Hello and welcome to this meditation called Rooted and Relaxed where we go through a progressive muscle relaxation and then into a root chakra meditation.
So take this time now to settle into your space,
Finding stillness,
Finding a place where you can be undisturbed throughout the duration of this meditation.
And as we go through this meditation,
This is your reminder to honor your body and if I make any suggestions that don't feel good,
Don't feel aligned for you today in this moment,
Then just go ahead and skip it.
So once you've found your comfort in your stillness,
Close your eyes and let's take one deep breath together in through your nose and out through your nose or your mouth.
And now bring your attention to your toes,
Just becoming aware of what it feels like to be aware of your toes.
And now I invite you to scrunch your toes tightly,
Curl them in towards the arch of your foot,
Holding this tension here,
Feeling the engagement as you breathe in and release as you breathe out.
Feeling the blood rush back into your feet,
Allowing them to be soft.
And now flex your feet,
Pulling them towards your shins or tightening the calves here,
Bringing the engagement,
Bringing the tension as we breathe in and hold and soften as you exhale.
Feeling your legs grow heavy and sink an inch deeper into the floor.
Traveling up the legs now to the knees and the thighs.
Squeeze these muscles,
Bringing tension into the quads and the hamstrings.
Feel the strength in your legs.
Hold this tension here as you breathe in and let it go as you breathe out.
Notice the sensation of your legs becoming a part of the surface beneath you,
Still rooted and relaxed.
And now tighten the muscles in your seat,
In your hips.
This is your physical base,
Some of the biggest muscles in your body,
In a place where we hold lots of tension.
Engage here and take a deep breath in,
Holding the tension.
And as you exhale,
Release.
Allowing your hips to widen and soften.
Feel the connection between your tailbone and the ground.
Draw your navel toward your spine.
We're tightening the core here,
Bringing tension to the cores of bracing for impact.
Hold it here as you sip in a breath and soften as you exhale.
Allowing your belly to soften completely.
And now take a deep breath into that soft space and feel the air travel all the way down to your seat,
To your root,
Your foundation.
Now we turn attention to your chest.
Take a deep breath in and hold it,
Feeling your chest expand and the muscles between your ribs tighten.
Feel the expansion of your lungs and the capacity of your lungs.
And now allow yourself to exhale fully.
Feel your chest soften as you sink deeper into the support beneath you.
Traveling upward,
Bring your awareness to your shoulders.
This is a part of the body where we often carry the weight of the day and all the daily stressors and tension.
Shrug your shoulders up high towards your ears as if you're trying to touch them.
Create a sense of tight,
Bunched tension and notice how familiar this might feel.
And hold it here as you breathe in and let it go as you breathe out.
Dropping your shoulders away from your ears,
Imagine that your shoulders are melting down towards the ground,
Heavy and loose,
Free of tension.
Traveling down to your arms,
With your arms extended,
Clench your hands into fists tightly.
At the same time,
Tighten your biceps and your forearms,
Making your arms feel like solid stone.
Feel the power radiating from your arms and hands and hold it here as you breathe in and soften as you breathe out,
Allowing your hands to open,
Ready to receive whatever it is that you need here,
Letting your fingers curl naturally.
And feel the warmth in your arms as the tension drains out through your fingertips.
And now bring attention to your face.
Squeeze your eyes shut,
Scrunch your nose and maybe clench your jaw.
Purse your lips tightly and wrinkle your entire face into a mask of tension.
Hold it here and breathe in and relax as you breathe out.
Let your jaw hang loose.
Smooth your forehead and let your eyelids rest heavy and still.
Your whole face is now smooth and expressionless.
And now finally,
We're going to invite tension into the entirety of our body,
From our toes to our forehead.
Now start engaging through your muscles,
Curling your toes,
Engaging the muscles of your legs,
Squeezing your hands into fists,
Tightening the muscles of your arms and shoulders and scrunching up your face.
And hold this full body tension as you breathe in and release it all as you breathe out.
And invite total relaxation into your body.
Allow yourself to be heavy and soft and to just simply be.
And now with your body fully relaxed,
Bring your awareness to the very base of your spine,
Your root.
In practical terms,
This is the center of your gravity,
Your foundation and your sense of survival.
Now silently repeat these words to yourself.
I am supported.
I am grounded.
I am safe.
And consider the fact that in this moment,
You are protected.
You have air to breathe,
A floor below you.
And now allow your nervous system to accept this.
You are not in danger.
Invite your body and your mind to drop its guard.
Now I ask you to visualize roots sprouting from the base of your spine and from the soles of your feet and growing down into the earth.
See these roots as they push through the floor,
Through the dark,
Through the cold soil and deep into the ancient bedrock of the earth.
See them spreading wide and deep,
Branching out in every direction like a vast subterranean web.
These roots anchor you so firmly that you feel a new sense of unshakable stability.
You are so rooted that no wind,
No storm and no chaos of the outside world could ever pull you over.
And in this stillness,
In this stability,
You find a profound freedom,
The freedom of knowing you cannot be knocked off balance.
Imagine the earth's energy,
Cool,
Steady and infinite,
Is traveling up those roots.
And just like a great oak draws water and minerals from the earth,
See yourself drawing up pure vitality and nourishment.
As these nutrients rise,
Notice a vibrant,
Warm,
Red light beginning to ember at the base of your spine.
The deeper your roots grow,
The brighter this light becomes.
With every breath,
You extract more strength from the earth and that red glow intensifies,
Pulsing with the rhythm of your heart.
Watch as this light begins to move,
Slowly spreading upward and outward,
Flowing through your hips,
Your torso,
Down your limbs,
Until your entire body is engulfed in a soft halo of red.
You are wrapped in this glow like a protective blanket.
Within this light,
You feel an overwhelming sense of peace,
A deep contentment and a total absolute safety.
You are home.
You are held.
You are whole.
And as you bask in this warm,
Red light,
Know that this sense of safety doesn't disappear when the visualization fades.
These roots are always there.
This foundation,
This sense of safety is a part of you and something you can cultivate and draw upon whenever you need.
And now slowly begin to let the image of the red halo soften,
Though you keep feeling its deep within your skin and start to become aware of the physical space around you,
Noticing the weight of your body against the chair or the floor once more.
That same earth that was just nourishing your roots is still supporting you now.
And whenever you feel ready,
Open up your eyes and reorient yourself to the space around you and go on to have a beautiful,
Grounded day and I will see you next time.
