Letting Go Of Thoughts Emotions & Tension

In this meditation, you'll let go of tension, thoughts, and emotions as your mind and body becomes increasingly peaceful and focused. The techniques you will practice during this session will allow you to let go of minor disturbances and irritations during your day and will make the major disruptions in your life easier to deal with. "Letting Go" is one of Jon Kabat-Zinn’s “Nine Attitudes of Mindfulness”, and the secret to a peaceful and joyful life is to cultivate these nine attitudes.

Transcript

Welcome to meditation.

Today we're going to practice letting go.

Letting go of thoughts,

Letting go of emotions,

Letting go of sensations,

Worries,

Tension.

Let's practice it all.

In the first half of the meditation,

We'll be bringing awareness to the sensations of breathing.

In the second half of the meditation,

We'll practice a progressive relaxation exercise.

Through the entire meditation,

We're going to be practicing letting go of tension as we find it.

So letting go of tension in the mind and the body,

Letting go of emotional tension,

So that by the end our body and mind will be in a deep state of relaxation.

Don't mind the time,

You can just relax and leave that to me.

I'll let you know when the session's over.

So we can begin by finding a comfortable position and if possible we can have our backs supported.

So most people feel more relaxed by closing the eyes but feel free to open the eyes if that feels more relaxing.

Now for some of us,

Particularly those of us who have had difficulty in our lives,

Our nervous systems can be a little bit sensitive and can sometimes get triggered with closed eyes and you might find that the mind goes into overdrive.

So feel free to crack open the eyes slightly to allow a little bit of light in if thoughts or emotions become too uncomfortable.

And if we are keeping the eyes open,

Just making sure that we have a soft gaze,

A soft focus in front of us on the floor.

And we're also welcome to lie down if we're feeling alert.

Now I'd suggest sitting upright if we're either new to meditation or if we're feeling sleepy or tired.

Sitting up might prevent this meditation turning into a nap but if it does turn into a nap that's okay.

This meditation is all about letting go.

Sometimes the body needs a rest and sleep is just as good as meditation.

So I invite you now to set an intention for today's meditation and perhaps asking yourself why have I come here today?

Why am I practicing today?

And if you can't think of anything,

Feel free to use my intention.

So my intention,

My reason for being here today is to let go of tension in the body and let go of tension in the mind.

It's also important for us to practice with the right attitude.

Now attitude is so important to get the most out of this experience.

So each time we get distracted with thoughts of the past or thoughts of the future or we get distracted by sounds or sensations,

Which we will over and over,

We let go of the idea of the perfect meditation.

We let go of those critical thoughts and when we do get distracted,

We gently,

We patiently and we kindly bring our awareness back to the breath,

Back to the body.

And if we do notice any unpleasant or difficult experiences,

We stay with those difficult thoughts or emotions or sensations only for as long as it feels manageable,

Knowing that it's okay to shift our attention away from the discomfort at any time.

So I invite you now to join me becoming aware of the breath and noticing the inhale and noticing the exhale.

Now without trying to change anything about the breath,

We're simply noticing how the body's naturally breathing.

So our bodies know what to do and we might find that there's an urge to to direct the breath or to control the breath in some way.

So without trying to change anything,

So resisting that urge to slow the breath down or deepen the breath,

Simply notice how the body's breathing right now.

Is it a slow breath or is it a rapid breath?

Is it a deep breath or is it a shallow breath?

Are we breathing into the chest perhaps or are we breathing more into the stomach?

Is our inhale longer than our exhale or is our exhale longer than our inhale?

So we're just noticing how the body's breathing.

Noticing as well that we don't have to do anything or even make any effort to breathe.

The body knows exactly what to do.

So just notice that fact,

Maybe pause for a moment and notice that the body can breathe by itself without any effort from us.

And seeing if you can let go of the urge to control the breath,

Just allowing the lungs to breathe in and then rather than breathing out,

Just letting go of the lungs,

Breathing in and letting go over and over.

And remember we're not so much watching the breath,

We're experiencing the breath,

We're feeling the breath.

So what does it feel like to breathe?

Perhaps we can feel the cool air coming in through the nostrils as we breathe in,

As the lungs and the chest and the stomach expand and then we might notice a short pause as the breath changes direction and then we might notice the warm air leaving the nostrils as we let go,

As the body softens,

As the body relaxes.

As we breathe in the body expands and as we breathe out,

Letting go of any thoughts and worries about the day and sinking deeper into your chair or into your cushion.

A common tendency for many of us is for our inhalation to be longer than our exhalation.

So noticing if that's the case with our breathing right now,

Just noticing the inhale compared to the exhale without changing anything.

And now for the next minute or so I invite you to lengthen your exhalation and so we're going to be making sure that our exhalation is now longer than our inhalation.

Increasing the length of the exhale,

This stimulates our rest and digest nervous system and this triggers the relaxation response.

Now a good way of doing this is to do a little count and making sure that our exhale is twice as long as our inhale.

So for instance if I was to do it I would be breathing in two three breathing out two three four five six breathing in two three breathing out two three four five six.

