Welcome to this practice of body relaxation,
Compassion,
And self-compassion.
Let your spine be straight,
Lean back fully against the chair,
And put one hand inside the other in a traditional meditation posture.
Rest your hands on your lap.
Begin by closing your eyes gently,
And bring awareness to the jaw,
Often the tightest muscle in our body,
And let your jaw relax.
Bring awareness to your cheeks,
And let your cheeks release.
Find relaxation in your forehead,
In your eyebrows.
Release the space between your eyebrows,
And relax all the muscles around the eyes,
And in your throat.
Release the neck.
Thank the neck for carrying your heavy head.
Imagine you could relax all the follicles of hair,
And let your back release.
Let the chest be soft.
Relax the belly completely.
Soften the left arm and the right arm.
Let the arms be heavy.
And now feel the palms.
Feel the palms of both hands,
And notice your fingertips.
Relax the sensations at the tips of your fingers.
Feeling your fingers,
And your wrists,
And your elbows,
And your shoulders.
Let the shoulders release.
Let your belly relax completely.
Let your legs be heavy.
Let your feet be grounded.
And now notice the whole front side of the body.
And notice the whole back side of the body.
Releasing every cell of the body,
Inside and out.
Welcoming relaxation to your physical self as an act of self-compassion.
And now put both hands to your heart.
One hand inside the other,
And just feel into the heart.
Notice what is there.
Is there pain,
Or discomfort,
Or anxiety,
Or warmth,
Or energy?
Something different is there each day.
Honoring the heart by feeling into it.
Can you feel the beating?
Can you feel whatever is there?
Can you have the courage to notice what is there in your heart?
And now send yourself the wish,
May I be happy.
May I be healthy.
Sending the wish,
May this heart be healthy and strong.
From your heart,
Send yourself the wish,
May I be safe and protected.
And may I keep myself safe and protected.
I forgive this heart.
And I can open this heart to other hearts.
May my words,
My actions,
And my thoughts contribute to my happiness and freedom from suffering.
And now take a deep breath in,
Breathing into your whole body.
Breathing out through the mouth,
Breathing out from the whole body.
Release the hand back down.
And honor yourself,
Thank yourself for having done this meditation practice.
