You're about to experience a profoundly relaxing and restorative meditation.
Your regular practice will encourage a more relaxed way of being and allow you to experience life with greater ease,
Confidence,
And creativity.
Get ready for this session by lying down on a thick blanket or a mat.
You may want to cover yourself with a light blanket as your body temperature might lower slightly during this practice.
Rest your head on a cushion and adjust that so your neck feels supported.
Lying down for this practice allows you to relax more easily,
But aim to stay awake and follow these instructions in an easy,
Relaxed way.
Begin to stretch and relax the face and jaw by yawning.
And see just how satisfying that can be.
Keep yawning until you feel like it's really hit the spot.
You'll notice your breathing has settled and your face has become more relaxed.
Now adjust your position so that your body feels symmetrical.
Place your feet about hip-width apart,
Your legs in line with the trunk,
And rest your arms by your sides with the palms facing upwards.
Adjust your head so it's in one straight line with your spine.
Now relax and just let yourself settle in this position.
Notice how your body feels balanced,
Centered.
You're going to be tightening and relaxing different muscle groups,
And that's going to stimulate circulation throughout your body.
Take a comfortable breath in.
Hold.
Now make tight fists with both hands.
Now spread the fingers open and stretch them.
And exhale,
Release.
Just let the hands be completely relaxed.
If the hands are truly relaxed,
The fingers will curl naturally.
Feel any subtle tension in the body and just let it go.
Your breathing's easy and comfortable.
Now take an easy breath in.
Hold.
Push your heels away from you so that you're stretching the backs of the legs.
Tighten the thighs.
And let go.
The legs are loose,
Relaxed.
Now breathe in.
Hold the breath.
Tighten the bottom.
Make the belly tight.
Tense the muscles of the face.
More.
And release and let go.
Now take a comfortable breath in.
Hold.
Squeeze the hands into fists.
Stretch the backs of the legs.
Tighten the thighs,
The bottom,
The belly.
Now the whole body tight.
And let go.
Comfortable breath in.
Hold.
Now tighten the whole body as before.
Look for any areas you haven't tightened and tighten more.
And release.
Make any adjustments that you need to.
And then just allow yourself to rest here effortlessly.
Notice any subtle holding and just soften.
Let the belly be soft and relaxed all the way through.
Any tension in the bottom,
Let it go.
Soften the muscles of the face.
And let the skin on the face be smooth.
Relax the jaw.
Let the eyes be soft in the sockets.
Whole body soft,
Loose,
Relaxed.
Surrender your weight to gravity.
Drop your body like a dead weight.
Feel how the earth supports you.
Feel where your body contacts the floor beneath you.
Begin at the feet and the contact of the heels resting on the ground.
Then notice the pressure of the calf muscles against the ground.
Backs of thighs,
The bottom,
The entire back.
Backs of the arms and hands.
Back of the neck.
Back of the head.
Notice all those areas where your body meets the earth.
Feel the impression your body makes upon the ground.
And envision the imprint that it makes.
Notice how your body has become settled and still.
Continue to explore sensation.
Feel the touch of the clothing on your skin.
Notice how you can feel the light pressure of your clothing,
Even the texture of the cloth.
Now observe the sensation of the air upon your skin.
The temperature of the air.
Explore sensation along the surface of your body.
Now sense the breath in the nostrils.
Notice the movement of the abdomen while breathing.
During inhalation your belly gradually rises and while exhaling the belly sinks slowly.
Now we're going to move our awareness through the body,
Focusing briefly on each part.
As we do,
Try to develop awareness of that particular area and then we'll go on to the next.
Your awareness will draw circulation into each area,
Gradually revitalizing the whole system.
Let's start with the hands.
Try to envision the hands.
Focus on sensation in the hands and also experience your natural breathing.
Focusing on the palms of the hands,
Become aware of the inhalation.
Focusing on the palms of the hands,
Become aware of the exhalation.
Sometimes you can already feel how your awareness draws circulation and life force into the hands.
You may be aware of heightened sensation.
