Deep Relaxation With Lullabies

Let Go of Stress and Tension.
This relaxation meditation is designed to help you let go of stress and tension in your body and mind, and experience a deep sense of relaxation and peace. Through mindfulness, self-kindness, and gentle song you will be led on a journey of relaxation, allowing you to release any stress and tension that you may be holding in your body and mind.

Transcript

Just taking a few moments really to settle in,

To find your comfortable posture.

If you're feeling a bit sleepy,

You might just keep the knees raised.

Maybe just checking to see if there's any small adjustments you can make to help your body feel maybe 5 or even 10% more comfortable,

More at ease.

Taking a few moments just to feel the earth beneath you,

Or the chair or the cushion beneath you.

You might just feel the connection of the earth or the cushion under your head,

Just allowing the head to rest more fully on the ground beneath you.

Maybe walking the shoulders down a little bit,

Just creating a little bit of space between the ears and the shoulders,

And just allowing any tension to release,

To drain from the shoulders into the earth beneath you.

Feeling the connection along the upper back,

The middle back and the lower back,

Just allowing the tension to slowly soften,

Releasing the full weight of the body into the earth,

Allowing the earth to hold you,

To support you,

Letting the hips settle into the ground.

Maybe gently rocking the hips from side to side,

Just inviting a release,

An opening in the hips,

Feeling the connection all along the back of the legs and the two feet,

Feeling the solidity,

The stability of the earth beneath you,

Fully supporting the weight of your body,

Allowing you to let go,

To be held,

To be fully supported by the earth beneath you,

And gently bringing the awareness into the two feet.

Just beginning to notice the different sensations in the two feet.

Maybe feeling the connection of the feet against the earth.

Maybe you can notice some connection of the material of your socks or a blanket.

You might feel the coolness of the air.

Maybe you can feel the hardness or the softness of the material where the hands and the feet are resting.

And just beginning to be attentive,

Curious,

Noticing all the different sensations in the heels of the feet,

The arch,

The balls of the feet,

Noticing the sensations in the toes,

And maybe it's possible to pick out the big toe or some of the little toes,

Aware of any sensations in the top of the feet.

Maybe holding these two feet in a kindly awareness.

You might touch some simple appreciation for these two feet.

Wherever we go,

Our feet are there to carry us,

To help us move freely in this world from A to B.

With each step,

Our feet are there.

And maybe these two feet aren't perfect,

But they're good enough.

Recognizing that our life would be very difficult without these two feet,

Just holding our two feet in this simple gratitude,

In this kindly awareness,

Inviting our two feet to rest deeply.

We can gently allow the awareness to move up into the ankles,

Just noticing what sensations,

If any,

Are present in the two ankles,

Continuing to move upwards into the lower legs,

Just noticing what sensations,

If any,

Are present there.

We might feel the contact with the earth,

Or the material of our clothes against the skin,

Maybe some sensations of weight or solidity in the lower legs.

We can let the awareness continue into the knees and the backs of the knees,

And again,

Just noticing what sensations,

If any,

Are present there,

And slowly continuing into the upper legs,

Feeling the different points of connection,

Of weight,

Solidity,

Just noticing any sensations in the upper legs,

And holding both the legs in this kindly awareness,

Touching this simple appreciation for whatever health or strength might be remaining in these two legs,

Maybe not perfect,

But doing their best to carry us,

To support us,

To be there for us,

Maybe reflecting on all the activities that are possible because of these two legs,

Maybe walking,

Enjoying a sport or dance,

Travelling,

So many simple things we might take for granted,

Made possible because of these two legs,

Holding these two legs in this simple,

Kindly awareness,

And inviting them to rest,

To be still.

I invite you to gently let go of that awareness of the two legs now,

Slowly bringing the two hands into your awareness,

Maybe just taking a moment to notice where the two hands are resting,

Maybe on your body or on the earth,

The hands are so sensitive,

Maybe allowing yourself to receive all the sensations coming in from the two hands,

Maybe noticing the quality of the material where the two hands are resting,

Is it hard or soft,

Warm or cool,

Rough or smooth,

Allowing your hands to receive all the richness of sensation from the world around them,

Receiving all the sensations in the palms of the hands,

In the backs of the hands,

Maybe we can also just notice the individual fingers,

Just becoming aware of the two thumbs,

The index fingers,

Middle fingers,

Ring fingers and little fingers,

And maybe as you continue to rest your awareness in the two hands,

You notice other more subtle sensations of life,

Pulsing or tingling,

Warmth or coolness,

Subtle layers of energy or sensation deep within the two hands,

Touching that kindly awareness,

That simple appreciation for these two hands,

Maybe not perfect,

Perhaps they still allow you to feed yourself,

To clothe yourself,

To care for your body,

To work,

To play,

To communicate with loved ones,

So many things possible because of these two hands,

Just bringing that simple recognition that our life would be very difficult without them,

And leaning into that simple kindly awareness for these two hands,

Inviting them to rest,

To be still,

Gently letting the awareness move up into the wrists now,

And again just noticing what sensations,

If any,

Are present in the wrists,

Gently moving into the lower arms,

Maybe noticing the points of connection with your clothes,

The surface where the lower arms are resting,

Any subtle layers of sensation within the arms,

Noticing what's present in the elbows and the crooks of the elbows,

Slowly moving up into the upper arms,

And again maybe there's not much here,

But maybe some sensations of weight or solidity,

Of contact,

Holding the two arms in this just very simple kindly awareness,

Inviting them to rest,

Slowly moving into the two shoulders,

And just noticing what's present there,

What do you notice in the two shoulders?

