Take a moment to make sure you're comfortable and that you won't be disturbed.
Give yourself permission to relax,
This is your time,
There is nowhere else you need to be right now.
Close your eyes and take your awareness within,
As you notice your breath it will naturally slow and deepen,
Don't force it,
Be gentle with yourself.
Your mind might still feel a little noisy,
Often when we begin to meditate and relax our brain shouts for attention,
Be kind to yourself,
Don't judge yourself harshly for this is perfectly normal.
Let's do an imagination exercise,
This will help to quieten the mind because you're giving it something to do.
Imagine that you're at the beach and your thoughts are like the seagulls,
Someone has thrown out some leftover chips and the seagulls are loud and squabbling for attention,
Competing with each other for the food,
Just like your thoughts are competing with you for your attention.
Gradually as the seagulls gobble up their chips,
They fly off one by one into the blue sky above and their noisy squabbling begins to quieten down.
Some of them soar on the breeze while others come to rest on the water as the waves gently lap in and out on the beach.
Feel the sea breeze on your face,
Notice the salty air on your lip,
Taste it,
Listen to the waves gently washing up on the shore.
You are peaceful now,
Your mind is calm.
You have all the time in the world to just sit here in peaceful contemplation.
Give yourself the gift of this peaceful rest,
Feel the sun on your skin,
Warming your face.
It feels blissful to sit on this relaxing beach which you now have all to yourself.
Just as there is a sea breeze gently caressing your skin,
The element of air is within you,
Notice your breath,
Feel it move all the way in and all the way out.
The rhythmic intelligence of your breathing which naturally restores calm,
Honour the element of air within you as you breathe.
Just as the sun is in the sky,
You have the element of fire within you too.
Feel the inner heat of your body,
Maintaining your temperature as your clever human body takes care of metabolising the energy that you take in with your food each day.
Honour the element of fire within you,
Just as there is a beautiful ocean in front of you in this imagination exercise,
So you have the element of water within your body.
From the water that you drink to the circulation of the blood in your veins,
Your body balancing itself and cleansing itself with the water that moves in and out and all around you.
Honour the element of water within you and just as you sit on the beach and feel the sand beneath you,
Your physical body grinds you with the element of earth.
Notice your physical body,
Wherever you are right now,
Grind your awareness into the stability and the security of the earth element within you.
You have every right to be here,
Safe and stable and secure.
Honour the earth element within you.
As these four elements of air,
Fire,
Water and earth combine,
They bring balance into your pure life force and become spirit.
Honour your unique spirit.
Give thanks for your life,
For the air that you breathe,
For the fire in your belly,
For the water that you consume and for the earth that you are part of.
Feel the balance of the elements move within you.
Feel your connection to the elements all around you.
You are safe and you are worthy of peace and relaxation.
You are made of these elements.
You are made of star stuff.
You are made of the same atoms and molecules and elements that our universe is made of.
You are an infinitely wonderful and amazingly unique creation.
As you relax now,
You realise that you have everything you need and that you create the life that you desire.
Through your thoughts,
Your actions and your ability to use your imagination to bring about relaxation,
Peace and abundance.
You can come back to this exercise any time that you need a moment of calm in a busy day.
But for now,
Take a cleansing breath,
Bring your awareness back to your physical body and to the room in which you sit.
Take your hands and place them gently over your closed eye and on the count of three,
Open your eyes behind your cupped hands and take one more deep breath.
When you feel ready,
Lower your hands and bring your conscious awareness fully back to this moment and this physical reality,
Feeling alert,
Refreshed and totally at ease.
