Welcome to today's meditation.
If you've been feeling the weight of the day or the pressures that life sometimes brings,
This is your time to set all of that aside.
Today,
We're going to find that place of relaxation and peace.
We'll be lowering our stress levels,
Easing tension in the body,
Soothing the nervous system,
Letting go of stressful thoughts,
And allowing our bodies to soften into a state of calm.
I'm Jibzo Kereke,
And I'm here to guide you through today's meditation.
We'll begin by focusing on the breath,
Then we'll move into a gentle breathing exercise to engage the body's natural relaxation response,
And then we'll slowly move through the body,
Releasing tension as we go.
By the end of this meditation,
You'll feel more at ease,
More grounded,
And ready to continue your day with a sense of peace and calm.
Let's begin by finding a comfortable position.
Don't worry about getting into any perfect posture.
I just want you to be as comfortable as possible.
Most people feel more relaxed by closing the eyes,
But feel free to open the eyes if that feels more relaxing to you.
For some of us,
Particularly those who have suffered from chronic stress,
The nervous system can sometimes go into high alert when we close the eyes,
And our mind can get even busier.
So feel free to crack open the eyes slightly to let some light in if thoughts or emotions become too uncomfortable.
If we are keeping the eyes open,
Just make sure that we have a soft gaze,
A soft focus.
We're also welcome to lie down if we want to,
And if we're feeling sleepy or tired and we have something to do later,
We might want to set an alarm,
Just in case you get so relaxed you fall asleep.
Otherwise,
Just lay back and enjoy.
Feel free to shift positions at any time during this meditation,
But if you want to remain still,
You're more than welcome to make any last-minute adjustments now.
Even if you can get one or two percent more comfortable,
I invite you to go ahead and do so now.
Stress is something we all face,
It's a natural part of life,
But when stress hangs around for too long,
It can really start to weigh us down,
Both mentally and physically.
Our bodies might respond with tight shoulders,
A racing heart,
Or an unsettled mind that just won't quiet down.
And while stress might be our body's way of handling pressure,
Staying in that heightened state isn't sustainable.
Over time,
It can drain our energy,
Making it harder to focus and leaving us feeling exhausted.
In this meditation,
We're giving ourselves permission to let go.
Each breath is an opportunity to relax a little more,
To soften into this moment,
And to find calm amidst the busyness of life.
Okay,
Let's begin.
I invite you now to bring awareness to the breath,
Noticing your inhale,
Noticing your exhale.
And 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,
The chest,
The stomach expand.
Then we might notice a short pause as the breath changes direction,
As the body softens and relaxes and the warm air leaves the nostrils and the body sinks deeper into the chair or into the bed.
We breathe in and the body expands,
And we breathe out as the body softens and relaxes.
Breathing in and breathing out.
When stress starts to creep in,
Whether it's stressful thinking,
Physical tension or uncomfortable emotions,
A common tendency is for us to have a rapid,
Shallow breath.
But when we slow down our breath,
When we control the breath and deepen the breath,
We allow the body's natural relaxation response to kick in.
There's a simple practice we can use to bring ourselves back to feelings of calm and safety.
So now,
The next minute or so,
I invite you to do some balanced breathing.
Now,
A good way of doing this is to do a little count inside our mind,
And making sure that our inhale count is the same as our exhale count.
So why don't we do some balanced breathing together?
Let's breathe in for a count of five and breathe out for a count of five.
You can follow my count for a few breaths,
And then you can continue doing some more at your own pace.
Okay,
Let's breathe in two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Breathing out two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Breathing in two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Breathing out two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Breathing in two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Breathing out two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Now,
It's up to you what you count to,
Whatever's comfortable.
So you can reduce the count to four or increase the count to six,
And there's no need to be precise.
And if you like,
You can drop the counting completely and just breathe slowly in and slowly out.
So let me be quiet for a few moments so we can do this by ourselves.
Keeping the body relaxed as we breathe.
Checking to see if the forehead is relaxed.
Is the jaw relaxed?
Are the neck and the shoulders relaxed?
Is the stomach relaxed?
And we might already be feeling changes as we settle into this relaxing practice of slowing down the breath.
