Focused Relaxation

The object of focus in this meditation is the pleasant feelings in the body that we can notice when we deliberately relax. This is a great practice for training attention whilst simultaneously cultivating a strong sense of relaxation.
This track contains ambient sounds

Transcript

If we just take a moment then to get comfortable,

Make any adjustments that you want to make to your seat,

To the way you're sitting,

We're going to be doing this for about 12 minutes or so.

Nice.

So ideally your back is straight and you're able to sit relaxed,

But not too relaxed,

Don't fall asleep.

And let's get into it.

If you haven't already,

I invite you to close your eyes if that feels okay.

Just take a moment here to let go of any obvious tension,

Any areas of clenching or holding that you can identify that you can just easily soften,

Let go of.

It's becoming more comfortable.

And it's important just to remind ourselves every now and then to not take this too seriously.

Or I should say,

Take it seriously,

But don't be serious.

Because really enjoying the practice is a really crucial aspect that makes it easier to establish the habit,

Makes us reap more benefits from it.

Just over the long term compounds everything that we're gaining from it.

If we can just enjoy and have fun.

Not worrying about this seat being the perfect seat,

There'll be plenty more.

So just be kind to yourself.

And we can start things off by maybe bringing the hint of a smile to the face,

Behind the eyes,

To the mind.

Whatever speaks to you,

Just a sense of enjoying this moment,

Enjoying this practice,

Enjoying this time that we have together.

And before we dive in,

It's always good to set an intention that sort of trickles down into the subconscious.

And a good intention to set is to do your best to let go of whatever else is happening for the next 10 minutes or so to give yourself full permission and resolve to be here and to do your best with the practice.

And in doing so,

Get as much as possible from these moments together.

It's a good trick because if you do that and take the moment to say that to yourself now,

It's more difficult to trick yourself later into believing that you decided to think about something else.

So just setting the intention to really engage with the practice for the benefit of yourself and the people around you.

We'll start by lengthening the breath,

Deliberately slowing down the breathing.

You might count up to five on the inhale,

Then up to five on the exhale,

Slowing things down.

And notice how already your mind and your body relax as you slow down the breath.

Taking two more breaths like this,

Just enjoying the sensations of the breath on the way in,

Allowing the breath to bring the mind into the present moment.

Don't worry if there's lots of noise,

If your eyes are still flickering behind the eyelids,

Or if there's discomfort in the body,

That's fine,

Just slowing down the breath.

We're not trying to control anything.

Just letting it all be.

Nice.

So now just release the control of the breath and allow it to be natural,

Going in and out in its natural rhythm,

Which can be pretty difficult because you're paying attention to it.

So don't worry if you find yourself controlling the breath.

We're going to do a sweep through the body,

Just settling in.

So keeping that image of a smile behind the eyes if you've lost it.

As we move through the body,

I'd like you to just send a deliberate message of relaxation to that area,

As if you were trying to relax every little micro muscle in that part of the body.

And as we move through,

Do your best to remain still.

See if you can notice if your body is moving or agitated.

See if you can stay still through that.

Just bringing your attention to your face,

Softening the forehead and the eyebrows,

Relaxing all the muscles in the face.

You might notice some subtle clenching in the brow or tension behind the eyes.

Relax the jaw and the tongue,

The ears.

You might imagine the skin on your scalp smooth,

As if gravity was pulling down on it.

Relaxing the inside of your head.

And moving down to the neck and shoulders,

Letting the shoulders drop any tension.

Allowing your arms to rest comfortable,

Heavy on your lap.

Feeling any subtle tension in the fingers and hands.

Feeling the aliveness there.

Might notice some tingling or pulsing in the fingers.

And relax the chest,

Softening the belly,

Allowing the breath to come naturally from the belly as the diaphragm contracts and softens.

And we'll relax the hips and the base of the spine.

And try to relax the tailbone.

Moving down into the thighs,

Letting go of any tension in the calves and the shins.

And finally,

Down into the ankles and feet.

See we're training this ability to direct our attention.

Now we'll zoom out and we'll just take a moment to soften the entire body.

