Meeting The Ocean In You

Your body is an ocean, your breath is the waves. In this guided imagery meditation, you'll settle in with a gentle body scan, then explore your natural breathing rhythms through the lens of ocean waves. There is nothing to force, no pattern to follow; you might simply listen, or let your body and breath move you toward a sense of acceptance and relaxation.

This practice ends with closing words rather than a bell.

Transcript

Start by finding a quiet and cozy spot for you to do this meditation. Somewhere nobody will interrupt you. Take a few moments to truly welcome yourself to this space, To this meditation. Let yourself land. How can you be even more comfortable? What can you adjust in your environment to make this as restorative as possible? Light candles, Wrap up in a blanket. Or maybe place a bolster under your legs. Whether you're sitting up or laying down. Wiggle your body to settle in even more. Just like a mother bird settling onto her eggs to keep them warm. You have time, So if you need to try on a few positions until you find one that feels just right, Please do. You can always pause this or any meditation to give yourself more time and space. Once you're here, In the room, How it feels good to you. Start at the top of your head, Tracing your way down all the way to your toes, Checking in to see if any part of you wants to loosen and soften even more. I'll guide you through that journey. You may hear moments of silence. Those are for you to continue your exploration without my interruption. But I'll be back with you momentarily. At the crown of your head, Notice if there are any areas of tightness or tension. And with the energy of a gentle question, Ask your body, Soften. If your body says yes, Allow. Find the give in you, The plush tissue that's like your very own risen dough. If your body says no and wants to hold on a bit more, Allow that too. Ask the same question of your facial muscles. Soften. Yes or no. If there's ambivalence, Let that be here too. Let your conscious attention on your body be enough. Light your attention onto your throat and the back of your neck. Ask your gentle question and honor the answer. Travel to the expanse of your shoulders, The front of your chest, Touch in here too. See what your body wants to do under kind attention. Spend a few moments with your belly. Tune into its innate softness and notice if it grips and braces too. With curiosity and compassion, See what your belly wants during the rest of this time we have together. Next, Bring your easy attention to your arms all the way down to your hands. Soften, Yes, No, Maybe, Or I don't know. Be open to the answer. Be willing to meet yourself where you are. Let yourself take in your thighs, Hamstrings, And glutes. These powerful muscles that do so much for you. How are they at this moment? Are they open to softening even more, Melting into the surface below you like butter in the sun? From your knees down with attention to your ankles and your feet, Listen closely for the answers your body gives you. Turn your inner ear. Turn your mind. Turn yourself towards you. Once you've journeyed the length of your body, Notice your breathing. There's nothing you need to do here yet. No effort to make. Just notice how your body breathes for you, How your chest rises and falls with every breath. How your ribcage stretches and expands with every breath. Your lungs have got you. Consider how many years, Months, Days, Hours, And seconds your lungs have been breathing for you without you having to direct them. Now gently, Gently ask your body if it's open to a breathing exploration. Give it time to answer and trust it knows what it needs. Should your body say no, Respect it. Stay here in your softened state and you may take another journey down the length of your body, Noticing your topography. A living, Breathing landscape of softness, Firmness, Tension, And more. If your body said yes, I'd like you to try this breathing on. Our very cells are saturated with fluid. Our organs float in a warm, Wet environment. We are oceans in human form and our breathing mirrors the rhythm of waves. Imagine you are an ocean in your mind's eye. Picture the shades of blue that make up you as an ocean. The dynamic tide pools or deepest depths that match how you are in this moment. Can you sense the ocean bed or is it tucked far inside? How are your waves? Soft and rolling, Crisp and frothy. Gradually without forcing and from a place of emerging and allowing. Let your mouth drop open and your breath become your ocean waves. As you inhale, The ocean waves recede back into the horizon of you. As you exhale, They come forward towards the shore. What do your ocean waves sound like? Allow your mouth and your breath to channel the sound of you. You are an ocean. Your breath is the waves. Find your innate rhythm and feel into how the ocean in you moves at different paces, Speeding up as your breath moves towards shore, A brief pause, A moment of stillness, Before it sweeps back out into the distance. Let yourself feel this rhythm in every muscle of your body that you treated with such reverence at the beginning. Waves come and they go. Oceans have periods of stillness and powerful tempests. You hold both in you. Know that your task is to hold, To witness, As you are doing right now. When life becomes intense, When emotions churn in you. Remember you are an ocean and your breath is the waves. Continue your wave breathing. Let yourself fully express through rhythm and through your unique sonic signature. A sucking, A crash, A churning. A bubbling, A roaring, A whistling. An echoing crescendo, A cascade. How can we judge the ocean for the quality of its waves, Its many shades of blue, Green, Or brown, Or what it holds in its depths? Float within yourself with any amount of acceptance of your existence as we accept the existence of the oceans. Take your sweet, Sweet time here. Linger as long as you want. And when you feel a sense of completeness. Any sense of completeness anywhere within you, Start to drift back to the room. As if you're floating on those waves into the shore. Feel into your space the sensation of your clothing on your skin, The material below your body, Firm or soft. Listen for any sounds around you, Letting the waves of your breath carry you into shore. Bring micro movements to your body. Wiggle a toe. Stretch out a finger. Let that movement expand and spread through the rest of your body. Finally, At last, Open your eyes. Blink a few times. Land back in the room. Before you complete this meditation, Touch back into the ocean in you. Gather a sense of it that you can bring with you as you move about your day. A sense of movement within you, A connection to your breath. A word or phrase that reminds you of your innate fluidity and rhythm. You are an ocean. Your breath is the waves. Thank you for coming on this journey today.

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