Arrange yourself into a comfortable lying down position.
You may also wish to do this meditation seated.
Make sure you're comfortable.
Gently close your eyes and begin to move your attention away from the external world to the internal world,
Drawing your attention inwards from all the distractions of life.
Everything is waiting for you.
All you need is your attention and imagination.
As you settle in,
Notice how your attention is drawn from the external world to the internal world.
Even as I invite you to make yourself just 5% more comfortable,
Notice how you need to go inwards,
Into your body to find out what sensations are there,
And you might need to adjust your neck or your legs.
Welcome all of these minor adjustments now,
Attuned to your own needs.
This is your time,
A space to be fully present as you.
And welcome stillness into the body for the rest of the practice,
And begin to notice the space around you,
All 5 senses opening to the space around you.
Feel the touch of air on your skin,
And the surface the body is resting upon,
Any lingering smells or frequencies in the air,
And perhaps sound,
The sounds close by,
The sounds further away,
And all the sounds travelling through space.
Notice any colours or images behind your closed eyelids,
And now the tongue.
Notice any tastes or taste buds alive as I draw your attention to them,
And notice the space all around you,
The space in front of you,
Behind you,
To the left,
To the right,
And now the space inside you.
Notice your breath,
The breath even,
Smooth,
No jerks,
The breath flowing continuously,
No pauses between the inhales and exhales,
The breath flowing deep down into the belly,
And out into the sides of the ribcage.
And begin to welcome this as an experience of getting to know yourself better,
And maybe an enquiry into the following questions.
What are you practising when you meditate?
Practising implies you're getting better at something.
But what are you getting better at?
Are you getting better at meditation or life,
Managing your thoughts or emotions,
Listening to yourself or others,
Perhaps all of these and more?
And who can tell if I'm meditating properly or not?
What does meditating properly mean?
Notice your own reaction as I ask you these questions,
This enquiry into why are you here?
Why are you practising?
And you might wish to ask yourself,
What are you willing to let go of?
To let go,
You create space.
During this practice,
It's also important to be open to letting go of old habits,
Behaviours,
Beliefs that are no longer supporting us.
What's holding you back?
And perhaps this could inform the intention you'd like to set for today's practice.
How do I want to use this time?
When saying and listening to what arises for you here and now,
Explore why you are here.
Perhaps one of these may resonate with you.
For clarity,
Mental well-being,
Relaxation,
Building a new habit,
Or for peace of mind.
I'll give you a few moments to set your intention now.
Minds and emotions align us to make better choices in our daily life.
Your intention should resonate deeply within you,
It should feel like an inner knowing that permeates your entire body,
Mind and self,
As something that resonates truly and deeply to the core of your being.
Begin to visualise your intention as if it were manifested right here and now,
How does it feel to receive it,
Imagine it,
Use all of your senses,
Touch,
Sound,
Sight,
Taste,
Smell and what milestones let you know that your intention is here.
Maybe improved relationships with your family,
A feeling of peace or the energy to live the life you want,
Freedom from past events or experiences,
And notice what sensations arise for you as you imagine this.
Maybe warmth,
Tingling,
Lightness,
Or emotions such as joy,
Happiness,
Contentment.
Use your own words.
Now notice the space around your head,
Neck,
Shoulders,
Chest,
Arms,
Hands,
Fingers,
And notice any sensations in the hands and the spaces in between the fingers.
Now the abdomen,
Hips,
Thighs,
Back of the knees,
Ankles,
Feet,
And sense the space around the toes,
And perhaps sense the space in between the toes,
And begin to notice your breath,
The gentle rise and fall of your breath during inhalation and exhalation.
The breath rises,
The breath falls,
The body functions by itself,
And draw your attention to your navel,
The rise and fall of your navel as you breathe,
And begin to inhale for 4 and exhale for 8,
Belly rising for 4,
Falling for 8,
And let go of this counting of the breaths and come back to breathing normally.
Notice what's present now,
And feel the body release and let go on the exhales,
Letting go of any tension in the body,
And allow the body to relax from the tips of the toes to the top of the head,
A wave of relaxation flowing from the tips of the toes to the crown of the head,
Up and down the body.
And now welcome gratitude.
How does gratitude feel in the body?
One of the most powerful tools we have to deliver our intentions is the power of gratitude.
The body doesn't know the difference between now and the future,
So welcome gratitude for the manifestation of your intention,
And if this seems difficult,
Find something simple to be grateful for,
Such as your eyes for seeing,
Or your ears for hearing.
Welcome the sensations of gratitude into the body and mind.
Notice what's present now,
Scanning the body,
Let me finish with a quote from Gandhi.
Gandhi said,
Our beliefs create our thoughts,
Our thoughts create our emotions,
Our emotions create our behaviours,
Our behaviours create our character,
And our character creates our destiny.
And visualise the rest of your day with this presence,
Meeting each activity and relationship with this sense of openness,
The ability to respond and not react,
And set the intention to notice what's happening outside of your meditation practice each day.
Look at your life to determine how well your practice is working.
Begin to notice if you're less stressed,
Have more clarity or energy,
Become more adaptable or less reactive,
And begin to take several deeper breaths,
Bringing some gentle movement into the fingers and toes,
And slowly begin to blink your eyes open,
Reorienting yourself to the room around you.
