Relaxation In Meditation - Episode 13

Episode 13 of the Nature of Meditation podcast explores Relaxation in Meditation.

Paradoxically, in meditation practice, when you relax, you wake up to reality in the present moment. This relaxation guided meditation is for the purpose of awakening. It is advised that you listen to this relaxing meditation in the morning, and not when you're feeling tired. Meditation is not the time or place to sleep. If you are feeling tired or sleepy, it means that you are actually tired in reality and need to sleep.

Nature of Meditation monthly podcast is an exploration of the nature of silent meditation practice. Produced by Ayla Michelle at The Therapy Garden, a BAMBA registered mindfulness and meditation teacher.

Transcript

Hello, My name is Michelle and welcome to episode 13 on relaxation in meditation. This episode is an invitation to relax and come into attunement with your body, With your embodied sensorial experience. And so we'll be learning through our experience, Our embodied experience. We're not learning to relax through thinking. So instead of our usual silent meditation at the opening, In this episode I will guide a 20 minute deep relaxation guided meditation to help us establish an embodied experience of relaxed sitting meditation. But the guided meditation will come in the second half of this episode. Before I start the guided meditation, I want to share the significance of relaxation in meditation. And relaxation in meditation basically means the end of trying to do anything. And at the same time, Relaxation in meditation is not passive. It doesn't mean falling into rumination or into unconscious patterns. It doesn't mean falling asleep, But instead it's about becoming awakened. It's a kind of relaxation that is fully awakened and present. Fully here, Fully being. So the invitation is, If you feel tired during relaxation in meditation, It means that you are actually tired in reality and you need to rest or sleep. So please don't practice deep relaxation meditation when you're feeling tired, Because meditation is not the time or place to sleep. It's about awakening to present moment experience. So I'd also like to say a bit about the purpose of relaxation in meditation. What we want to do in meditation is prevent the thinking discursive mind from hijacking our presence in the moment. So to stop that happening, We use our awareness of our physical body to help us stay present and aware. Through deep relaxation, We tune into and amplify our sensorial experience of the body. And by that, I mean we bring our sensorial faculty, Our sensation faculty, Into the foreground of our field of awareness. So that the thinking discursive, Ruminating mind starts to recede into the background. So in meditation, We tune into our body through holding our attention on our sensorial embodied experience in the present moment. Because most people are in their heads, In their minds, Most of the time, The thinking ruminating mind hijacks one's attention and energy. And so it goes. Usually our self-consciousness in our mind is constantly running. The so-called non-stop radio. Non-stop imagining, Daydreaming, Thinking, Planning, Remembering. But when we start to relax, Our energy, Our psychic energy starts to sink downwards from the head downwards through the body into the ground. And into that which is deeper and wider and freer than the surface individual identity that's so concerned with itself. But freedom in meditation can't be experienced by trying to get rid of ego identity. It can only be done through relaxing the mind's grip on the ego. So in meditation, We are relaxing and not focusing on ourself or judging our experience. Meditation is undoing the tight knot of ego self-consciousness. Undoing through relaxation and experiencing what is deeper and wider than the individual. But without trying to get rid of yourself, That's not the method of releasing one's grip on the self. Simply relaxing is enough. And when we allow ourselves to relax in this way, It's called ego death. Death of the individual mind that's concerned with itself. So I think that was about 10 minutes or so teach. And now let's spend most of our time in this episode dropping into a meditative state of consciousness. Through relaxation and awareness of sensorial embodied experience in the present moment. And this is going to be a 20-minute guided meditation. So before you start, The invitation is to take some time to prepare. Find the time and place where you can sit and be with yourself undisturbed. Setting up the conditions that you will need to be able to devote yourself wholeheartedly to this guided meditation. And ideally, You can do this guided meditation in the morning when you're feeling fresh and not tired. But it doesn't matter if you're tired or not, Really, From a meditative perspective. So allowing the tight knot of the self to soften and