We are now going to do the meditation called global relaxation.
Just take a little bit of time to allow the body to settle.
Coming into a comfortable seated position and adjusting your posture if necessary.
Notice the breath flowing in and out of the body.
Try as best you can to just connect to the physical sensation,
The form of your body sitting.
Bring your attention now to your jaw and allow it to just release down a little bit.
Noticing the relaxation that accompanies that.
And trying as best as you can to allow that relaxation to spread across the rest of the face.
Spreading from that initial point of release of tension and relaxation in the jaw.
It's helpful to allow the relaxation to continue in waves that correspond to the exhale breath.
So as you breathe out allow the relaxation to spread now across the face.
And on every subsequent exhalation to allow it to spread over the head through the scalp.
Down the back of the head releasing tension in the neck and throat on every subsequent exhalation.
Bringing your attention now to the upper chest.
Feel the rise and fall of the breath.
And as you breathe out allow for a little bit more relaxation to come into the front of the body.
As the chest relaxes and softens on the exhale.
Encourage that feeling of relaxation to spread down the front of the torso relaxing into the diaphragm and the abdomen.
Bring your attention back up to the shoulders.
And as you exhale once again feel that rise and fall and with the falling of the shoulders that corresponds to the breath.
Just allow more relaxation to travel through the shoulders,
Down through the arms,
Through the elbows.
Relaxing all the way into the palms of the hands,
Fingertips.
And then once again bring your attention up to the top body now.
Starting in the upper back,
Notice the rise on the inhale and the gentle falling on the exhale and allow that to encourage a relaxation through the back body.
Releasing tension in the muscles and skin of the back.
Encourage that relaxation to travel now down into the hips and the groin area.
Feeling the contact with your seat.
And moving your attention into the legs.
Feeling how they also are relaxed being in the seated position.
Just being aware of that release of tension that comes from them not having to support the body weight.
And you can now gently repeat that process of relaxing all the way from the top of the head down to the tips of the toes.
Moving slowly but thoroughly.
Just allowing the breath to be your guide.
Emphasizing the natural relaxation that takes place on the exhale.
The best of your ability try to feel the whole body relaxed at once.
The head,
The torso,
The arms and the legs.
And now moving a little bit deeper into the practice.
Try to the best of your ability to observe the subtle pleasantness.
That subtle pleasant sensation that accompanies relaxation in the physical body.
So take your mind to a part of the body that's relaxed.
And just see if you can notice that subtle pleasant sensation that accompanies relaxation.
Other feelings or thoughts may arise that may want to attract your attention.
They may be more pronounced or a little bit stronger than that subtle pleasant sensation that correlates to relaxation in the physical body.
Try your best to,
Once acknowledging those distractions,
Gently bring your awareness back to the relaxation in the body and the correlating subtle pleasant sensation.
If the mind wanders off,
Gently bring it back to focus on the subtle pleasant sensation.
If a part of your body becomes painful,
Try and see if you can sit with it for a moment and then redirect your attention once more back to the relaxation sensation and the underlying pleasant sensation that corresponds to it.
Thank you.
