This is a meditation for relaxation and reducing anxiety.
Too often when we're feeling stress and anxiety we hold it all in.
This is not healthy.
It is toxic.
We need to let it go.
I'm going to guide you on this meditation with some relaxing visualizations.
Just listen to my voice.
Picture yourself in the environment that I describe.
Make yourself comfortable,
Whether in a chair or on your cushion or lying down.
Let's start by taking a deep breath in through your nose and hold for a moment.
Then blow it out through your mouth and out to your lungs.
Let's do this a few times just to settle ourselves in.
If you haven't already done so I want you to close your eyes.
Listen to the rain.
Sounds beautiful doesn't it?
While keeping your eyes closed I want you to open your mind's eye and create before you what is around us.
It's summer,
It's warm out and today this cleansing rain is falling to nourish the mother earth.
Me and I are sitting in a couple of very comfortable chairs on a covered veranda.
Someone inside the house is tingling away on the keyboard with an A minor progression.
We are looking out onto a lush green lawn,
A beautifully appointed garden beyond that transition seamlessly into the thick forests making the air fresh and sweet.
We see some birds happily flitting about in the branches.
I want you to unfurl your brow.
Relax your face.
Relax your neck as much as you can without letting your head drop.
Breathe in.
Then as you exhale let your shoulders drop.
Fuel the muscles in your chest soften.
You are able to breathe more freely,
Deeply.
Now fill your lungs fully.
Smell that sweet forest air as it passes through your nose.
Let your stomach push out as your lungs fill with air.
Relax all those muscles around your stomach.
Let it go.
Breathe.
Now hop out across your shoulder blades.
Are you holding tension there?
Are you still holding your shoulders up?
Let it go.
Breathe in.
As you breathe out just let those shoulders and shoulder blades drop.
Your upper arms,
Your elbows.
Let your wrists go.
Now your hands.
One trick for your hands is to make fists,
Squeeze them tight for a second.
Then stretch your hands out fingers wide and straight.
Then let go.
Breathe.
You see that squirrel climbing up the tree trunk?
Yeah,
Over there.
I think she sees us.
There she is busy working way gathering food.
She's probably jealous of us relaxing here and enjoying the peaceful tranquility of nature around us.
Breathe.
Relax your hips,
Your thighs,
Your knees,
Your calves.
Let your ankles go.
Your feet and your toes.
Breathe.
You feel every part of your body but any tightness has faded.
You're so relaxed you almost don't feel this edero neck chair you're sitting on.
You feel like you're floating.
You hear the soothing sound of the rain,
The birds,
Maybe a dog barking in the distance.
It's peaceful isn't it?
I really like coming here.
Gives me an opportunity to merely observe.
No thoughts,
No opinions,
No judgements.
We are merely an acceptance of what we see,
What we hear,
The smell of the air.
We just allow it to be as it is.
We allow what we feel in our bodies.
Still a bit tight somewhere?
Oh well.
Realize that this is how you are right now.
You've come a long way.
You are here in this moment.
And in this moment everything is okay.
Breathe.
Let it go.
Let's now just be at peace and observe this divine creation of nature around us for a while.
And just breathe naturally,
Relaxed.
And just breathe naturally,
Relaxed.
And just breathe naturally,
Relaxed.
And just breathe naturally,
Relaxed.
And just breathe naturally,
Relaxed.
And just breathe naturally,
Relaxed.
And just breathe naturally,
Relaxed.
And just breathe naturally,
Relaxed.
Wasn't that beautiful?
So relaxing.
So peaceful.
I like coming to this place and just being with the peace that is within us.
It is in all of us.
We just need to look inside and we find it.
We didn't need to go anywhere.
We didn't need to do anything extraordinary.
We just needed to turn inward.
So now I'm going to ask you to let the image of the Paranda and the summer rain recede a bit.
I know.
I don't really want to leave here either.
Maybe next time we go inside and sit by the crackling fire on a cool evening.
I can't want you to bring your attention to your surroundings,
To the room you are sitting or lying in.
Once you feel grounded,
Take a few deep breaths.
And when you're ready,
Open your eyes.
Take a moment to thank yourself for taking this time for you.
You are worth it.
May you carry this peaceful feeling with you through the day and act in a loving and compassionate way.
I will live a very healthy life.
