Hello and welcome,
My name's Daisy and I'm going to be your guide for the next 10 minutes.
Take a few moments to find a comfortable position,
Either cross-legged on the floor,
Sitting upright in a chair with your feet down to the earth,
Or lying on your back.
It's important you feel comfortable during this meditation,
So please choose a position now.
You can place your hands on your knees or in your lap,
With your palms facing upwards so you can receive what you need.
Undo any tight clothing,
Loosen your hair,
And gently close down your eyes.
There's no right or wrong way to meditate.
Taking a few deep cleansing breaths,
In through your nose,
And out through your mouth,
In through your nose,
And out through your mouth,
One more,
In,
And out.
Take a moment to notice your breath,
And place your awareness on its gentle rise and fall.
As we start to breathe normally,
Become aware of your breath,
In through your nose,
And out through your nose.
Remember,
Thoughts and feelings are part of meditation.
We are not trying to turn them off,
But simply notice them.
If you find yourself drifting away,
Just come back to your breath and the sensation of a deep inhale,
And long and slow exhale.
Now,
Place your hands on your belly,
And release your belly into your hands.
Nobody's watching,
I promise.
There's no need to suck in.
When you inhale,
Can you feel your belly rise into your hands?
In your exhale,
Your belly empties and falls.
Inhale,
Belly rise,
Chest expands,
Slowly exhale as your belly falls.
Throughout most of the day,
We shallow breathe,
So now,
I want you to take this time to breathe fully and deeply,
And to relax every part of your body.
Deep breath is the quickest way to do this.
As you breathe in,
Think let,
And as you breathe out,
Think go.
Inhale let,
Exhale go,
Let,
Go.
When you exhale,
Can you release all the tension out of your body?
We'll start at the top of our head,
Relaxing your head and neck,
Releasing the tension in your jaw and your face,
Relaxing your shoulders and arms,
Relaxing your hands and the grip of your fingers,
Relaxing your belly,
Relaxing your hips and thighs,
Relaxing your knees and the back of your knees,
Relaxing your lower legs,
Relaxing your ankles,
Relaxing your feet and your toes,
Relaxing your whole body into the earth.
Now we are going to give our mind something to focus on by counting our exhale breaths.
Focus your attention on the sensation of your breath and silently count your exhales.
Inhaling,
Exhaling counts as one,
Inhale,
Exhale counts as two.
Continue this breath up to ten and then begin again at one.
If you lose your count or drift off,
Don't worry,
Simply begin again at one.
Counting is a great way to give your mind something simple to focus on,
To help you stay present and not run away with your thoughts.
However if your mind does run away,
Just relax and start again at one.
I'll leave you now for a few minutes to quietly count your exhales and I'll be back soon to guide you out.
When you're ready,
Begin to drop the counting,
Remain still and breathe.
You'll slowly come out of this meditation but there's no hurry.
This simple breathing technique of counting your exhales can be used throughout the day to clear away distracting thoughts and build your concentration.
Like anything though,
The more you practice,
The easier it will become.
Starting to wriggle your fingers and toes,
Taking a deep breath in together and out.
And when you're ready,
Slowly open your eyes.
I hope to meditate with you again tomorrow.
Namaste.
