So make yourself comfortable in the place where you're going to be doing your meditation.
This is intended to be a gentle,
Kind meditation.
So you can put your body into a restful position,
Either sitting or lying down.
And make sure that you're warm and that all of your physical needs are met.
We're going to start with some very gentle stretching.
Remember the intention is to be kind to your body.
This is not the time to push yourself.
Stretching is just a means of sensing into your body.
So within your physical abilities,
You can now turn your head to the left until you feel a gentle stretch in your neck.
And remember all the time that we're stretching,
We're also breathing,
And you can try breathing into the area that's being stretched.
Now turn your head gently to the right.
Again,
You're looking for a gentle stretch in the neck.
Bringing your head back to center.
You can lift and then release your shoulders,
All the while breathing into them.
And if you feel like it,
You might even choose to lift your arms up right over your head and stretch the whole length of your arm and the sides of your body.
With a nice deep breath before returning your hands and arms to their resting place.
And finally,
We're going to take the stretch down to your legs.
So bringing your toes to point back towards you.
And sending your heels away from you so that the whole back of your legs are stretched.
Taking a nice deep breath and then releasing.
Coming back now to your breathing.
Noticing your breathing.
And if your eyes aren't already closed,
You might want to close them now.
And come into your internal world.
As you're in your internal world,
Notice your body.
Notice your body from head to toe.
Notice any sensations.
And if you don't have any particularly strong sensations,
You might just develop a feeling of your body being there.
And you might find that you're able to visualize the shape of your body.
But if that's not easy,
It's okay.
Just stay with the feeling of your body.
And as you're aware of your body now,
Just notice the shape of your body.
And as you're aware of your body now,
Just notice what thoughts are with you as you feel this feeling of your body.
And you can just let the thoughts flow past.
They're not the focus of our meditation.
But it can just be interesting sometimes to notice the kinds of things you tell yourself about your body.
In case there's anything you want to change.
And if there's a particular part of your body that you want to work with today,
Just shift your focus to it now.
This might be a part of your body that you need to support yourself in showing more love to.
It might be affected by an illness or a condition.
Or it may be a part of yourself that you want to treat with a little more kindness.
So focus now on that part of your body that you want to love a little bit more than you already do.
And as you shift your attention to that part of your body,
You might want to shift your breathing so that you imagine you're breathing in and out that part of your body that needs a little bit of extra love.
And as you're breathing into that part of your body,
If it's possible and easy for you,
You might even move your hands so that they're placed on that part of your body.
And as your attention is on this part of your body,
Notice any emotions which are arising.
Just notice them.
And if there's any emotion in there which isn't really helpful for you anymore,
You can offer that now to the universe for healing.
Just open your hands and let it go.
And still focused in and breathing into this part of your body.
Is there something kind that this part of your body needs to hear?
If you don't know what to say that's kind,
You can just say,
I love you.
And can you say that kind thing now to that part of your body which needs this extra bit of love?
And coming back to your breathing now but this time not directing it to any particular part of your body.
Just noticing your breathing.
And as you notice your breathing,
Expand your awareness to once again include your whole body.
And this might be a nice time to just say to your whole body those kind things.
I love you.
You're safe.
And you might also have things that you want to thank your body for now.
It might be as simple as keeping you alive for another day.
Whatever your body does for you that you really appreciate.
And when you're ready coming back once again to your breathing,
To your sensations,
Noticing the sounds around you.
You can rest here for as long as you like.
And when you're ready you can open your eyes.
And you can just say,
I love you.
