Calm Beach Visualisation

This week’s exercise is a guided visualization to the beach. Europe is going through its first heatwave of the summer and I, for one, would like to get out of the city. So this is my way of getting you to go on a little holiday. We'll begin by relaxing the body and the mind, and then we'll take a leisurely walk to a quiet beach. Enjoy!

Transcript

Hi,

Hello and welcome.

My name is Julie and I'll be taking you through a relaxation exercise in just a moment.

This week's exercise is a guided visualization.

While I'm recording this it's a blistering 30 degrees Celsius in Belgium and I for one am longing for some refreshment or at least to get out of the city.

So I have for you today a little trip to the beach.

We'll begin by relaxing our bodies and then I'll take you through a guided visualization of a calm sunny day on the beach.

The exercise will take around 20 minutes and you can practice it both lying or sitting down.

Take some time to get into a comfortable position.

This is your time,

A time for total relaxation and inner stillness.

Take a moment to make sure that you're comfortable.

Rest your hands loosely in your lap whether you're lying or sitting down and close your eyes.

Okay,

To begin take a long slow deep breath in,

Hold it for a moment and then slowly exhale.

Inhale,

Hold and exhale.

Let yourself relax and sink a little deeper into the surface that you're resting on with every breath.

Take another deep breath in,

Take your time,

Hold it for a moment and then let it go.

You can already feel yourself drifting into a state of deep relaxation.

Continue to breathe slowly and gently as you bring your awareness to the top of your head.

Just sense or imagine if you have to a feeling of relaxation beginning to spread down from the top of your scalp.

Feel the muscles in your forehead and your temples relax.

Allow your eye muscles to release.

Let your cheeks and your jaw soften.

Make some space between your teeth and let go of all tension.

Now let this peaceful feeling trickle down into your neck and feel it loosening every muscle.

With each breath you take this relaxing feeling becomes deeper and warmer.

It works its way deep into the muscles in your shoulders,

Soothing them,

Releasing them.

This peaceful feeling goes down from your shoulders and into your forehead.

It loosens the muscles in your upper arms,

Your forearms,

Your hands,

Relaxing and soothing.

All the way to the tips of your fingers.

And as your body relaxes your mind relaxes and your thoughts seem to become lighter.

You're slipping further and further into a state of stillness and relaxation.

Now bring your awareness to your chest and your stomach.

Feel how this area of your body gently rises and falls as you breathe.

The peaceful movement flows throughout this area of your body soothing every muscle and relaxing every organ.

Now turn your attention to your upper back and feel this relaxing sensation flow all the way down your spine.

As it gradually works its way down your body feel every muscle in your back relax and unwind.

Feel that your entire upper body has become loose,

Limp and weak.

Now feel your hips relax as the peaceful feeling starts to work its way through your lower body.

Relax your buttocks,

The backs of your thighs,

The front of your thighs.

Feel all these large strong muscles becoming looser and more relaxed with each passing breath.

Feeling feelings of relaxation flow down through your knees and into your calves.

Your ankles relax and now your feet relax.

Allow your entire lower body to relax completely and allow any remaining tension from anywhere in your body to flow out through the tips of your toes.

You're comfortable,

Peaceful and relaxed.

Now it's time to leave the external world behind and embark on a visualization,

A journey to a place of calm.

In your mind's eye imagine standing at the beginning of a path,

A path that leads to a beautiful beach.

Imagine walking down this path.

Walk calmly,

Slowly,

Slowly and with curiosity.

As you inch closer to the beach,

Begin to hear the sounds of the beach.

As you arrive there,

Lose all of your senses and notice the colors,

The sounds,

The smells and the vibe of this place.

It's possible that you're all alone at this beach or there could be strangers,

Friends or even animals who have joined you.

It is comfortable and warm and safe in this place.

You can see the sun shine.

You can smell the salty air of the sea and hear the waves of the ocean.

You can feel the warmth of the sand against your toes.

Take a moment to imagine the details of this place,

Its looks,

Its sounds,

Its smells.

Find a spot on the beach where you can rest a while,

Perhaps sitting or lying down.

Feel the support that is there for you today at this beach.

Nothing can disturb you.

This beach is a peaceful place.

As you relax even more,

Begin to feel the warmth and comfort of the sun touching the skin of the body.

It's just the right amount of warmth and there may be a cool breeze on parts of your body.

Feel the warmth of the sun and the sand making contact with the rest of your body.

The sunshine begins to fill your body with a very pleasant warmth.

You can begin to feel this warmth spreading from the center of your body.

It's a pleasant sensation spreading out from the core of your body almost like rays of the sun.

The warmth spreads through your belly,

Throughout the chest and into the lower,

Middle and upper back.

The sunshine warms you all the way up the length of the spine,

Up into the neck and hand and down the length of the spine to the tailbone.

Allow this warmth to spread down the legs now,

All the way down the legs.

Enjoy the feeling of sunshine on your feet.

You might even notice that your arms and hands are getting warmed by the sunlight.

Your hands are getting warmer and warmer.

Feel the heat from the sun warming the palms of your hands.

Feeling the heat from the sun.

Take a moment to enjoy this state of relaxation that you've created for yourself.

Feeling your whole body warm,

At ease.

Feeling very,

Very relaxed.

And in a moment,

We will begin to travel back.

We'll slowly,

In our own time,

Get up and back away from this beautiful,

Comfortable beach.

You can imagine yourself leaving that beach and beginning to walk to the path and leaving it.

Knowing that you can return to this place whenever you like.

That it's always there for you to come back to.

You may begin to feel yourself traveling back to a state of wakefulness.

Now together we'll count slowly from 1 to 5.

And as you travel back to a state of wakefulness,

Keep with you any aspect of this relaxation that was useful for you today.

1.

Beginning to travel back up,

Up to a state of wakefulness.

2.

Becoming more alert and aware,

Wiggling the fingers and the toes.

3.

Becoming more aware and feeling more calm and centered.

Coming back even more fully.

4.

Traveling back completely.

If you like,

You can stretch a bit.

And 5.

You can come back completely and open your eyes,

Feeling refreshed and alert.

That was it for episode 10.

From next week onwards,

The scheduling of this podcast will change up a bit.

Regular episodes will be published for free on your favorite podcasting app or on Insight Timer every other week.

With bonus episodes released on Patreon on the weeks in between for small contribution.

Thank you very much and hopefully until next time.

Reviews

A great meditation I will come back again I went to sleep thankyou

What a beautiful voice and calm disposition- wonderfully relaxing

I’d love to hear a longer version with some soft music

Loved this!

Brilliant

Really beautiful, so relaxing and your voice is so soothing, thank you so much ☺️

Vibrant, visual and relaxing. Thank you for this.

I don’t think I even made it to the beach, but then I did wake up a while later, dreaming very much of a wild, pristine beach! Wonderful! Thank you.✨🙏