become undone a little. So that identification comes undone with relaxation. In relaxation, It doesn't matter whether you feel ready or not. Because whatever the conditions are, You're able to relax. My favorite saying again, All conditions are the right conditions. For meditation and for relaxation. So let's begin. Take a moment to tune into your sensorial bodily experience. Simply being present and paying attention to your embodied sensorial experience. You may want to use an anchor for your attention by resting it in your hands, In your abdomen, In your feet. Resting your attention in your body sensorial experience in an area where it feels most comfortable, Most present and most relaxed. And choosing one location for your attention as your anchor. Feeling the presence of your body sitting on the chair or the cushion on the floor. Feel the sense of your body weight dropping downwards into the ground. Tuning into the internal sensations of your body. Aware of your breathing, The rhythm of your breathing. And on each exhale, Dropping the sense of your body weight down, Releasing on the exhale, Releasing tension. Just being here, Present and breathing. Relaxing. There's nothing that you need to do. Simply allowing everything to be as it is. Relaxing any self-judgment, Self-criticism. Relaxing any anxiety, Any tension. Aware of your breathing and aware of your bodily sensations. Allowing your embodied experience to be in the foreground of your field of awareness. And allowing any wandering thoughts, Fantasies, Daydreams, Feelings, To be embodied. In the background of your field of awareness. All the while in the foreground, Gently holding your attention on your bodily sensations. Using your awareness of your bodily sensations as an anchor for your attention. Using those as the foreground of your field of awareness. And allowing the background of your field of awareness to be however it is. So relaxing the effort of trying to create a meditation or change your meditation. Simply relaxing through engaging with your sensorial experience in your body. And allowing yourself to be honest. Relaxing the critical function. Allowing yourself to get your meditation wrong. Allowing yourself to get your relaxation wrong. Aware of any attempts to discriminate, Reject or favor any particular experience. Not worrying about what's a right experience or what's a wrong experience. Just letting be. Letting yourself be more spacious, More open and spacious. Allowing yourself to be free for a few moments, A few minutes. Allowing your mind to relax for a few minutes. And if your mind wanders away from your awareness of your sensorial embodied experience, Just notice that's happened and tune into your sensorial embodied experience again. So all experiences are fully allowed. Fully experienced, Fully open and fully broken. And also fully relaxed. As is natural in human experience. Relaxing your focus, Relaxing your attention. Feeling relaxed and softening your focus and your attention that can both relax. So any tight grip of your attention is softening and undoing. As if awareness itself is relaxing. So no need to make any conscious effort to be aware, Simply being. Being whatever's present is okay. So that your individual ego is softening and undoing. The tight knot of the self is unravelling. So that you can be able to experience fresh experience in each moment. Without any attachment or separation. So relaxing into a non-dualistic way of being. Connected and free. Relaxed and unfazed. Just simply relaxing. Relaxing with awareness. Relaxing with presence. Relaxing with freshness. Relaxed and fresh at one and the same time. So gradually moving to the end of this deep relaxation guided meditation. And we're going to relax for the remaining 10 minutes or so of this episode. So we're not needing to make any forced effort to do anything at all. And perhaps now, Not necessarily focusing in but widening out. And at one at the same time, You can allow your awareness to be unfocused. And at the same time, Present. So noticing whatever you're noticing in the foreground of your field of awareness. Not needing to be fixated on this or that, On any particular object of awareness. Or of an experience of the atmosphere of the present moment. And always remaining aware of your bodily sensations to help you stay present and aware. Your bodily sensations. Holding you. Protecting you. Guiding you. And preventing you from dropping out of the present moment. Preventing your mind from hijacking you from the present moment experience. So gradually coming to the end of this episode. I hope you were able to relax to some extent, More or less. And thank you for listening. And yeah, I hope you enjoyed this relaxation as much as I did. And I look forward to sharing more with you next month. So go well, Go relaxed and enjoy the rest of your day or evening. And I wish you a relaxed week. Bye for now.