But it's up to you what you count to so you can breathe in for two and out for four and no need to be precise but just make sure that the out breath is about twice as long as the in breath.

So let me be quiet for a few moments so that we can do this exercise by ourselves.

So making sure that we keep the body relaxed as we breathe.

Sometimes when we take deep breaths we can actually cause tension and stress inside the body especially when we're breathing in and we can't be stressed and relaxed at the same time.

So if we find tension in the body on the in breath then perhaps not breathing so deeply.

So letting go of that urge to breathe in too deeply and pulling back the breath by 10 or 20 percent.

So we're keeping the body relaxed as we breathe perhaps we can check to see if the forehead is relaxed,

The jaw relaxed,

The neck and the shoulders,

The stomach.

We can let go of tension wherever we find it.

So we're keeping the body relaxed as we breathe perhaps we can check to see if the forehead is relaxed.

And already we might be beginning to notice changes as we engage our relaxation response by lengthening the out breath.

And as we continue to breathe maybe we can feel warmth or tingles or vibrations running up and down the spine.

If we notice any sensations like these let's see if we can let go of any resistance to them and just allow these sensations to flow around the body.

So keeping the breathing relaxed.

Now we're going to allow our breathing to return to its natural rhythm.

So once again simply noticing how the body's naturally breathing and letting go of any need to change the breath in any way.

So how is the body breathing now?

Has the breath slowed?

Is the breath more relaxed?

And just noticing.

And if we do notice any unpleasant thoughts or feelings coming up and we've got a couple of options.

Now the first option is allowing the thought or the emotion to be without giving it power.

So we can observe the thought and then we can let the thought go or we can feel the emotion and then allow the feeling to move through the body.

So we're practicing non-resistance to whatever arises.

Letting go over and over.

Now if the thought or the emotion is too unpleasant or difficult to hold in awareness then we always have the breath to come back to.

So the breath is always there for us as an anchor to the present moment.

So our second option is to kindly and patiently come back to the breath.

Breathing in and breathing out.

So we're now going to shift to the second stage of letting go which is progressive relaxation of all the parts of our body.

So I invite you now to follow my instructions.

Let's begin by allowing the awareness of breath to move into the background of our awareness.

We'll move our awareness into the body and let's begin all the way down,

Down to the left foot.

So we'll begin today by letting go of any tension that we might find in the left foot.

And remembering that my instructions are a gentle guide.

So if your intuition leads you somewhere else,

Feel absolutely free to change my words or even ignore them completely.

So you might change my instructions to something like relax the left foot or locate the space in the left foot or let go in the left foot or left foot letting go.

So whatever works best for you.

So allowing our awareness now to move into the right foot and letting go of any tension we might find in the right foot.

Letting go of tension in the left lower leg,

So the calf,

The shin.

Letting go of the right lower leg.

And if we notice any thoughts arising,

Simply noticing those thoughts and then letting those thoughts go.

Letting go of the left knee.

Letting go of the left knee.

Letting go of the right knee.

Letting go of the left upper leg.

And perhaps we might be noticing nice feelings of warmth or tingles or pulses moving into the area that we're relaxing.

Letting go of the right upper leg.

Letting go of the left hip.

Letting go of the left hip.

Letting go of the right hip.

And keeping our breathing relaxed as we let go.

Letting go of the lower back.

Letting go of the middle back.

Letting go of the upper back,

The shoulder blades.

Letting go of the entire back.

And perhaps we're noticing feelings of relaxation spreading through the body,

Maybe feelings of warmth or tingles,

Vibrations.

And letting go of the stomach.

As we notice the stomach rising.

As we notice the stomach softening.

As we notice the stomach rising,

As we notice the stomach softening.

Letting go of any tension in the chest.

Letting go of any tension in the whole torso,

The back,

The stomach,

The chest.

Letting go as we notice the body expanding as we breathe in.

And the body softening and letting go of tension as we breathe out.

Expanding as we breathe in and the body softening and letting go of tension as we breathe out.

Letting go of the left shoulder.

Letting go of the right shoulder.

Letting go of the left arm.

Letting go of the right arm.

And any uncomfortable emotions or feelings that might arise,

Perhaps not pushing them away and if we feel comfortable maybe we can allow them to move through the body as we keep the body relaxed.

But always if thoughts are too uncomfortable knowing that we we always have the option to either bring our awareness back to the breath or even crack open the eyes slightly and allow a bit of light to come in.

Letting go of the left hand.

Letting go of the right hand.

Keeping the breath relaxed as we move through the body.

Letting go of any tension in the neck and the throat.

Letting go of the back of the head.

Letting go of the face.

Releasing tension in the jaw,

The tongue inside the mouth,

Cheeks,

The forehead,

Temples.

Letting go of any tension in the face.

Letting go of the top of the head.

And I now invite you to expand your awareness to include the whole body from the top of the head to the tips of the fingers and the tips of the toes.

So noticing all the feelings of relaxation that have spread across the body.

The tingles,

The warmth,

The pulses,

The vibrations and we're resting.

We're letting go.

