Sit comfortably in a chair or lie down on your bed or yoga mat.
Whatever your position,
Let your body start to relax.
Feel yourself supported by the chair,
The mattress,
Or the floor.
If you notice any discomfort at all in this position,
Then shift your body until you find a position that feels good for you.
Close your eyes.
Rest your face.
Soften your mouth.
Bring your attention to your breath.
Inhale through your nose.
Exhale through your mouth.
Inhaling deeply.
Inhaling completely.
Inhaling.
Exhaling.
Continue breathing slowly like this,
Fully emptying your lungs on each exhale.
There is nowhere else you need to be right now.
You are right where you belong.
Relaxing.
Enjoying this time for yourself.
You deserve this time.
You deserve to take care of you.
Continuing to breathe deeply.
Bring your attention to your body.
Notice any physical sensations without trying to change anything.
Whatever you are feeling right now is okay.
If you feel uncomfortable sensations,
They are okay too.
Just notice how you are feeling.
Acknowledge how you are feeling.
Accept how you are feeling.
Don't try to change how you feel.
Inhaling.
Exhaling.
Scan your body and become aware of any physical sensations that are uncomfortable.
Pick an area with uncomfortable sensations and bring all of your attention to that area.
What does the sensation really feel like?
How big is the sensation?
How intense is the sensation?
What temperature is the sensation?
Let the physical sensation exist without attaching a story to it.
It's just a physical sensation.
Muscles,
Tendons,
Tightness,
Tension,
Heat,
Numbness,
Cold.
All physical.
All approachable.
Picture the sensation as a color in your body.
Notice the intensity of the color.
As you take your next breath,
Imagine the color growing more intense,
Brighter,
And more saturated with each breath.
Inhale deeply.
Exhale completely.
Inhaling.
Exhaling.
It's okay to feel sensation.
It's normal.
Our physical sensations need to be felt.
They need to be acknowledged.
They need to be accepted for what they are.
We have an obligation to get to know them.
By feeling them,
We give them permission to exist and thus permission to pass.
Inhale deeply.
Exhale completely.
Listen to the sensation and see if you notice that it's beginning to soften.
Imagine the muscles around the sensation are letting go of their hold.
Maybe becoming loose.
Becoming relaxed.
Growing heavier with each breath.
Letting go of tension.
Inhale deeply.
Exhale completely.
Bring your attention now to a part of your body that feels the most relaxed.
What does the relaxed part feel like?
How big is the relaxed area?
What temperature is the relaxed area?
Let the relaxed area exist without attaching a story to it.
It's just relaxation.
As you take your next breath,
Imagine the relaxed area growing larger,
Spreading its warmth and comfort to other parts of your body.
Imagine the muscles nearby letting go.
Becoming loose.
Becoming relaxed.
Becoming heavier with each breath.
Inhale deeply.
Exhale completely.
Imagine that the air you are breathing is pure relaxation.
Feel yourself getting stoned on oxygen with each breath.
Feel the relaxation spread through your body as you take it in through your nose and into your lungs.
Feel the relaxation entering your bloodstream and spreading through all parts of your body.
Feeling heavy.
So relaxed.
Breathing in relaxation.
Warming the body with relaxation.
Letting go of all tension.
Feeling to feel calm,
Relaxed.
Letting go of tension.
Breathe in deeply.
Relax.
Exhale completely.
Relax.
Breathing more and more deeply with each breath.
And if you notice that your mind has wandered to a thought,
That's okay.
Simply notice.
Let it go.
Return to the sensation of relaxation.
Continue to breathe deeply,
Enjoying the feeling of relaxation.
Know that you can breathe like this anytime,
Drawing in relaxation and breathing out the tension that accumulates through the day.
Every day your breathing can relax you,
Making you strong and resilient.
Hold the cope with the stresses that come your way.
Now keeping the eyes closed,
We relax our focus.
Allowing the mind just to be.
Bring any sensations in the body to settle down.
And in your own time,
Whenever you are comfortable,
You can slowly open the eyes.
How did you do?
Don't worry if your mind wandered or you had difficulty relaxing into the instructions.
This is natural.
It's normal.
If you practice this meditation for five minutes every day,
Or seven,
14,
Or even 21 days,
You'll begin to really feel the benefits and be able to call upon relaxation with a simple focused inhalation and exhalation.