We might start to feel a sense of warmth or tingling sensation spreading through the body,
Or perhaps a gentle release of tension.
These are signs that your body is beginning to relax and let go of stress.
And now,
Whenever we're ready,
We can allow our breathing to return to its natural rhythm.
And notice how the body is breathing now.
Is the breath a little softer?
A little more relaxed?
A little slower maybe?
Just noticing.
And if you notice your mind drifting off into thought,
Whether it's replaying the past,
Worrying about the future,
Running through to-do lists,
That's completely normal.
Our minds are wired to have these kinds of thoughts,
Especially when there's stress in the body.
This is actually the mind's way of trying to protect us by anticipating and solving potential problems,
But this type of thinking can end up creating even more stress.
So when you catch yourself lost in thought,
Please don't be hard on yourself.
Instead,
I want you to gently and patiently guide your attention back to the breath,
And simply pick up where you left off.
Back to that next inhale.
Back to that next exhale.
OK,
Good.
And now,
We're going to shift into a second way of relaxing and move into the progressive relaxation section of the meditation.
We're going to be slowly moving our awareness through the body,
Relaxing each part as we go,
And releasing tension wherever we find it.
I invite you now to follow my instructions.
So let's begin by relaxing the left foot.
And remember,
My instructions are a gentle guide,
And if your intuition leads you somewhere else,
Then feel absolutely free to change my words or even ignore them completely.
So you might change my instructions to something like soften the left foot,
Or locate a space in the left foot,
Or release tension in the left foot.
Whatever works best for you.
Relaxing the left foot.
Relaxing the left lower leg,
The calf,
The shin.
Relaxing the left knee.
Relaxing the left upper leg,
The thigh,
The hamstring.
Perhaps we might be noticing warmth or tingling spreading through the areas we're focusing on,
Releasing any built up stress.
Relaxing the left hip.
And now moving our awareness down through the right hip,
Through the right leg,
All the way down to the right foot.
Relaxing the right foot.
The sole of the foot,
The top of the foot,
The toes.
Relaxing the right lower leg.
Relaxing the right knee.
Relaxing the right upper leg,
The thigh,
The hamstring.
Relaxing the right hip.
Relaxing both hips and the pelvic bowl.
And we're keeping the breathing relaxed as we go through this body scan.
Keeping the breath soft.
Relaxing the lower back.
The middle of the back.
Relaxing the upper back,
The shoulder blades.
Relaxing the entire back.
And perhaps we're starting to notice a gentle wave of relaxation flowing through the body.
Easing away any lingering tension or stress.
Moving our awareness now to the front of the body,
To the stomach,
And relaxing the stomach.
If there's any tension or tightness in the stomach,
See if we can release some of that tension as we breathe out,
As we exhale.
Moving our awareness to the chest.
Relaxing the chest,
The ribcage,
Maybe even relaxing all the organs inside the chest.
And as we continue,
You might be beginning to sense a calming energy moving throughout your body,
Slowly melting away the stress you've been holding.
Moving over to the left shoulder.
Relaxing the left shoulder.
Relaxing the left arm.
The upper arm,
The elbow,
The forearm.
Relaxing the left hand.
The palm of the hand,
The back of the hand,
The fingers,
The thumb.
Moving over to the right shoulder.
Relaxing the right shoulder.
Relaxing the right arm.
The upper arm,
The elbow,
The forearm,
The wrist.
Relaxing the right hand.
Keeping our breathing relaxed as we move through the body.
Relaxing the neck and the throat.
Maybe we're noticing a subtle shift,
Maybe a sense of lightness or even a gentle pulsing as the body lets go of the tension.
Relaxing the back of the head.
Relaxing the face,
The jaw,
The lips,
The cheeks,
The eyes,
The temples,
The forehead.
Almost as if we can feel the face from the inside out.
And relaxing the top of the head.
And now I invite you to expand your awareness to include the whole body,
From the top of the head to the tips of the fingers and tips of the toes,
Noticing all those feelings of relaxation that have spread across the body.
The tingles,
The warmth,
The pulses,
The vibrations.
Have a wonderful day.
Or if you're listening to this before bed,
Sweet dreams.