Now we're going to cycle the awareness through the right side of the body,
Beginning with the right hand.
Bring your focus to the right hand thumb.
Picture it in your mind and explore sensation in the thumb.
Now move to the index finger.
Now the middle finger,
Ring finger,
And the little finger.
Palm of the right hand.
Back of the hand.
The right wrist.
Forearm.
Elbow.
The upper arm.
Shoulder.
The armpit.
Become aware of the right side of the trunk,
The right waist,
The hip,
Right buttock,
Hamstring,
Right thigh,
Knee,
The shin,
Calf,
The heel,
The ankle,
Sole of the foot,
Right big toe,
The second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
And the little toe.
Now go to the left side of the body.
Begin with the left hand thumb.
Now move to the index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
And the little finger.
Palm of the left hand.
Back of the hand.
The left wrist.
Forearm.
The elbow.
The upper arm.
Shoulder.
Armpit.
The left side of the trunk.
The right side of the foot.
Left hip.
Left buttock.
Hamstring.
Thigh.
Knee.
Shin.
Calf.
Heel.
Ankle.
Sole of the left foot.
Left big toe.
Second toe.
Big toe.
Fourth toe.
And the little toe.
Become aware of the soles of both feet.
Find the breath in the soles of both feet.
And now bring your awareness to the pelvic floor,
The base of the pelvis.
And again,
Find the breath,
This time in the pelvic floor.
Bring the awareness to the pubic bone.
The whole front of the pelvis.
The navel.
And the whole abdomen.
Whole front of the rib cage.
The center of the chest.
Center of the collar bones.
Front of the neck.
And the chin.
Both cheeks.
Both ears.
Lower lip.
Upper lip.
The tongue.
Both nostrils.
Both eyes.
Center of the eyebrows.
Whole forehead.
Crown of the head.
Back of the head.
Back of the neck.
And now the back.
The back of the rib cage.
The spine behind the rib cage.
The lower back.
And spine in the lower back.
Tailbone.
And the whole spinal column.
Now become aware of the entire body at once.
The whole spine and the whole trunk.
The shoulders,
Arms,
And hands.
Pelvis,
Legs,
And feet.
The trunk,
Neck,
And head.
Now the whole body at once.
The entire body.
Now become aware of your skin.
Notice how it surrounds and contains the rest of the body.
Imagine as if the skin were like a shell.
As if your body were hollow.
And contained only empty space like a balloon.
Imagine that you can breathe through the pores of the skin.
Draw in the breath so that it permeates the inner space of the body.
Breathing in and out through the pores of the skin.
The entire body seems to expand on the inhalation and settle on the exhalation.
Notice a quality of lightness,
A spaciousness.
You might also notice circulation.
It might feel like a slight tingling,
A current,
Or even heat.
This is the subtle energy and the very life force of your body.
Now the eyes remain gently closed,
But look forward into that space in front of the closed eyes.
At times you might notice color or light.
Your awareness is subtle enough to experience energy as light.
Feel the inner space of the body tuning into circulation.
Let the experience of energy dance through you.
Experience it in all regions of your body.
As you witness each breath,
Experience the waves of energy radiating to every cell.
This is healing energy.
Let it saturate and nourish your body.
Notice you're relaxed,
Settled,
You're aware of the breath and the subtle experience of energy.
There's a sense of peace,
Contentment.
Allow yourself to be entirely immersed in the joy of your own being.
Absorbed in the experience of breath,
Energy,
And presence.
Notice your body in contact with the ground beneath you.
And notice your breathing.
After some time you'll be returning from this practice,
Ready to meet every situation with your natural clarity and radiance.
Begin to breathe more actively,
More deeply,
And you'll start to feel more awake.
When you feel ready to return to your surroundings,
Gradually break the stillness of your body,
Moving fingers and toes,
Wrists and ankles.
And when you're ready,
Start to move and stretch.
Roll gently onto your right side and rest there comfortably.
And notice how peaceful you feel.
When you're relaxed,
You're closest to your true self.
And you might just find yourself smiling from the inside out.
