Begin lying down on your back.
Relax your body.
Bring your focus inward to your breath.
Notice how your breath feels as you inhale.
As you exhale,
Feel your ribs expand on the sides of your torso with each inhale.
Breathe evenly,
Slowly,
Naturally.
Now,
Bring your focus to your feet.
Notice any sensations in your feet.
Maybe wiggle your toes,
Feel the air,
Or feel the socks on your feet.
Just notice without judgment.
Continue breathing while you feel the sensations in your feet.
Moving your focus up from the feet to the legs,
What do you notice here?
Is there tightness?
Any sore spots?
Notice the sensations in your legs without judgment.
Breathe into any areas that need extra attention.
Shifting your focus to your hips and pelvis,
Bringing your awareness to sensations here,
What do you notice?
Breathe into these areas,
Releasing any tension you might be holding.
Now bringing your abdomen to focus and all of the internal organs here,
Do you notice digestion,
The feeling of your clothing on your skin?
What do you feel?
Breathe into your abdomen.
Exhaling on your chest and heart,
Feel your breath pass through your heart and travel into your lungs.
Notice the sensations you feel in your chest,
The rise and the fall with each inhale and exhale.
Shifting your focus to the back,
What sensations do you feel here?
Tightness?
Pain?
Perhaps you feel nothing at all.
That is also fine.
Breathe into the back and release any holding that you might be experiencing here.
Let go.
Bringing your attention to your shoulders and your neck,
Noticing sensations in these areas.
Breathing deeply to release tension that often gets trapped in the neck and shoulders.
Let go.
Exhale and release it now.
Notice how this feels.
Focusing on your arms and hands,
Noticing how they feel.
Breathing and resting in the sensations of your arms and hands.
Now bring your focus to your face and head.
Release your jaw.
Relax your face.
Notice sensations in your face and your head.
Let go of any holding here.
Now widen your focus to include your body as a whole from your toes to your head.
Breathe deeply and naturally as you notice sensations across your entire body without judgment.
Bring forth a feeling of gratitude for areas that are working well that you might not pay too much attention to.
Release it.
Now,
Acknowledge any thoughts that might be passing through your mind.
We are not trying to clear the mind.
We are just letting thoughts pass without attaching to them.
Imagine yourself sitting on a rock by the side of a flowing stream,
Looking down into the waters.
You are the observer.
The water is your thoughts and emotions.
Allow it to flow past you.
Remain present and aware of,
But not attached to,
Thoughts that pass through your mind.
Bring your focus back to your breath.
Breathe naturally,
Calmly.
Allow each breath to slowly take its course.
Focus your awareness on these breaths.
Feel every detail of them,
One by one.
Where is it in your body?
How does it feel?
Is it a long breath or a short breath?
Our breath changes according to our emotional state,
Heart rate,
Excitement,
And stress levels.
Feel it flowing over every single millimeter of your windpipe.
Truly appreciate each one.
Count the breaths from one to ten.
Focus only on the breath.
Allow any thoughts that intrude to flow away like water in the flowing stream.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Seven.
Eight.
Nine.
Ten.
Six.
Seven.
Eight.
Nine.
Ten.
Six.
Seven.
Eight.
Nine.
Ten.
Six.
Seven.
Six.
Six.
Seven.
Eight.
Nine.
Ten.
Six.
Seven.
Eight.
Nine.
Ten.
You may be surprised how hard it is to simply count from one to ten without an external thought intruding.
Do not feel bad.
This is quite normal.
Let's repeat these ten breath counts again.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Seven.
Eight.
Nine.
Ten.
Six.
Seven.
Eight.
Nine.
Ten.
Six.
Seven.
Eight.
Nine.
Six.
Seven.
Eight.
Nine.
Ten.
Six.
Seven.
Eight.
Nine.
Ten.
And one more time,
We will count ten breaths together.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Seven.
Eight.
Nine.
Ten.
Ten.
You should now be in a calm,
Relaxed and half-asleep state.
Your mind is alert,
But your body is deeply relaxed and preparing for sleep.
You are laid back on a water lily,
Floating on top of a vast,
Motionless ocean in a faraway land.
The water is completely still and you feel completely safe and at peace.
The air is warm as you feel the steady heat of an unknown sun beat down upon your face and body,
Cleansing you.
You are happy and comfortable,
Drifting on your back with your eyes closed,
Safe,
Cased all around by your strong,
Thick water lily and miles from anything but calm,
Open water.
The strength of the water lily makes you feel protected and safe.
It is thick and the water cannot even think about seeping in.
Rest here,
Drifting happily,
Without a care in the world.
As you drift,
Content,
Warm,
Safe and protected,
Your awareness begins to fade away and you drift off to sleep.
