Visualisation is a form of meditation,
And meditation is simply a shift of focus from the outer world to the inner world,
From the chatter in the mind to the deep stillness within the body.
We begin with an introduction to meditation.
Settle yourself into a comfortable sitting position with your back upright and supported.
On an inward breath,
Pull the shoulders up toward the ears.
Hold the breath.
Hold.
Then release,
Letting go of the tension in the muscles.
Allow the shoulders to drop and soften.
This time on the inward breath,
Tighten the muscles in your arms and legs,
Squeezing,
Holding and let go of the tension as you breathe out.
Now from the hips to the neck,
Contract the muscles pulling everything in toward the navel.
Feel the tension in the spine and neck,
As well as the chest and belly as you squeeze and hold.
Then breathe out and release the tension.
Begin to notice your breath,
Feeling the inward breath moving into the body.
As you breathe out,
Feel the body lengthen,
Soften and expand.
Now squeeze all of the muscles in the face,
Jaw and scalp.
Tighten around the mouth,
The eyes and forehead.
Squeeze tight.
As you slowly exhale,
Allow everything to soften and relax.
Take a deep breath now and tighten the entire body from your head to your toes,
Squeezing,
Increasing the tension,
Becoming aware of the entire body as you hold the tension.
Hold and release with a burst of air and a sound.
Once again,
Squeezing the entire body,
Squeezing as tight as you can,
Creating a fist,
Screwing up the face and again releasing with a burst of air and sound.
Take a third time,
Squeezing the entire body,
Holding the muscles,
Increasing the tension.
Hold,
Hold and release.
Take another deep breath,
Hold and release any tension that remains in the body with another loud exhale of breath.
Close your eyes and begin to focus on the breath,
Following the airflow with your awareness deep down into the body and softly releasing with your natural breathing rhythm.
Imagine your breath is able to go deep into the belly.
Take some time to feel the breath moving in,
Deep down into the body,
On the outward breath,
Becoming more relaxed,
Letting go,
Feeling the body soften.
Imagine that you can see the breath as well as feel the breath.
Imagine the breath as a fresh,
Cleansing colour,
Perhaps the blue of a summer sky or the green of a forest.
Imagine you can feel the breath moving down into the belly and you can see a colour as well.
The outward breath continues to be a letting go,
Softening.
Feel the air moving into the body now,
Gathering up any negative feelings or illness or tiredness and cleansing as the feelings and illness leave with the outward breath.
Noticing if there is any tension held in the body,
Taking the breath to the tension and releasing it with the outward breath,
Scanning through your body and noticing if there are any painful spots.
Once again,
Taking the breath to the painful spot,
Imagine that you are breathing out the pain with the outward breath.
This can be done also with illness.
If you are aware of any parts of the body that are unwell,
Take the breath to that part and on the outward breath let in go of the illness.
With every outward breath you feel lighter and more peaceful,
Softer and more relaxed.
Visualise a most beautiful and peaceful place.
It may be a place you are familiar with or an imagined place such as a beach,
A forest or a temple.
Imagine that you are in this place.
Feel the beauty and the peace.
Notice your surroundings and find a spot to settle in this beautiful place.
I'm going to stop talking and allow you to enjoy the beauty of this place,
Soaking up the peace.
I'll leave you now and call for you soon.
May the romaji living in face of your You You You You It is now time to gently bring your awareness back to the room Take a deeper breath and slowly begin to stretch the body Then opening your eyes in your own time You