Often our shoulders are a place that we carry a lot of the stress and the tension of our life,

So you might like to invite the shoulders to just once again release,

Maybe simply softening into,

Or softening around any lingering places of tension or holding,

Appreciating how much these two shoulders carry,

And maybe trusting we've come here this evening to learn to live in a way that we accumulate less stress and tension in our bodies,

Creating a space for the body to rest,

To heal,

To put down some of the tension or burdens,

Holding the two shoulders in this kindly awareness,

Appreciating what they carry for us,

Gently allowing the awareness to continue to move up the neck,

The back of the head,

Maybe noticing what sensations,

If any,

Are present in the top of the head,

Coming down into the forehead,

Around the eyes,

Maybe noticing that space between the two eyebrows and inviting that space to gently open,

To release,

Maybe inviting the eyes to rest more deeply in their sockets,

Perhaps taking a moment to hold the eyes in this kindly awareness,

Probably not perfect,

But they allow us to see the beauty of the blue sky,

A flower,

The smile of a loved one,

The sparkle in the eyes of a child.

They allow us to move freely,

To work and to play,

So many wonders of life available through these two eyes,

Just touching that simple appreciation that our life would be much poorer without them.

Noticing any sensations in the cheeks,

In the jaw,

Maybe notice any tightness or holding in the jaw,

You might just invite the teeth to part very slightly and then float back closed,

Maybe taking a moment to be mindful of the tongue in your mouth,

The teeth,

The top of the mouth,

Maybe feeling the place where the two lips meet,

Maybe there's something pleasant in that connection of the upper lip as it sits against the bottom lip,

Letting the awareness continue down into the area of the chest,

The heart,

If it feels comfortable,

Supportive,

Maybe letting a hand rest over the chest,

The heart,

Feeling the soft rise and fall of the breath there,

Maybe feeling the warmth of the body,

And maybe touching the intention that brought you here this evening,

To be more present,

Perhaps to cultivate more stillness or ease in your life,

Recognizing that the intention that brought us here is an intention of self-kindness,

The desire for our own well-being,

And that's a beautiful thing.

When we are well,

Our wellness can benefit many other people,

You can let the awareness drop down further into the belly,

Maybe allowing a hand to rest on the belly if that feels comfortable,

And just feeling the soft rise and fall of your own breath in the belly,

Moving through the body like waves through the ocean,

Rising and falling,

And gently allowing the awareness to open out,

Taking in a sense of the whole body resting here,

Nowhere to go,

Nothing to do,

Just a moment to be still,

To allow the body to rest deeply,

Maybe taking in some of the sounds around you,

Just allowing the different sounds to come and go,

Sounds in the room,

Sounds far away,

And maybe behind those sounds a quality of space or stillness,

Containing all the different sounds as they arise and pass away,

And into this space I'll offer a poem by Meister Eckhart.

All day long a little brewer labours,

Sometimes with heavy loads on her back,

And sometimes just with worries about things that bother only brewers,

And worries,

As we know,

Can be more exhausting than physical labour.

Once in a while a kind monk comes to her stable and brings a pear,

But more than that he looks into the brewer's eyes and touches her ears,

And for a few seconds the brewer is free,

And even seems to laugh,

Because love does that,

Love frees.

We continue to rest in this kindly field of awareness.

I'll now offer maybe a lullaby or two.

Breathing in,

Breathing out,

Breathing in,

Breathing out,

I am blooming as a flower,

I am fresh as the dew,

I am solid as a mountain,

I am fast as the earth,

I am free.

Breathing in,

Breathing out,

Breathing in,

Breathing out,

I water,

Reflecting what is real,

What is true,

And I feel there is space deep inside of me.

I am free,

I am free.

So as we come towards the end of this meditation,

Just gently bringing the awareness back into our body,

Taking a moment to just notice how you're feeling.

There's no right or wrong way to feel,

Just recognising what's here,

Giving it space.

We might begin to bring some soft movement into the fingers or the toes,

Maybe beginning to make some soft movements,

Some gentle stretches.

If you're lying down,

Really taking your time,

Maybe curling over to one side,

Giving your knees a little hug,

Being really gentle with yourself as you slowly make your way back to wakefulness and whatever else the evening has to offer you.

You're also really welcome to just continue to rest until you feel ready to continue your evening.

Reviews

This was lovely, you shock me into a body scan which I sometimes avoid because my brain stays too busy, but I relaxed with this one… and there was only one lullaby, but it was very sweet, so thank you!

Thank you Ethan for this incredibly supportive, gentle, spacious body-awareness and relaxation practice. I am an experienced meditator but sometimes, depending on the state of my mind, body and/or nervous system, many forms of meditation can feel like too much in that moment. This allowing and soothing practice is nourishing and your warmth and care is much appreciated ✨