Welcome.
This meditation is for those moments when your mind feels busy.
When thoughts seem to arrive one after another.
Or when you notice yourself returning to the same questions,
Worries or possibilities again and again.
There is nothing you need to work out during this practice.
Nothing that you need to push away.
And you do not need to make your mind completely quiet.
For now,
You are simply giving yourself permission to pause.
To rest from trying to find every answer.
And to meet this moment exactly as it is.
Before we begin our meditation,
I'd like for you to take a little time to settle into a position that feels comfortable for you.
You might be sitting,
Lying down.
But just resting somewhere that allows your body to feel supported.
Allow your hands to rest easily.
And when it feels right.
Gently close your eyes if it feels safe to do so.
Or instead soften your gaze just gently towards one steady point.
Maybe an object in the room you're in.
Or space on the ceiling if you're lying down.
Begin by noticing the places where your body is being held.
The surface beneath you.
The weight of your body making contact with the chair,
The bed,
The floor or the cushions supporting you.
There is nothing for your body to hold up alone in this moment.
Allow yourself to be supported.
Perhaps your mind is still busy.
Perhaps it's already moved towards something that you need to remember,
Something that happened earlier.
Or something that's coming up later.
And that's completely okay.
A busy mind is not a sign that you are doing this incorrectly.
You're not failing at meditation simply because thoughts are here.
The mind thinks and that's what it's learned to do.
And each time you notice that your attention may have wandered,
There is an opportunity to return.
Not with any criticism,
But just gently.
As though you're quietly taking your own hand and guiding yourself back home.
Begin to notice your breathing.
You do not need to deepen it straight away,
But just feel it as your breath is.
Maybe there's a place in your body where you feel it the most clearly today.
Perhaps at your nostrils.
Your chest.
Your ribs or the rise and fall of your belly with each breath.
Notice your inhales arriving.
And notice your exhales leaving.
There's nothing to control.
Nothing to perfect.
Just this breath.
If it feels comfortable.
Allow the exhales to become slightly longer.
Our out breaths becoming gentle and a little slower.
Breathing in gently.
And breathing out slowly.
Without straining.
And without trying to take the biggest breath possible.
Just creating a little more room for your out-breath.
Inhaling.
And slowly exhaling.
Sometimes when our mind is racing.
We try to think our way towards calm.
We search for the right conclusion,
The right reassurance,
And the right solution.
But,
Perhaps for these next few moments,
Calm does not need to come through thinking.
Perhaps it can begin through feeling.
Feeling the body beneath the thoughts.
Feeling the breath moving.
And feeling the ground beneath you,
Supporting you.
I invite you to bring your awareness towards your forehead.
And notice whether you are holding any tension here.
You don't need to make it disappear.
Simply imagine a little more space opening across your forehead.
Around your temples.
Around your eyes.
How these areas to become soft.
Allow the muscles around your eyes to soften.
Have your eyes closed,
Making sure they're not squeezed shut.
Just gently closed.
Unclenching your jaw.
Allowing your tongue to come away from the roof of your mouth.
Allowing your attention to move down to your neck.
Across your shoulders.
And take a moment.
To feel what your shoulders may have been carrying today.
Responsibilities,
Expectations,
Decisions,
Things you have already done and things that are still waiting to happen.
And for now,
See whether your shoulders can lower even by the smallest amount.
Allow gravity to do its job and let your shoulders come away from your ears.
Or if you're lying down.
Allow the support beneath you to take their weight Bring your attention down to your arms.
Your elbows.
Your forearms.
Your hands.
And each of your fingers.
Allow them to become soft.
Let whatever's supporting you take their weight.
Making sure that your hands aren't gripping anything.
Allow them to be open.
And letting your hands be still.
Nothing to organize or reach for or complete in this moment.
Bring your awareness to a chest.
And the space around your heart.
Perhaps this area feels open or maybe it feels tight,
Tender or tired.
And whatever you notice,
Allow it to be here without needing to name it perfectly.
You're allowed to meet yourself without analyzing everything that you feel.
Feel your breath moving through your ribs.
A gentle expansion as you breathe in and the softening as you breathe out.
Let your attention move towards your belly.
And see whether this part of your body can soften.
Not holding onto any breath.
Bring your awareness down to your hips.
Your thighs.
Your needs.
Your lower legs.
Your ankles.
Your feet and your toes.
Allow the whole of your lower body to become heavy.
Grounded and supported.
I'd like for you to imagine that every thought passing through your mind It's like a leaf moving along the surface of a gentle stream.
Some leaves may move quickly.
Others may take a little detour or circle for a while.
Some may catch on a stone or a plant before eventually continuing downstream.
You don't need to push them and you don't need to follow them.
You don't need to climb into the stream and get each of the leaves.
But you can simply notice.
That there is a thought.
Perhaps a worry appears.
Acknowledge that it's there.
And silently remind yourself.
This is a thought I'm having.
It's here right now,
But I don't need to solve it right now,
In this moment.
Another thought may come along.
Maybe a memory,
Or a plan,
Or a question beginning with what if.
And see if you can let it rest on the surface of the water.
You're not dismissing it or pretending it doesn't matter.
But you're choosing not to carry it through every moment of this practice.
I'll offer some gentle affirmations.
You may like to repeat these out loud.
Or you may like to say them to yourself in your mind.
Or just let them simply wash over you and take what you need.
I do not need every answer right now.
I can meet one moment at a time.
Thoughts can be here without taking all of my attention.
Allow these words to settle.
There is nowhere else you need to go during this practice.
No future moments that you need to rehearse,
No past moments that you need to revisit.
Just the feeling and sense of being here.
Your body resting,
Your breath moving,
And the ground beneath you supporting you.
For a little while,
Allow your breath to return to its natural rhythm.
You may wish to continue imagining this dream.
Or simply rest with the sensations of your body.
But should your mind be carried away gently return to one simple anchor.
The breath and your body or the feeling of the support beneath you.
As we begin to bring this practice towards a close.
Take a moment and notice whether anything has shifted.
Perhaps there is a little more space around any thoughts you may be having.
Or a little less urgency.
A small and kind reminder that you can notice what your mind is doing without having to follow it everywhere.
As we wrap up.
I invite you to take three deep but gentle breaths with me.
We'll be breathing in through our nose.
And out through our mouth with a gentle sigh.
As though we're releasing any additional tension that our body may be feeling.
A deep but gentle breath in through your nose.
Reaching the top.
Our second breath together.
In through your nose Reaching the top.
And out with a gentle sigh.
Our last of these breaths.
Into your nose and exhaling with that sigh.
Allowing your breath to come back to its natural rhythm.
Begin to notice the senses of the room around you.
If there are any sounds nearby.
The temperature of the air against your skin.
Just bringing back some gentle movement to your body.
Maybe wiggling your fingers and your toes.
Perhaps moving your head gently side to side.
For a lovely neck stretch.
Perhaps roll your shoulders gently forwards.
And then backwards.
Taking any movement your body would like.
And in your own time and when you feel ready.
Gently fluttering open your eyes.
Or returning your awareness to the room that you're in.
And however the rest of your day or evening unfolds,
Please remember that you don't need to carry every thought at once.
You can return to your breath.
One moment at a time.
Thank you so much for meditating with me.
And I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day or evening ahead.
