Let's begin by sitting still,
Slowing down,
Getting heavy,
Relaxing.
This meditation you could do with your eyes open or closed.
Start relaxing,
Slowing down,
Easing your body from top to bottom.
With your scalp,
Just start to let it ease,
Soften your face.
Relax your neck.
You can do that by guiding your breath there or just attuning your attention to your neck,
Letting them become soft and heavy.
Come down into your shoulders to release your shoulders,
Letting your shoulders droop.
Breathe into and release your arms,
Letting them sag and get heavy.
Now your upper back,
Your mid back,
Into your belly,
Settling in,
Settling down.
Your core and your hips are heavy,
Slowing down and easing into your thighs and hamstrings,
The upper leg,
Even to your knees.
Relaxing into your shins and calves,
And all the way to your toes.
Continuing to breathe,
Feeding and softening your body with oxygen,
Slow and steady.
Notice your pulse slowing down.
See if there's anything else to relax,
Even just 10% softer.
The words we're going to use as our focus today are El,
Na,
Rifa,
Na,
La.
El means God or your higher power,
However you conceive of that.
Na is a question,
An asking,
A pleading.
Rifa is to heal,
And we say Na again,
And La,
Which means her or it.
Since it's five words,
We can breathe in on El,
Out on Na,
In with Rifa,
Out on Na,
In again with La.
You can reverse it,
Breathe out on El,
In on Na,
Out on Rifa,
In on Na,
And out on La.
Can one word her inhale or exhale?
Go at the pace where it doesn't feel stressful or urgent.
All right,
Pace for the words.
El,
Na,
Rifa,
Na,
La,
El,
Na,
Rifa,
Na,
La,
Continuing in and out.
Gentle.
Don't strain.
First,
I want you to orient this prayer towards your own heart and spirit.
We're all broken.
We all carry wounds and trauma never wholly heals.
So whether your pain is spiritual or physical,
It's worth asking for healing.
Orient this one to yourself.
El,
Na,
Rifa,
Na,
La,
El,
Na,
Rifa,
Na,
La,
And continuing one short word her inhale or exhale.
Dedicated to you and your healing and recovery.
Keeping a slow and steady pace with breath and pulse,
We're going to expand our circle of concern to someone you love.
Could be someone physically injured.
Could be someone who carries unresolved grief.
Or just like every human,
Someone who struggles.
So address your prayer of healing out to someone you can picture.
Breathing in,
El,
Out,
Na,
Rifa,
Na,
La,
El,
Na,
Rifa,
Na,
La,
And continuing at your pace.
Breathing in,
El,
Out,
Na,
La,
El,
Na,
La,
And continuing at your pace.
Breathing in,
El,
Out,
Na,
La,
El,
Na,
La,
And continuing in the same way.
One last time,
We expand our concern the whole world.
Because what could be more broken than God's creation?
El,
Na,
Rifa,
Na,
La,
El,
Na,
Rifa,
Na,
La,
And on.
So continuing in that pattern until you hear the closing bells.
Sending healing out forever.
So