Welcome friends.
This guided meditation is all about relaxing,
Letting go,
Allowing a deep sense of ease to embrace you,
And letting go even more.
Really sinking in.
Relaxation is so good for you and so good for everybody around you,
Physically,
Mentally,
And emotionally.
Science says so,
And you already know it on an intuitive level.
So let's begin.
First,
Get nice and comfy,
Sitting or lying in a way that allows you to be calm and aware.
Closing your eyes or just allowing them to be defocused,
Maybe cast downward a bit.
Sinking in and just noticing where you're at today,
What it feels like to be you right now.
Your feet on the floor or against your legs,
Your glutes compressed against the chair or the cushion,
Or if you're lying down,
The surface beneath you,
Holding you,
The planet herself cradling you lovingly.
Take in a deep breath and let it out in a long,
Slow exhalation.
Another few breaths like that.
Deep into the belly,
Up into the chest,
And slowly breathing naturally now.
If you notice any areas of tightness,
See if you can just let go a little.
Maybe a slight smile will make it easier.
Bringing your attention to the top of your head now and feeling a sense of ease in the scalp.
Tiny muscles letting go and the relaxation spreads to the brow,
The eyes soften,
Relaxing the sides of the head,
The muscles of the face,
Ears and nose and mouth all letting go.
The jaw releases,
There's an easy feeling in the neck and throat,
And relaxing the shoulders now,
And maybe letting go a little bit more in the shoulders.
A sigh might help.
Pausing here to notice if there's a difference between areas that we've relaxed and places we haven't yet reached.
Is there a freer flow of energy in places where we've invited relaxation?
Continuing to breathe naturally,
You can let the relaxation ease down from your shoulders to your upper arms,
To your elbows,
Forearms,
To your wrists,
Letting go in the palms of your hands,
The backs of your hands,
And your fingers,
Letting go from the inside out.
Relaxing the chest and upper back now,
Feeling the vastness of the heart space,
Inviting a general ease there,
Relaxing the muscles of the mid-back and the lower back and the belly,
Just letting go completely.
Relaxing the sides of your torso,
The hips and glutes,
The whole pelvic area,
And again pausing to see if maybe you can sense a greater flow of energy in the areas where we've invited some ease,
Some relaxation,
Some letting go.
We can relax the quadriceps now,
The long muscles on the fronts of your thighs that run from the hips to the knees,
And the hamstrings on the underside of your thighs,
And letting go too on the outer thighs and the inner thighs,
The knees let go,
And right behind the knees and the lower legs,
Relaxing your ankles,
Heels,
Tops of your feet,
Soles,
And your toes,
Just taking a moment to feel it all.
If there are areas that aren't fully relaxed,
Invite them to let go now,
And feel your body now as deeply connected,
Energized,
Relaxed,
And whole.
Just breathing and floating in that pleasant state of ease,
Breathing and relaxing,
Letting go,
Feeling everything,
And maybe taking a sort of sensory snapshot of this feeling,
So that the next time things aren't so calm,
You'll be able to reconnect with the deep relaxation you found today.
Remaining relaxed,
Approaching the end of today's practice,
The deeper inhalation,
A long,
Slow out-breath,
A few more deep breaths,
Some subtle movement in the fingers and toes,
Wiggling a little bit,
Stretching,
Sighing,
Smiling,
And when you're ready,
Gently,
Slowly opening your eyes.
