Okay,
So with meditation the goal is to be non-doing.
We're not trying to achieve or get rid of anything when we meditate.
Meditation is a practice that we need to continue and there is no end goal for meditation.
It's a daily practice to allow us to cultivate our compassion towards ourselves and towards others and to really improve our state of mindfulness and being in the present moment.
With meditation for people who are in recovery,
It's important to realize that you may not get results immediately and that's why we need to practice.
Well,
Let's start with a very basic guided meditation,
A body scan meditation.
This style of meditation will help you with relaxation and we'll move into a loving-kindness meditation and that style of meditation will help us deal with any resentments that we may be facing in recovery.
With meditations we usually start by finding a comfortable position to sit,
Something that is relaxed but still maintains dignity and attention to the body and to the breath.
Now we start our meditation by taking three deep breaths in through the nose and exhaling through the nose.
We want to inhale for approximately three to four seconds and exhale slowly and deeply and the purpose of these breaths is to allow us to calm our heart rate,
Lower our blood pressure a little,
It allows us to find our focus,
Realize where we are and if at any time during the meditation you feel the need to readjust your position,
If you're not comfortable then please do so.
You may find that during the meditation your mind will wander and that's okay because that is what our mind is meant to do,
Our minds are meant to be distracted,
They need to be engaged and in meditation we turn that off we turn the distraction off,
We turn off the mental engagement,
We allow things to be as they are.
Whatever thoughts come in we allow them to be there,
We recognize them,
We acknowledge that these thoughts are there but we don't engage with them.
We allow these thoughts to pass as clouds.
We're going to start by bringing our focus,
Our attention to the top of your head,
To the crown,
We're just going to bring our awareness to any sensations that we feel,
Just allowing them to be there,
Just be aware of any feelings,
We're not trying to change or modify,
We're just allowing whatever feelings we have to be.
Now we're going to bring our focus down to the forehead,
Down to your brow area,
Again just being aware of any sensations.
Now bring your awareness to your eyes,
If your eyes are open or if they're closed,
Moving down to the cheek bones,
Your cheeks and your lips,
Moving down to your chin.
Now bringing your awareness along your jaw line to your jaw,
Just being aware of any feelings that you have there,
Is your jaw tight or your teeth clenched,
The jaw is a specific area where we tend to hold tension,
Just be aware if there's any of that tension.
Now bring your awareness to the back of your neck,
Your spine meets the base of your skull,
Is it tight,
Is it relaxed,
Just being aware of any feelings that you have.
Now move your awareness down again to your shoulders,
Just allowing your shoulders to be relaxed,
Again the shoulders are an area that tension is held,
Just allow that to be.
You'll find that as you bring your awareness to these areas that they will naturally relax,
That tension will naturally melt away.
Now bring your awareness down to your shoulders,
Down your arms,
Down to your elbows,
Continuing on to your forearms and your wrists,
Now down to your hands,
The palms of your hands,
Through your fingertips,
Do you feel any tingling,
Any sensations at all,
Just be aware of those.
Now bring your awareness back up to your chest area,
Down through your sternum and into your diaphragm,
Just allowing the diaphragm to be very soft into your belly.
Remember that if any thoughts happen to creep in,
Just allow those thoughts to be,
Allow them to pass as clouds,
You don't engage,
We just acknowledge that they're there.
Now bring your awareness to your spine and slowly move down your spine into the middle of your back,
Into your lower back,
Down into your hips,
Again just being aware of any sensations.
The hips are another place that we tend to hold tension.
You may find that if you were feeling any tension or tightness that that's beginning to ease,
It's beginning to melt away.
Now bring your attention lower into your buttocks,
Aware of any sensations you feel,
You feel the pressure of the way you're seated,
Just bring your conscious awareness to that.
Now continue to bring your awareness down through your legs,
Your hamstrings,
Your quadriceps,
Are they relaxed?
Continue down through your knees,
Your calf muscle,
Your shins,
Down into your ankles,
Remembering that we're just being aware of any sensations,
We're aware of any feeling,
Not trying to change,
We're mindful of how we feel.
Bring your awareness lower into your feet,
Your heels,
Along the soles of your feet,
Down into your toes.
Do you feel any tingling?
Are they numb?
However they are,
This is all right.
We're allowing these feelings to be.
Now bring your awareness to your whole body,
Your body as a whole.
Are you noticing any feelings that are different?
Are you more relaxed than when you started?
Is your mind clearer?
Is it calmer?
Just being aware of any of these sensations that we feel.
You're doing good.
And if you want,
You can take more deep cleansing breaths in through the nose,
Slow,
Deep,
Slow on the out-breath,
Bringing our heart rate down,
Bringing our blood pressure down,
Allowing ourselves to be at ease,
A feeling of calm,
A feeling of equanimity.
Now just be here for a few minutes,
Just allow yourself to feel this calm,
Quiet,
Relaxed state.
And at your own time when you're ready,
Bring yourself back,
Open your eyes if they're closed.
You can wiggle your toes,
Stretch your fingers,
Allow this sense of well-being to stay with you throughout the day.
