that your eyes are being drawn to?

And if you're not drawn to anything in particular,

Having an awareness that nothing in your immediate surroundings is calling for your visual attention at this time.

Having had a little look around,

If it's comfortable for you to do so,

You may now wish to close your eyes.

And if closing your eyes isn't comfortable for you right now,

That's okay.

Perhaps then lowering your gaze just a little bit to minimize any visual distractions.

Of course,

Doing whatever is right for you.

And as you continue to just settle in and nestle in,

You might like to make any little micro adjustments to the positioning of your body.

Perhaps you can even find that Goldilocks position where everything feels just right.

And now,

Perhaps noticing the soundscape around you.

Are there any sounds that your awareness is being drawn to?

Perhaps there are sounds off in the distance.

Or maybe there are some sounds that are nearby.

And if there isn't anything in the soundscape your attention is being drawn to,

That's fine.

In a moment,

We'll start the breathing practice with a few long,

Slow breaths.

And just breathing in the rhythm of your own natural breath.

If it's comfortable for you,

I invite you to breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth.

Just breathing in your own natural rhythm,

Nothing contrived or controlled.

Breathing in through the nose.

And just as and when you are ready to exhale through the mouth,

In your own time,

Try pursing your lips together as though you're breathing out through a straw.

And then noticing what effect,

If any,

That has on your breathing.

Perhaps you may notice that with your lips pursed,

Your exhalations are just a little bit longer,

Perhaps a little bit slower.

And continuing to breathe in through the nose.

And breathing out through gently pursed lips.

And having another two or three long,

Slow breaths like this.

And once you've had another long,

Slow breath,

Allowing the lips to relax.

And breathing in your own natural rhythm.

And before we move on to the body scan practice,

Perhaps noticing what effect these long,

Slow breaths have had on you.

So to begin,

Having an awareness of your body in whatever position it is in.

And for this portion of the practice,

If you will,

Allow my voice to become yours.

To begin,

I shift my awareness to the top of my head.

And from the top of my head,

I shift my awareness to my forehead.

And to my temples.

Shifting my awareness from my temples to my eyebrows and the bridge of my nose.

Shifting my awareness from the bridge of my nose to the areas around my eyes.

Shifting my awareness from the area around my eyes over to my cheekbones.

And shifting my awareness from my cheekbones along my cheeks.

And from my cheeks to the area around my mouth.

Shifting my awareness now to my lips.

And from my lips down to my jaw.

Shifting my awareness from my jaw to my chin.

And now shifting my awareness from my jaw and chin down to my shoulders.

Shifting my awareness from the back of my shoulders down along my spine all the way down to my hips.

And shifting my attention now from my hips up the front of my torso.

Up the front of my torso all the way to the front of my shoulders.

Shifting my awareness from the front of my shoulders down my arms.

All the way down my arms to the tips of my fingers.

And shifting my awareness from my fingertips back over to my hips.

And from my hips down the back of my body along the buttocks and the backs of my thighs.

Shifting my awareness now to the fronts of my thighs.

And from the fronts of my thighs down to my knees.

The fronts and the backs of my knees.

Down my legs to my shins and calves.

And from my shins and calves shifting my awareness now down to my ankles.

And from my ankles to my feet.

Shifting my awareness to the tops of my feet and the bottoms of my feet.

Shifting my awareness now to the lower part of my body.

And shifting my awareness to the upper part of my body.

Shifting my awareness now to the left side of my body.

And shifting my awareness to the right side of my body.

Shifting my awareness now to my whole body in the position that it is in.

And now as I return your voice to you,

I invite you for the next few moments to allow your awareness to drift freely and with a relaxed curiosity.

Perhaps noticing where your awareness travels to.

Maybe to the thoughts in the theatre of your mind.

Maybe to the feelings and emotions that make us human.

And remembering you can return your awareness to your breath or to the comfort of your body any time you wish.

And you will hear my voice again in a few moments.

Shifting my awareness now to the lower part of my body.

And now as I return your voice to you,

I invite you to the lower part of my body.

And now as I return your voice to me,

I invite you to the lower part of my body.

And now as I return your voice to me,

I invite you to the lower part of my body.

And now as I return your voice to me,

I invite you to the lower part of my body.

And now as I return your voice to me,

I invite you to the lower part of my body.

And now as we prepare to conclude this self-care meditation,

If it feels right for you to do so,

Bringing your awareness to your breath and bringing your awareness to your body and bringing your awareness to the soundscape around you.

So to conclude this practice,

Just checking in to see what is right for you right now.

Perhaps allowing your eyes to remain closed and the body still,

Or maybe gently blinking open your eyes and preparing to slowly move your body,

Whatever is right for you.

Thanks for joining me and for pausing for a bit of self-care.