I read recently from an unknown source that rest can only happen when someone's full weight is surrendered.
Like how laying your head on someone's shoulder isn't exactly comfortable if you're using half your energy to hold up your own head.
Rest then is heavy,
It's a place where heaviness is accepted,
Received,
And held without fear that the one holding is judging us,
Is unstable,
Or is receiving our weight as a burden.
And so it's only when we allow ourselves to be heavy that the lightness of rest can be felt.
As we begin this practice,
I invite you to give yourself the permission to fully be here in these moments,
To rest and to become heavy.
Taking a moment now to set an intention for our practice today.
What is it that you need most right now?
Is it intentional rest?
Is it permission to rest without feeling guilty?
Are there certain things you've been holding onto that you want to release today?
Is it more love and compassion that you can send yourself?
What do you need most today?
Whatever your intention is,
Just hold that in your heart now.
When we do this type of meditation,
We're paying attention to the inner landscape of our body,
Including the breath,
The mind,
Our senses,
And our emotions.
It's really a form of deep listening.
We develop a gentle gaze over our experience,
And we turn to the body with a sense of curiosity and kindness.
When we hold space for ourselves in this way,
The body begins to reveal deeper needs and truths that maybe we weren't able to recognize in our busy day-to-day lives.
So while being in this way,
Eventually thoughts will arise,
Or a sound will bring you out of that sensation of being the loving witness.
Just allow the thoughts to play themselves out.
Let your mind wander and trust that it'll come back.
See if you can be with your experience just like a parent would be while watching their children play,
Or like a child watching clouds pass overhead.
Can you sense the loving witness in your body?
As soon as you notice criticism or thoughts arise,
Just return to that loving gaze,
To being the loving witness.
Now wherever you are,
Just start to get settled.
You can be laying down or sitting upright.
Just take this moment to find what's comfortable for you.
Bring your gaze inward into the core of your body now,
Without any changing or adjusting.
Start to notice the natural rhythm of your breath.
Noticing how breath enters your body and leaves it without any effort on your part.
Noticing the natural rise and fall of your chest and your belly.
Notice the expansion and the surrender with each and every breath.
Gradually inviting a deeper inhale,
Pausing at the top and gently releasing.
Continue to breathe in this way,
Feeling the richness of new oxygen entering your nose and old oxygen leaving your body.
Feeling the ribcage lift and the heart expand with every breath.
And if your mind begins to wander,
That's okay.
See the thoughts with compassion and begin to bring your awareness back to your breath.
Breathing in deeply,
Pausing at the top and letting go on your out breath.
Imagine yourself in a meadow surrounded by tall grass and your favorite colored flowers.
As you inhale,
You can notice the freshness of the air around you.
You can feel the warmth of sun on your skin.
You can feel the presence of mountains encompassing you like a warm,
Energetic hug.
And as you lay here,
As you rest here,
You notice the earth below you and the way that you're supported.
You take a moment to experience its stability of being held up by Mother Earth.
Take a moment now to experience the earth as an extension of you,
Almost like you have connecting roots going down into the soil.
And with every in breath,
You can access the nourishment of the earth,
Starting to fill your entire body and letting go on your exhale,
Melting and sinking.
Breathing in,
Feeling the feminine energy of the earth starting to fill all the cells in your body.
And on your exhale,
Feeling safe to surrender completely.
Continuing to breathe in this way,
Rich,
Slow,
Deep breaths.
In,
Pausing at the top and exhaling,
Feeling your body sink further into the ground.
As you continue your breathing,
Start to bring your awareness to your feet,
Scanning for tensions on your inhale.
And on your next exhale,
Let go of any tension and send it back to the earth to be recycled.
Inhale scanning for tension.
And on your exhale,
Noticing that you can let go one level deeper.
Bringing your awareness up into your calves now.
Imagine your calf muscles softening and melting,
Scanning for tension and letting go with your exhale.
Your shins soften and you let them go completely.
And that relaxation travels up to the quads and hamstrings and the thighs can drop away from clenching as they become heavier and more relaxed.
Let them sink into whatever they're resting on.
And that heaviness travels through the abdomen as the muscles in the back drop and sink and the abdominal muscles let go of holding patterns.
And now any clenching within softens and releases.
Moving your awareness up into your chest,
Noticing how your heartbeats slow down,
Allowing shoulders to drop and that relaxation and heaviness travels into your biceps and into your forearms.
Feeling so heavy.
Traveling up to the throat and allowing it to open into the jaw,
Letting it drop and hang if it wants to.
Maybe removing your tongue from the roof of your mouth and letting go of any clenching in your face muscles.
And in this state of beautiful relaxation,
Of giving yourself full permission to be heavy,
You can notice the coinciding lightness that resonates in your body.
Every cell in your body is starting to feel what comes from allowing yourself to be completely held.
Held by earth and held in your own loving awareness.
Whenever you're ready,
Bring your awareness to your heart space.
Connect your breath with the earth's core and allow your heart to be nurtured by it.
Notice that with every breath into your heart,
You can feel an opening,
A softening.
In this space lies our capacity to love and to receive love.
Ask your heart,
Where am I denying myself love and how can I be open to receiving more love today?
And when you're ready,
Bring a gentle awareness into the space between your eyebrows.
Begin sending breath there.
Just notice a feeling of expansion with every breath.
Notice the sensations and what's coming up for you.
Ask yourself,
What do I need to give myself more of starting today?
Finally draw your breath to the very crown of your head.
With your next inhale and exhale,
You can imagine the top of your crown opening,
Becoming open in an expansive and receptive way.
Only noticing without judgment or attachment,
Just honoring what is.
This area integrates connection and life flow energy.
Ask yourself,
What am I grasping onto or trying to control?
And where can I allow more space for flow and trust in my life?
Knowing all that you've processed in this practice,
Just letting it all be digested now.
Knowing that you can always come back here to this oasis space in your body,
To the stability and support from the earth,
And to the simplicity and quiet of your inner knowingness.
Slowly begin to bring your awareness back to where you are in time and space,
To the room around you,
Starting to take micro movements in your fingers and toes,
Maybe inviting in any kind of stretch that feels good.
And slowly blinking eyes open.
