The Tension Release Meditation Stress and tension can cause aches and pains all over the body.
Often the most discomfort is held in the neck,
Shoulders and back,
Or the stomach.
This short meditation will dissolve away your suffering and leave you feeling refreshed.
It accompanies Mindfulness for Health by Vidyamala Birch and Danny Penman.
To begin this meditation,
Adopt as comfortable a position as possible.
You can do it either sitting or lying down.
If you're lying down,
Let the arms rest at the sides of the body with the hands palm upwards.
Or you may prefer to rest the hands on the belly,
Hips or ribs,
Hands palm downwards.
Just whatever is most comfortable for you.
Allow your shoulders to be soft.
If you're sitting,
Have your hands supported in your lap with this little strain on the arms and shoulders as possible.
Soft face,
Soft jaw,
Soft throat,
Soft belly,
Soft body.
And allowing your body to settle down into gravity.
Feeling the points of contact between your body and the surface upon which it's resting.
Allow your weight to sink down through these points of contact again and again.
And now,
Very gently gather your awareness around the sensations and movement of the breath in the body.
Can you feel the breath in the chest,
The belly and even the back of the body?
Can you feel the movement of the breath in the body?
Can you feel the movement of the breath in the body?
Can you feel the movement of the breath in the chest,
The belly and even the back of the body?
Can you feel the movement of the ribs in the back of the body as well as the front of the body?
Maybe you can even feel the breath moving in the lower back.
The whole body expands a little bit on the in-breath and subsides a little on the out-breath.
Being careful not to force or alter the natural breath.
Can you let the breath breathe itself?
And now,
Very,
Very gently,
Guiding your awareness to the areas of pain and discomfort in your body.
Can you let your awareness gently rest there?
Can you feel the breath in that part of the body?
Letting the breath gently rest there.
Can you feel the breath in that part of the body?
Letting the breath gently rest there.
Letting the breath gently soothe and massage these areas of tension.
Can you bring a quality of care to the breath?
Saturating the breath with kindliness,
Gentleness and tenderness as it rocks and cradles this part of the body.
Treating yourself the way you'd naturally treat somebody that you loved and cared for who was hurting.
If at any time this feels a little intense,
Then broaden your awareness to include the whole body.
And pay particular attention to the sense of the body settling down into gravity again and again.
Each time you catch yourself tensing up,
Gently settle down onto the floor again.
Doing this over and over if necessary.
So spend the next few unguided moments resting deep in the body,
In the breath,
And allowing your discomfort to be soothed by the rhythm of the breath again and again.
And now bringing the short meditation to a close.
Broadening your awareness to include the sounds around you.
Opening the eyes and beginning to gently move your body.
See if you can take this quality of breath-based body awareness with you as you re-engage with the breath.
See if you can take this quality of breath-based body awareness with you as you re-engage with the activities of your day.
