Hello and welcome everyone.
This is Laura of Approachable Asana.
Thank you so much for joining today's practice.
This meditation is designed to help alleviate pain and discomfort in your neck or head.
Now while this meditation is not a substitute for advice from your physician,
My hope is that it can help soften around the edges and help you feel better.
For this practice you can find a comfortable seat sitting up nice and tall with your feet flat on the floor.
Or if it feels better,
Go ahead and lie down.
Maybe propping your head and neck,
Making yourself as comfortable as possible.
Let's begin by noticing the support underneath us.
Whether you're resting on a couch or bed or seated in a chair,
Notice the support.
Notice your body making contact.
And begin to notice your breath.
Now I know this may be challenging as you're feeling unwell and in pain right now,
But see if you can just bring your attention gently to your inhale and to your exhale.
Your breath may be a little jagged with a rough texture,
But let's see if we can smooth it out.
Softening around the edges,
Trying to make your inhale and your exhale as smooth and even as possible.
Next,
Go ahead and take your hands and rub your palms together until you feel some warm heat building up.
Once you've done that,
Gently rest both hands over your eyes with your fingers in your hands.
Over your eyes with your fingertips resting on your forehead.
Notice the warmth.
Notice that sensation.
Allow your touch to ease the discomfort,
The tension and the tightness.
Allow your breath to soften and deepen a bit.
Notice the pressure of your hands resting on your face.
Allow your healing touch to soothe.
Now take your hands and rub them together one more time,
Building up that heat.
And this time cradling your hands on the side of your head,
Allowing them to rest over your ears and allow your thumbs to rest on the back of your head in that little soft spot,
That little divot.
If it feels okay,
Maybe apply a little pressure here.
Once again,
Allow the warmth of your hands to soothe and relieve your discomfort.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Now you're welcome to leave your hands where they are or allow them to find another comfortable place.
Perhaps resting one hand over your heart and one hand over your belly.
Noticing the rise and fall with each and every breath.
And as you breathe,
Notice how you feel.
Is there a softening?
Is there a slight sense of ease?
You may also wish to let your hands just rest by your side or on your lap.
Make yourself as comfortable as possible.
Now let's shift our attention to the top of our head.
With each in-breath,
Soften and release the muscles of the forehead.
Visualize these muscles releasing and letting go.
Sending a few breaths here,
Releasing the grip of tightness and of discomfort.
Breathing in warmth and healing and ease.
Now bring your attention to your eyes.
Allow them to feel heavy and peaceful.
With your eyes gently closed,
Feel the breath help soften and release any tension here.
Next,
Move your awareness to your jaw and the back of your throat.
See if you are gripping or clenching here.
And if so,
Allow your breath to help you soften and release.
Allowing a little space between your teeth to help relax the back of your throat,
Your jaw,
Your tongue.
Bring your awareness back to your breath if your mind begins to focus on any discomfort and allow that ease to just happen.
Feel the tension just melt away.
If your mind begins to wander back to discomfort,
See if you can use your breath to help bring you back to that sense of ease to help release tension,
Tightness.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Visualize a sense of peace and relaxation.
Now bringing your awareness to the back of your head.
Visualizing those muscles as they just release and let go.
Visualize the breath as it helps move tension and tightness away and out of the body.
Guiding your attention to the back of the neck and the top of the shoulders.
Take a few deeper breaths here,
Maybe inhaling through the nose and exhaling with a big sigh.
Seeing how that sigh releases the muscles helps you settle into your comfortable seat or space where you're lying down.
And feel the tightness just drift away.
Take several more long slow inhales through the nose,
Exhaling through the nose or mouth.
As you watch discomfort leaving your body,
Watch it float away like a cloud in the sky,
Leaving you feeling a little lighter,
More at ease and more comfortable.
Stay here as long as you need to.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Resting and allowing your body to heal.
If you'd like to once again rub your hands together,
Building up that heat,
And gently place them over your eyes with your fingers resting on your forehead.
Feel the healing power of your own touch,
The warmth of your hands,
And the feelings of ease.
Please take care everyone and be well.
