We share a lot of our day and our time with others and for others as we assume expectations and fulfill our responsibilities.
And most of the time our minds are in the past thinking of what we have or have not done or our minds are in the future considering what we need to do.
Rarely we take time to be fully present.
So right now make a choice,
Take some time for yourself,
Press pause even if just for a few minutes and begin to notice your body as you take a deep breath in and take a longer breath out allowing yourself to sink with each breath just a little further into the space that you rest.
Notice your shoulders moving away from your ears becoming softer with every out breath.
Take time to listen to the sound quality of your breath.
Feel the chest open up expanding as you breathe in,
Feel it release as you breathe out with awareness on the breath.
Follow the breath right to the end and wait until you really need to breathe in again.
Notice the feeling of relaxation begin to wash over you,
Shining a spotlight will begin to scan from top to bottom examining details moving from place to place.
Beginning at your head,
Notice your scalp and forehead,
Notice any tingling,
Pressure,
Pulsing.
Imagine you are gently breathing through the scalp and forehead encouraging it to soften and release.
Moving downwards,
Allow the muscles behind the eyes to soften,
Feel the cheeks sag,
Mouth and jaw go slack,
Tension of the day melting away as if it were butter that had been left in the sun.
Moving awareness to the neck and shoulders,
Notice how different sensations are here.
Imagine you are gently breathing through the neck and shoulders,
Massaging from the inside,
Softening the muscles that run down from the base of your skull,
Fan across the top of each shoulder.
Allow awareness flow down the arms,
The hands to the fingertips,
Moving awareness back to your chest,
Feeling it rise and fall as you breathe.
Going deeper,
Feel the movement of the lungs,
Can you feel the beating of your heart,
Perhaps your pulse,
If thoughts are distracting you,
Just tick it off as acknowledged and let it go,
Knowing that there's nothing to do right here,
Right now,
Knowing that you can attend to it later after you've had this time for yourself.
Feel the lower ribs rise and fall as you breathe,
Feel the soft ocean swell of the diaphragm as you scan,
Imagine your body filling with light breath,
Positive energy,
Allow your abdomen to soften completely as you breathe out,
Feel the weight of your buttocks on the surface that you rest,
Feel your legs and their position in space,
Sense your whole body,
Feel that you've poured your mind equally into every place,
Focusing your mind on you,
You have paused the outside world,
You're giving yourself the gift of time with the most important person in your world,
You,
Don't be surprised if thoughts come and go,
Just keep returning your focus back to you,
As you notice your whole body,
Notice how it is moving with the breath,
Notice any sensations that you are feeling,
Are you warm,
Cool,
Do you feel tingling or prickling,
Do you feel balanced,
Open,
Stay centered by exploring your body,
You may notice the gentle vibration of your pulse,
Perhaps in your hands,
Abdomen or face,
Know what relaxed feels like,
So you know what you're aiming for,
Your body is your guide,
Your mind is the explorer,
Continue to notice sensations within,
Breath,
Your pulse,
Feelings of warmth or cool,
Inviting relaxation,
Wash over you,
Notice the quality of your mind,
Is it slower,
Calmer,
Sleepy,
Perhaps it's more present,
More clear,
And as we come to the end of this meditation,
Just take a moment to thank yourself for giving this time to you,
And know that you can give yourself the gift of time anytime you choose,
You just have to press pause.
