Begin by gently finding the most comfortable seat,
Or lying down works very well.
Lying down on a mat or on your bed with your back flat.
And now,
If there is anything you can do to make yourself even a little more comfortable,
Do it now.
And slowly,
Gently,
Bring your attention to the fact that you are breathing,
Simply experiencing it as the air moves in and out of your body.
Noticing your belly and feeling the sensations there as your breath comes into your belly and your abdomen gently expands,
And noticing the belly deflate as the breath comes out of your body.
You could even put a hand on your belly so the hand can be the witness to the breath.
And following the rhythmic movement of each breath,
The rising of your belly on the in-breath,
And the deep letting go on the out-breath.
Every in-breath bringing new life into the body,
And every out-breath a deep relaxation.
Now stay with the breath,
With this sensation of in-breath and out-breath,
For one minute.
And when the mind wanders,
Which it will,
It's not a problem,
It's part of the process.
And gently and kindly bring the mind back to the breath.
Begin now.
And now with that awareness more focused,
Bring your attention to your feet,
Noticing whatever sensations are there at the feet.
Or if you're registering a blank as you tune in,
Just experiencing not feeling.
Or perhaps you feel some tingling,
Or some throbbing,
Or the touch of a sock,
Or the floor there at the feet.
And just stay with the feet for a few breaths.
Maybe even sending the breath right to the feet.
And sending the breath out of the feet.
Now become aware of the shins,
The calf muscles,
And the sensations in the lower legs.
Not just the surface,
But really feeling into them.
Breathing into them.
Feeling into the calves and the lower legs.
Breathing into the shins.
And then just let go of the lower legs.
And bring your attention into your thighs.
And if there's any tension there,
Just noticing that.
Feeling the thighs.
And imagine you could breathe in and out of the thighs.
Sending the breath generously to the thighs.
And letting your thighs dissolve and relax.
Shift your attention to your pelvis now.
Let your pelvis soften.
And release any tension at the pelvis.
As you sink even deeper into a state of relaxed awareness and stillness.
Relax the hips,
Relax the pelvis,
Relax this whole part of your body.
And now shift your attention to your belly.
And experience the rising and falling of your belly as you breathe.
Imagine you are sending the breath right into the belly.
And right out of the belly.
Letting the belly relax so the breath can flow more easily.
And now feel your chest.
Noticing your chest.
And experience the chest as it expands on the in-breath and deflates on the out-breath.
As if you were just watching a boat rise and fall on the waves.
Can you tune into your chest,
Rising and falling?
And can you feel the rhythm of your heart within your chest?
And now feel your chest and your belly at the same time.
Feeling this whole front part of the body.
And imagine that you could send the breath right to your heart.
Breathing right into the heart.
And breathing out from the heart.
And now just letting this region around the heart and the chest dissolve.
Let it go into pure relaxation.
And direct your attention now to your lower back.
This can be an area of tightness.
And just experiencing your back as it is.
Letting your breath move into every part of your lower back on the in-breath.
And on the out-breath,
Just release.
Release any tension,
Any holding.
Letting go of your lower back.
Moving your awareness into your upper back.
And again,
Just feeling the sensations in your upper back.
Letting the breath there.
Breathing in and out of your upper back.
Feel it expand.
Feel it release.
Feel it let go inside and out.
Now move your attention right to your fingertips.
Becoming aware of the sensations in the tips of your fingers and thumbs.
Noticing how much sensation is there right at your fingertips.
Now expand your awareness to include the palms of your hands and the backs of your hands.
Feel the wrists and become aware of the forearms and the elbows.
Breathing into the palms of your hands,
Your forearms,
Your elbows.
Sending the breath to this area of the body.
And breathing out of this area of the body.
And now include in your field of awareness the upper arms.
Feel the upper arms.
And move your awareness to the shoulders.
Appreciating the shoulders.
Experiencing the shoulders.
Softening the shoulders.
And if there's any tension in this part of the body,
Letting that tension dissolve.
As you send the breath into the shoulders.
And out of the shoulders.
Breathing in and out of your shoulders as they are now.
Now focus your attention on your neck and throat.
Feeling this part of your body.
Relax the neck and throat fully.
Letting the neck and the throat go.
When we're stressed,
We often hold tension in our throats.
Letting it go.
Letting it relax.
Letting any tension in the throat dissolve.
Letting the neck and the throat be open,
Soft,
Relaxed.
And becoming aware of your lips and your mouth.
Letting the lips and the mouth release.
Becoming aware of your cheeks,
Left and right.
And your nose.
Imagine you could relax your sinuses.
And release the nostrils.
Feel the breath as it moves in and out of the nostrils.
Like a touchstone.
Becoming aware of the breath in your nose.
And letting that release.
And become aware of the eyes.
And the entire region around your eyes and eyelids.
Imagine you could relax all the little muscles around your eyes.
And if there's any tension there,
Letting it go.
Now become aware of the forehead.
Letting it soften.
And let go of any stored emotions in the forehead.
Relax the temples.
Relax the eyebrows.
And now imagine you could relax even the skin on your face.
Let your whole face release.
Letting it be soft and still and neutral.
Relaxed and at peace.
Breathing in and out of your face as if the breath is coming from behind it.
For a few breaths,
Breathing in and out of the face.
Now letting your breath move through your entire body in whatever way feels natural for you.
Through the entire length of the body.
All of your muscles in a deep state of relaxation.
And your mind simply aware of this energy.
Of this flow of breath.
Imagining your entire body breathing.
Sinking deeper and deeper into a state of stillness and deep relaxation.
And as this meditation comes to an end,
Bring your awareness back to the contact your body is making with the mat or the floor or your bed.
Feeling the whole body.
Welcoming the whole body into your awareness.
And now gently wiggle your fingers and toes,
Bringing movement back.
And as you go on with your day,
Allow this calmness and centerness to remain with you as you move,
Wherever you move.
Let this stillness be part of each movement.
And thank yourself for having done this meditation practice for your body,
For your awareness,
For your happiness and self-compassion.
