This is a meditation for rest and relaxation.
When you are ready,
Find a comfortable position for your body,
Whatever that might mean to you.
Take a moment to gather any props or supports that will invite more comfort into your space.
Once you feel settled,
Take a full body stretch,
Reaching the arms overhead on your inhale and exhaling to release.
Give yourself one last wiggle,
Really allowing your body to melt into the support beneath you.
Soften your gaze or close your eyes if that feels safe and supportive in your practice today.
Begin to bring your awareness to your breath,
Letting the breath rise and fall with ease.
Notice where you feel the breath most present in the body.
In the chest,
In the nose,
In the belly.
Try breathing in and out through your nose.
This allows the breath to start to slow down,
Settling your nervous system.
As you continue watching your breath,
Begin to invite your exhale to be longer than your inhale.
It may help to concentrate on a count,
Perhaps breathing in for a count of 4 or 6 and breathing out for a count of 6 or 8.
This should be easeful in your being and not create tension in the body.
If at any time your body is inviting you to release the count of the extended exhale,
Take that invitation and come back to a natural rhythm.
Continuing to connect to your breath,
Begin to bring awareness to the crown of your head.
Invite a sense of calm to begin to wash over you as you slowly scan the body,
Relaxed in your forehead and around your eyes,
Holding no tension in the jaw and creating a little space between the teeth.
The neck is heavy and long,
Supported beneath you.
The shoulders melt downward,
Grounding here,
And the arms hold no tightness or tension,
Relaxing your fingers from any grip.
Your heart space is open,
Ready to receive.
The belly rising and falling with your natural breath.
Taking a moment to practice a pranayama,
Inviting a deep breath into the belly,
Expanding the belly outward and filling up the lungs to capacity,
Pause for a moment and release that breath out through the mouth fully.
At the end of the exhale,
Repeat again,
Breathing in deeply from the belly up into the lungs,
Pausing for a moment and exhaling to release.
Three more times,
Moving at your own pace,
Each exhale melting the body deeper and bringing a sense of relaxation and rest to your being.
Allowing the breath to come back to its natural rhythm,
This rhythm that is unique to you in and out as you continue to wash calm over the body.
The hips are heavy,
Holding no tension or tightness,
Relaxing in the legs and loosening your grip,
Settling in the ankles,
The feet and the toes.
From the crown of your head to the tips of your toes,
Feel this sense of calm you are cultivating here to relax and offer yourself space to rest.
Rest is essential and necessary for your growth and well-being.
There is no need to earn this rest,
You are already worthy.
Invite a deep breath in and welcome a long breath out.
One more just like that one.
If your mind begins to wander,
Gently and lovingly draw your attention back to your breath,
This rhythm that is unique to you.
Give yourself permission to pause,
To breathe,
To stay as long as feels true for you,
Finding peace in this stillness.
