My name is Wenling and I'll be your guide for the next 10 minutes for this meditation to help you relieve stress.
You might be seated on a chair as I am doing so.
If you're seated on a chair,
Feel free to come towards the last one third of the seat that you are in.
Feel free to let your feet really begin to touch down on the earth.
Release and ground down through the points of contact,
Through your sit bones,
Through the sides of your legs,
The corners of your knees,
If they happen to touch down onto the ground.
As you settle into the physical space that you are in,
You may wish to close your eyes if that feels good for you.
If you prefer to keep your eyes open,
Let them look at a point in front of you,
Holding a soft gaze,
But draw your awareness inwards into the inner landscape of you.
Imagine an x-ray moving upwards from the base of your feet,
Your legs,
Scanning for areas of stress,
Areas of tension.
Let this x-ray gently and gradually move upwards towards the sides of the hips,
Your waist,
Your ribs,
Your shoulders,
Also along your arms,
All the way through the fingertips,
And let the x-ray move back up towards your neck,
Your ears,
Your chin,
Your cheeks,
Your lips,
Your nose,
Your eyes,
Your forehead,
All the way up through your crown.
If there are any parts of you that feel a little tense,
A little stressed,
Noticing where these areas,
Where these spaces are,
Acknowledging them,
Noticing if there are any judgments,
Any thoughts that come to mind as you observe and acknowledge these spaces.
With your next exhale,
Releasing any judgment,
And instead with your next inhale,
Acknowledging that these spaces exist and that this is not a space for judging them.
Let's try this two more times.
As you exhale,
Releasing any judgment,
Any expectation of how your body should feel,
How your mind,
Your inner landscape should feel,
And then with your next inhale,
Allowing what is to be.
One more time like this,
Exhaling,
Releasing this judgment,
Letting go of any expectations,
And then as you inhale,
Welcoming and accepting your current state of being.
Now with the next breath,
We're going to start with some gentle movement to release the tension.
Let all of your fingers begin to scrunch up as if you're squeezing a tight ball that is inside of your hand.
Gently release and allow the fingers to spread outwards.
Inhale to squeeze,
Exhale to spread and release.
Inhale to squeeze,
Exhale to spread and release.
Inhale to squeeze,
Exhale to spread and release.
Notice the spaces between your fingers.
Notice the tips of your fingers.
Continue breathing as you expand and send your breath to the edges of your fingertips,
To the corners of your elbows,
To the nooks and crannies,
The different edges of your body.
Gonna soften the whole body in 10 counts.
10,
9,
8,
7,
6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
Gently allow the whole of your body to soften.
Continue breathing as you allow with every exhale your body to soften,
Letting go of the doing and noticing how it feels to be fully present in every space,
Every part of your body.
Notice how easy your breath is coming in and out.
Notice that there is no need to do anything.
A lot of the stress comes from the idea,
The inherent belief that we are who we are because of our achievements,
Because of the things we do.
In the space of being that you are in right now,
Feel the peace,
Feel the calm and feel the pure pleasure of being you.
Reside here for the next 5 breaths.
You are welcome to stay here in this space of being,
Observing and allowing yourself to experience the pure pleasure of being alive.
If you feel ready to conclude today's meditation,
Gently and slowly we bring both palms together.
We connect the thumbs with each other,
Forming a bird with your hand and we fly the wings of the bird,
Crossing one in front of the other and we rest this bird,
This palm,
Right in front of your heart.
With your next breath out,
Let your head,
Your mind drop into the space of your heart.
With the next breath in,
Let the breath of your heart,
Your inner teacher,
Guide you to connect from that space within of pure pleasure of your presence,
Your being and bring this with you into the rest of your day,
Your week and your year.
Gently and slowly when you are ready,
If your eyes are still closed,
Let them softly link with your