See if you can bring a message of relaxation to the body as a whole.

Reminding yourself to remain mentally clear and alert.

Vibrantly awake in your attention.

Deeply relaxed in the body.

Deliberately relaxing.

As you sit and you continue this message,

I'd like you to notice the subtle,

Pleasant or positive feeling that you get when you deliberately soften and relax.

Just recognize that it feels good to relax the body.

So where do you feel this most strongly?

You might feel it in the chest,

Maybe in the belly,

Maybe in the shoulders,

Maybe it's more diffuse or of a general impression.

But for the next moments,

I'd like you to just give yourself permission to really zero in on that feeling.

Deliberately relaxing the body and actively tuning into that nice feeling of relaxation.

So we're using these sensations as the meditation object.

If you feel like you can't identify anything pleasant or enjoyable from relaxation,

Then that's completely fine.

Don't worry.

Just bring us that hint of a smile back to the face and relax the belly and pay attention to that feeling of the belly rising and falling as you breathe.

But otherwise,

Continue to relax and keep your attention wherever you're feeling pleasantness of relaxation most.

Maybe putting a little bit of energy,

A little bit of effort into keeping it there.

Keeping these two opposing ideas going.

Continuous relaxation and sharp focus.

You might ask yourself,

Could I be more relaxed?

Could I surrender more deeply to this sensation?

Just give yourself permission to feel good.

Like I said,

There might be many unpleasant sensations in the body as well.

Thoughts coming up,

Pains,

Discomfort.

That's fine.

Just let them be there.

We don't want them to go away.

But we're deliberately paying attention to the positive sensations,

Allowing them to come to the forefront of our mind.

You might feel your mind and attention sinking into this warmth.

If you get distracted,

A thought comes up,

You find yourself thinking about something else.

Just notice that thought.

Notice that it came up without you thinking it and just let go.

Feeling,

Smiling,

And returning your attention back to wherever it feels good.

As best you can,

Make the intention to relax continuous.

We can do this on the spot relaxation,

Relax,

And then pay attention.

Let's see if you can minimize the gaps between that intention and allow that relaxation to be a constant letting go.

As if you were free falling,

But with no ground ever to hit.

And then moving our attention to the ways in which that feels good.

The aim of the game here is to hold those two things in mind at the exclusion of all else.

Holding that intention to surrender and the attention on how that feels.

And when our mind gets distracted,

We bring it back.

We don't worry about the fact that we get distracted.

There's not a single mind out there for whom that's not the case.

But we're practicing noticing it more quickly and coming back to the object for longer periods of time.

Notice that you always have access to these pleasant sensations no matter what is happening.

Good.

Good job.

I'd like you to just relax your attention now slightly and zoom out to the entire body again.

We'll just take a moment to familiarize ourselves with how our body feels.

Just keeping this background intention to be relaxed in the body.

Now we'll just look and see how we feel.

Get curious,

Get interested.

What does it feel like to be you?

What is your experience like?

Maybe you can feel the feet on the ground.

But when I say feet and ground,

What is it you're really feeling?

Some sensations of pressure,

Solidity.

Maybe the feeling of being sat upright.

As we begin to bring the meditation to a close,

We'll just take a moment to feel some gratitude for the body and for our relative level of health.

However,

If that works best for you,

You might silently say thank you to the body.

Just generating this sensation of gratitude in the mind.

Maybe bringing that smile back if you've lost it.

And now we'll just become aware of the room around us again.

Noticing the noises,

The sounds.

Beginning to become aware again of the other people practicing with you remotely.

And keeping this background intention to relax going as best you can.

And maybe an image of a smile in your mind and in your body.

Whenever you're ready,

You can open your eyes again.

Reviews

Nice meditation. I would say good for beginners but also more advanced meditators because there was a squeaking chair sound throughout that allowed me to practice staying present, joyful, and relaxed. Thank you, Lars.

Okay nice 😌

Very calming

Nice

Thank you.

Love this for waking up

Very nice! Thank you!🙂

It was helpful because my mind wanders so much

Thank you.