Welcome to a meditation for gentleness.
In this meditation,
We will be so gentle with ourselves,
Gentle with our body,
Gentle with our mind,
And gentle with anything that comes across our awareness.
I invite you to become as comfortable as you possibly can.
Take a few moments to adjust yourself,
Get your blankets and your pillows and anything else that can support you during this meditation.
Go at your own pace and if you need to,
You can stop this at any time.
The whole point is to be gentle.
So keep that as the most important part and practice of this meditation.
Let's begin by taking a few deep breaths in through the nose and sigh out the mouth.
Ahhhh.
Ahhhh.
Ahhhh.
As we drop into our bodies,
Let the breath expand our lungs and our bellies and then let it all go.
Let everything go that has happened during the day and that is on our minds right now.
Just let it all go.
Be with your body.
Just as it is right now.
What is calming your attention?
Is your body speaking to you and what is it saying?
Go to where your body wants some attention.
Maybe there's a little tingling or a little ache or an itch or just something that wants you to give it your attention.
Go there now.
Feel into what this sensation is telling you.
There is no judgment here.
We are seeing it for what it is,
Experiencing it for what it is.
A sensation,
Neither positive nor negative.
Just a sensation that is passing through the body and giving us information.
Let's breathe together.
Breathe into this place that is calling our attention.
What is the size and shape of this sensation?
Is there a color?
Is there a texture?
What information are you getting from this sensation?
What is this sensation telling you?
If you don't know,
You can always make it up.
Use your imagination.
Maybe the sensation has already passed or changed.
Maybe it shifted to a different part of your body.
Maybe it's still there.
Let us ask whatever sensation we are focusing on what it is wanting to tell us right now.
What does it maybe need from us?
What kind of attention might we be able to give it right now?
You may not get any response and that's okay or you may get some information and maybe that will give you something that helps you.
Let's fuel our bodies.
Where's the heaviest part of the body that is touching where we are sitting or laying upon?
What does that contact feel like?
Is it soft or is it hard?
And just pay attention to the mass of the body coming into contact with another solid object.
Let's take a few deep breaths here,
Whichever way you'd like to take a breath.
Let us bring our attention to our breath and the feeling of the breath coming in and out and expanding the belly and the lungs and the way that it feels as it exits the body through the nose or the mouth.
Let us feel and concentrate on those sensations as we take another few breaths together here.
And as we take these breaths,
Let us feel the body relaxing even more,
Little by little,
Becoming more and more relaxed,
More expansive with the breath and a beautiful yummy state of floating.
Maybe now we can find another place where we can breathe into together,
Gently breathing.
Maybe we can find a place where it feels like a little bit tense or a little stuck.
Maybe the forehead has some tension that we didn't know was there.
We can gently breathe into the forehead and exhale and release any tension.
Any tension is rolling away down the sides of the forehead and out.
Maybe you'd like to place your fingertips on your forehead and help to release some tension here,
Just gently stroking the forehead,
The inside middle line,
The fingers fanning out,
And gently brushing off anything,
Any stuckness or anything that needs to be released.
Moving down to the jaw,
Maybe there's some tension in your jaw.
Maybe you've been holding your jaw tightly all day,
Trying to get through the day,
Brushing through to get everything done,
But right now your job is to let this all go.
So let us let the jaw open if it's clenching.
Maybe stretch it a few times by opening the mouth and then closing it again.
Maybe do that a couple of times and then gently let it rest open,
Slightly open so that we can really relax.
What other part is calling for some relaxation?
We can go there and maybe put our hands there if that's comfortable,
If possible,
We can tighten and relax that area and breathe into that area of tension until you feel a gentle release,
Wherever that may be.
You are given permission to be gentle with yourself and to relax,
To let all of those tensions melt away effortlessly by being gentle with yourself.
Remember to breathe and breathe into those areas that might need some attention and relaxation and as we close out this meditation on gentleness,
Let's take a few deep breaths again together.
Sweeping the breath up from the tips of your toes and up through the crown of your head and down from the crown of your head down to the tips of your toes.
Let's do that for a few rounds.
Up from the tips of your toes to the top crown of your head and down from the crown of your head to the tips of your toes.
Breathe in and out.
Now I invite you to continue to relax or if you're ready to move into the next part of your day,
I invite you to give yourself a little hug by placing one hand under an armpit,
Maybe the right hand under the left armpit and then wrap the other hand around the outside of the arm and give yourself a little squeeze.
Let yourself know that it's okay to be you in this world and that you'll always have your own back and that you'll find and attract the people who are needed in your life to grow and to heal and to serve.
And we close with a reminder to always be gentle with ourselves as we move through these lives that we lead on this earth.
Thank you for being here and allowing me to guide you and maybe we meet again soon.