We're allowing our body to find its equilibrium,

Find its balance.

And as we do this,

We're remaining alert,

We're remaining awake and present as our body and our mind becomes increasingly relaxed and peaceful.

So we're enjoying this experience of relaxation and we're allowing it to sink in.

So we're keeping our awareness inside the body in the sensations of relaxation.

I invite you to expand your awareness once again and now include the whole body from the top of the head to the tips of the toes.

So the breath is a sensation just like body sensations.

We're simply noticing how the body is naturally breathing.

So once again without trying to change anything,

How is the body breathing right now?

As the breath slowed,

Is the breath more relaxed?

And we're not so much watching the breath,

We're experiencing the breath.

We're feeling what it feels like for the body to breathe.

Perhaps we can feel the cool air coming in through the nostrils as we breathe in.

And we're also feeling the body breathing.

So we're letting go.

We're letting go.

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The body is coming in through the nostrils as we breathe in as the lungs,

The chest,

The stomach,

The body expands and then we might notice the breath changing direction and the warm air leaving the nostrils as we breathe out.

As the body softens and relaxes and We breathe in and the body expands and we breathe out as the body softens and relaxes and sinks deeper.

Each time we inhale it's a new moment and each time we exhale we let that moment go.

Some of us have held onto negative thoughts or feelings or memories for years or even decades and the problem with this is that by holding on for so long we continue to relive the pain and the trauma of the original event.

The better we are at letting go the quicker we can move on in our everyday life and if we cultivate the ability to let go in meditation we'll be better able to let go of irritations and disturbances during our day.

And as our practice comes to an end knowing that we can come back here again to this place of letting go and I invite you to notice now what the body feels like and notice what the mind feels like and hopefully the mind and the body are feeling a little bit more relaxed and even if we're not feeling more relaxed it could be one of those really difficult days and we might notice that we have even more thoughts in the mind or even more tension in the body and that's okay too.

By bringing awareness to how we're feeling we can take some extra care of ourselves so if you are feeling a little stressed or sad or overwhelmed then if possible take it easy today do something relaxing and we can leave the hard work until tomorrow.

And I also invite you to notice whether you feel more energized from the practice or whether we're feeling more relaxed.

So some of us might find this practice energizes us and for those people it might be good to do this in the morning to start our day off with more energy but if we find it more relaxing then it might help us sleep at night so we can try this practice at bedtime so have a little play with the different times of the day.

And as we bring this to a close I invite you now to bring awareness to sounds.

Sounds inside the room,

There are sounds outside the room.

We can gently wiggle our fingers and toes.

And before we open the eyes just congratulating ourselves for taking some time out to look after our mind and our body.

Whenever we're ready we can gently crack open the eyes and come back to the room.

And I'd suggest repeating this meditation each day for the next seven days.

Now during the week as we practice letting go in meditation each day we might start noticing that the minor disturbances during the day aren't really that bothersome anymore and you may even notice that the major disturbances aren't quite as disturbing.

So when negativity arises you'll be able to skillfully and gently bring yourself back into the present to whatever it is that you're doing at the time in the same way that when we practice letting go of disturbances during meditation and we bring ourselves gently back to the breath.

So have an amazing day or if you're doing this meditation before bed sweet dreams and I'll see you in the next session.

Reviews

Beautiful practice. I feel just right to start my day.💗 Thank You so much.🙏🏾❤️🙏🏾

Really wonderful guidance. Appreciate the clear calm voice and clean audio with no background music!

Amazing how it calmed me down ! Thank you so much 🙏

A very relaxing meditation with nicely worded guidance. Thank you. 😊

Head to toe, inside and out, this was very thorough.

I love the combination of breath and guided relaxation. Very effective and perfect length.

Thank you for this really helpful journey. With your very gentle voice and way of speaking I really succeeded in arriving in myself. A good way to start my day I suppose. ;)

Super useful guided practice. For tension and anxiety build-up; after a late night; or in lieu of a yoga nidra for my afternoon recharge. Highly recommended 🙏🏻💞

Lovely voice,(Idris Elba sound alike !) relaxing and calming 🙏🏻

Perfect relaxation. Such a soothing voice. Thank you 🙏🏻

Plenty of guidance to help maintain focus and quiet the mind.

A lovely gentle practice of letting go. Thank you ✨💜

Really great meditation. Great voice! I like the amount of talk to keep me focused and not stuck in my thoughts. Thank you!! My new favorite meditation guide. Please make more content because I plan to listen to it all!

Wonderful way to come back to the body and reconnect

Thank you, very relaxing. Love the body scan but bit too much chatter and explanation for me. 🙏

Very nice and I much appreciate. Will come back to this🙏

I feel at peace with your calm voice and the directions given as invitations rather than demands, the opportunity to individualise the practice to my own situation eg not being told when to breath in and out, rather just guided on the general principal and being left to find what suits me.

Thank you, I came to the session with panic and fear and now I feel relaxed and not afraid.

Exactly what I needed to slow down/let go/relax at the end of the day.

Great practice will definitely listen to this one again