Hello and welcome to this meditation for stress relief.
We all get into stressful situations from time to time,
So it's not about eliminating stress from our lives,
But about how we manage it and react to it.
Go ahead and find a comfortable position for you.
Make sure you won't be disturbed for the duration of this session,
Whether that means putting your phone on airplane mode or going into an empty room.
If you haven't already,
Let your eyes softly close.
Let's begin to focus on our breath right now as we breathe in and out of the nose.
What is the breath like right now?
Feel your belly expand and contract with your breath.
Feel your chest gently rising and falling.
Can you feel the air passing through your nose softly as you breathe?
Notice every single detail about your breath that you can.
Feel it filling all the different areas of your body as you inhale.
Good.
Let's take three big deep breaths now.
Pay attention to how each breath feels.
One,
Breathing in as much as you can until you're brimming with air.
Hold it for just a moment at the top and exhale,
Allowing relaxation to sweep over you.
Two,
Inhale deeply into the belly and the entire body.
Hold it and exhale out,
Feeling even.
Three,
Last big breath in.
Hold it and exhale,
Feeling much more relaxed than when you started.
Breathing with intention is a very powerful tool in changing your state of mind and body.
If you feel you need to relax even more,
You can repeat these three powerful breaths at any time.
Breathing deeply and fully is helpful in any situation,
But especially during difficult times in our lives.
Another powerful relaxation tool is observing and being in nature as it often calms the mind and body.
You can either go to a place where there are tall trees or lots of flowers,
Or take a walk around your neighborhood and pay attention to the plants around you.
If you can't go outdoors though,
You can simply imagine it.
So that's what we're going to do now.
Let's imagine right now we're in a beautiful garden.
Picture a delightfully mild day,
Blue skies dotted by a few fluffy clouds.
There's a soft and natural path through the garden that you begin to walk down.
In this garden there are so many exquisite plants producing the most beautiful flowers you've ever seen.
The trees around you are thriving and tall,
And they sway in the wind with grace and ease.
You look down at the smaller shrubs and plants and all different shades of green that are passing by as you walk along this path.
You can see their leaves of various kinds being caressed by the wind.
Some leaves are waxy and reflect the sunlight,
While others are soft and delicate.
You take a deep breath in of this fresh air and catch a gorgeous aroma.
Look around and spot the most beautiful white flower you've ever seen.
It's huge and smells sweeter than any rose.
You get closer to the flower,
And the fragrance is mesmerizing.
You bend down to smell it even closer.
When you inhale its beauty,
The aroma of this flower heals you in all kinds of ways.
The sweet smell eliminates stress in your mind and body.
Inhale another deep breath in through your nose.
Allow the aroma to heal your body of any illnesses or ailments or pain.
Take in another breath and feel it completely relax you and set you at ease.
Take a moment to feel this sweet,
Restful energy.
Good.
Now continue walking down the path surrounded by nature.
It's so beautiful here and you feel safe and supported.
You can feel the gentle sun rays on your skin warming you on the inside and feeding your body.
Just enjoy being in your own peaceful garden,
Feeling this warmth from the sun.
Now start to walk back along the path in the direction that you came,
Saying goodbye to all the beautiful nature you saw,
Taking a mental note of all the plants,
Trees,
And birds that you see.
You can always come back to this place by simply remembering it.
Allow the thought of nature to help you relieve stress.
Start to gently return to the present moment.
Whenever you're ready,
You can slowly,
Holding on to this peaceful state,
Open your eyes.
