Hello and welcome to your meditation practice for today.
This practice is on the theme of resisting relaxation when you're going through stressful times and you really struggle to relax or some of you that have very busy lives and you are constantly go go go and maybe your body or your mind just really cannot shut down.
Maybe you see little point in relaxation this practice is for you.
It's also a great one to do when your body is resisting the relaxation it will take to fall asleep at night so if you're suffering from a little bit of insomnia or just the inability to really let go this practice is for you.
So if you haven't already find yourself a comfortable seat or some space to lay down somewhere you feel supported and comfortable where you can align your body.
If you're sat on a chair or on the floor see if you can lengthen your spine so your head your heart and your hips align with on top of each other.
If you'd like to then close your eyes.
If closing your eyes builds more resistance or more tension or more anxiety then softly open your eyes a little bit and gaze through your eyes towards one point in front of you so there's a soft gaze your eyes aren't dancing around the room keep them soft and keep them focused towards one point.
Become aware of the support beneath you and your body resting upon it notice that you have a body and see if you can scan around and find any areas still trying to hold or cling.
You might not be able to fully relax them but can you just either repeat the name of the area of your body in your mind for example shoulders.
Just bring your attention there.
If you can rest your attention on that space from the inside out so say the inside of your shoulders do that if that's a concept that you can't quite grasp yet then just again repeat the word of the body part that needs a little bit of space and keep doing so throughout any areas of the body that need that for example shoulders,
Hips,
Jaw,
Tongue,
Forehead,
Space between the eyebrows and so on.
Wherever you find tension in your body just repeat the name of the body part in your mind and if you feel that resistance in the muscles instead of fixing it or controlling it can you just welcome it allow it to be there.
The more you greet it with a soft observation the more it will relax on its own without force.
Notice where you feel the breath in the body breathing in and out through your nose as much as you can.
You might feel it at the tip of your nose slight tingling at the back of the throat maybe at your ribcage or chest or maybe low down in your belly just notice wherever you feel the most movement as you inhale and exhale and then let's rest our attention there just noticing the natural rise and fall of your breath and if you find that you're getting thoughts of I could be doing something else instead or this is a waste of time or I have so much more to do today can you greet those thoughts with again the eyes of compassion and the eyes of curiosity and instead just let them go for a minute put them on a shelf and arrive back into the only thing that you are to do right now which is watch your breath every time you witness your mind go into future or past thinking come back to presence with the next breath you for the next minute or so let's focus all of our attention on the contact between your sit bones and the floor or the chair beneath you if you're laying down it will be the base of your spine and your upper back you might be able to feel into that support just drawing your awareness towards the point of contact between your body and the support beneath you see if we can rest all of our attention there can you give your body into that support just 1% more and instead of having the perspective of sitting or lying on top of something connect with the feeling of being held up instead so you're being held here by the floor by the earth by your cushion bed or chair and just for the next 10 breaths really focus on feeling that sensation of being held here that's all that's on your to-do list for the next minute or so as always whenever your mind wanders just allow your mind to let it go and come back to that feeling of support whenever you're ready just come back to your breath if your mind started to wonder come back into your body just scanning around noticing any spaces still holding any spaces that feel a little bit more easeful after this practice take a big inhale through your nose and out through your mouth once again breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth just taking a moment here in gratitude for giving yourself that space and time to prioritize you the permission to relax and the space to cultivate presence enjoy the rest of your day
