Welcome to this guided breath and body meditation session.
This meditation is intended to help you enter a deep state of relaxation.
It's best done lying down.
After doing this meditation,
You'll feel less anxiety and have more self-awareness and more self-control.
So allow yourself to lie down in a comfortable posture.
Let your arms lay at your sides.
And gently closing the eyes,
Looking within.
Now bring attention to the fact that you are breathing.
Not trying to control the breath or change the breath in any way.
Simply experiencing the breath as it moves in and out of your body.
Tuning in and feeling that air.
Noticing your abdomen and feel the sensations as your breath comes into the abdomen and the abdomen expands.
And noticing your abdomen deflate as the breath goes out of the body.
The rising of your belly on the in-breath.
And the letting go on each out-breath.
Letting your body become heavy as it sinks a little bit deeper into relaxation.
Just giving the gift of your full attention to each breath in each moment.
Stay with the sensation of the breath in your belly for one minute.
When the mind wanders,
Bring it back to the breath.
Now bring your attention to your feet.
Becoming aware of any sensations that are there.
Perhaps you feel some tingling or some throbbing in the foot.
Maybe how a sock or the floor touches the foot.
Now imagine you can breathe in and out of the feet.
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 on the surface,
But experiencing and accepting what you feel here.
And breathing into it.
Then breathing out from it.
Now letting go of your lower legs as you relax into the bed or the mat.
Moving now into the thighs.
And if there's any tension in the thighs,
Noticing that.
Feeling the thighs.
And imagine you can breathe in and out of the thighs.
Then letting the thighs dissolve and relax.
Feeling the left hip and then the right hip.
And release all tension as you sink even deeper into a state of relaxation,
Awareness,
And stillness.
Letting the pelvis release.
And imagine that you are sending the breath right into this area.
And breathing out of this area.
And now shifting your attention to your belly again.
And experiencing the rising and falling of your belly as you breathe.
Now transitioning to your diaphragm.
And feeling the movement of your diaphragm,
That muscle between your belly and your chest.
And experiencing the chest as it expands on the in-breath and deflates on the out-breath.
Can you begin to feel the rhythm of your own heart?
Just experiencing your chest as you lie here.
And imagine that you can send the breath right into the heart.
And breathing out right from the heart.
And now just letting this region around the chest dissolve into relaxation as well.
Direct your warm,
Kind awareness now to your lower back.
And just experience your back as it is.
Welcoming it into your awareness as it is.
And letting your breath move into every part of your lower back on the in-breath.
And letting go of your lower back.
Moving up into your upper back now.
Just feel those sensations in the upper back.
Sending the breath there.
Breathing in and out of your upper back.
Breathing lightly in and out of this area.
Giving it the gift of your breath.
The gift of your awareness.
Now move your attention gently to your fingertips.
Becoming aware of just how many sensations are there in the tips of your fingers,
The tips of your thumbs.
And expand your awareness to include the palms of your hands.
And the backs of your hands.
Feel the wrists.
And become aware of them as well as the forearms and the elbows.
Breathing into the palms of your hands.
And out of the palms of your hands.
Feeling all the sensations at the palms more fully as you breathe.
Now allowing the field of your awareness to include the upper arms.
Right up to your shoulders.
Experiencing your shoulders.
And if there's any tension there,
Breathing into your shoulders.
Sending the breath there.
And letting that tension dissolve as you breathe out.
With every new out breath,
Letting go of the tension in the shoulders.
Now focus your attention on your neck and your throat.
Feeling this part of the body.
Relax it fully.
When we're stressed or self-critical,
The throat tenses.
Fully letting it go.
And breathing into the throat.
Sending the breath in and out of the neck and the throat.
Become aware of your face now.
First focusing on the jaw and the chin.
Just experiencing them as they are.
Become aware of your lips and your mouth.
Become aware of your cheeks and your nose.
Relaxing the sinuses.
And feeling the breath as it moves in and out of the nostrils.
Become aware of your eyes.
And the entire region around your eyes and eyelids.
And if there's any tension there,
Letting it leave as the breath leaves.
Relaxing all the little muscles around your eyes.
And moving to the forehead.
Letting it soften and let go of any stored emotions.
If you sense any emotion associated with the feelings in your face,
Just being aware of that.
Breathing into the face and letting the face dissolve into relaxation and stillness.
Letting every cell of your face relax.
Breathing in and out of the whole face.
And now let your breath move through your entire body in whatever way feels most natural to you.
Let the breath spread through the entire length of your body.
All of your muscles in a deep state of relaxation.
And your mind simply aware of this energy,
Of this flow of breath.
Experiencing your entire body breathing.
Sinking deeper and deeper into a state of stillness and awareness and deep relaxation.
And as this exercise come to a close,
Bring awareness to the part of your body touching your bed or mat.
Feeling that contact,
That tactile sensation.
Open your ears to any sounds in the room and just listen with curiosity.
You may want to wiggle your fingers and toes.
But even as you begin to move,
Allow this calmness and this centeredness and this spirit of stillness stay with you even as you move.
Knowing that this self-awareness will increase your happiness,
Your health,
And how much compassion you can have for yourself and for all others.
Thanking yourself for having done this practice.
And when you're ready,
Opening your eyes.
