Hello and welcome,
I'm so pleased to have you here with me and thank you so much for joining me.
You're here with me today and my name's Francesca,
And I have my dog Vaxta on my lap who is asleep,
So he's already very calm and relaxed and I hope this meditation will also help us all to feel a little bit more relaxed,
A little bit more like Vaxta.
This practice is created to be a soft and extended rest for those moments when your mind might feel busy,
Crowded,
Tired or overwhelmed with thinking.
Maybe you're juggling a lot at the minute,
Lots of things that you've got to do,
Appointments you have to attend and lots of responsibilities and you're overthinking,
Nothing's wrong with this,
You're not overreacting and you're not too much.
We all go through phases like this,
Your mind is simply working hard and trying to keep you safe and you should be proud of yourself and be grateful for your mind and your body that you've joined me today.
Give yourself a little rest for a little bit of calm and relaxation,
So when you feel ready I'd like you to find a position that feels deeply comfortable,
You may prefer to lie down or sat in a seat with your legs and your feet on the floor or maybe you're supported by cushions,
Just let your body settle and when you feel ready either gently close your eyes if this feels comfortable and safe for you or if you prefer to soften your gaze,
Maybe if you're lying down soften your gaze to a spot on the ceiling or an object in front of you and we're just going to start with some gentle but deep breaths just to settle into our practice today,
I'll invite you to breathe in through your nose and then out through your mouth with an audible sigh like you're letting go of some tension that you might be feeling and we'll do this three times,
So a gentle deep breath in through your nose and when you reach the top just a mini pause here and sighing out through your mouth,
Another deep breath in through your nose,
Taking an extra sip,
An extra breath at the top and sighing out all of the air,
One more breath in through your nose holding for a second and sighing all of that air out,
Let your breath come back to its natural rhythm again,
Let your shoulders drop and allow gravity to do its job let your bed or your mat underneath you take the weight of your shoulders or if you're seated let your shoulders come away from your ears and let your belly soften allowing your breath to unwind you and there's nothing to figure out here,
There's nothing to solve,
Nothing to organize no appointments or meetings to attend,
Just a gentle arrival into some rest now I'd like you to bring your awareness to where your body meets the surface beneath you feel the steadiness of the ground,
The quiet warmth and the sense of being held you're supported here and overthinking often pulls us upward into our heads,
Into the swirl of our thoughts and this practice gently brings you downward into the body,
Into your breath and the ground and as you take your next slow inhale just notice your chest rising and as you exhale notice your body softening a little more and feel your hands resting on your shoulders,
Whatever's supporting them,
Let it take the weight feel your legs sinking into your bed or into the chair feel your whole body unwinding in its own time and if thoughts appear and they will and there's nothing wrong with that at all just acknowledge them,
I hear you and return to your breath this practice is not about stopping thoughts but rather about creating spaciousness around them and now imagine your awareness sitting gently behind your thoughts not inside thoughts,
Not tangled in them but just resting behind them like a quiet observer observe the thinking mind with kindness see if you can sense the movement of thoughts like gentle ripples or passing soft weather some thoughts may feel urgent,
Some may feel repetitive and some may be vague or unclear but just let them be our thoughts are simply the mind's way of processing life and if your mind has been working very hard you can offer your inner world a whisper of compassion and maybe that's by saying you've done enough for today and you can rest now now imagine without needing to see anything that your breath is creating more space between these thoughts not forcing them apart but just loosening their grip slightly so we're softening we're relaxing as you inhale you're inhaling spaciousness and on each exhale you're exhaling and bringing yourself more softness you're inhaling giving yourself room to breathe and you're exhaling and you're unwinding any tension that you may be feeling feel how your mind begins to settle when it knows you're not asking it to solve anything all you need to do right now is be here and all you need to be is yourself exactly as you are you let your breath become the anchor letting your body become the sanctuary and you're letting your thoughts drift like clouds across a sky that you don't need to control it's just happening and as you observe and you're resting here you can silently repeat I am allowed to rest my mind can soften and I am held in this moment just let these words settle calmly through your inner world we're just letting our thinking minds have a little moment of rest and breath by breath thoughts quieten breath by breath the mind loosens a little and breath by breath you drift into deeper and de-doing it beautifully and as you keep your awareness on your breath feel the inhale brighten you and the exhale ground you and as we come the end of our practice you may wish to bring gentle movements to your fingers and toes keeping your eyes closed and your gaze just softened perhaps you'd like to roll your shoulders or stretch softly and I invite you to place one hand on your heart and one on your belly and we'll take one more deep breath in through the nose and exhaling through the mouth with a sigh allowing a breath to return to its natural rhythm and whispering inwardly that my mind is allowed to rest and when you feel ready and gently open your eyes or bring your awareness and your gaze back to the room that you're in thank you so much for practicing with me today and I hope your mind feels a little softer and a little calmer and I hope you have a wonderful day or night ahead
