Relax With A Body Scan, Breath Work And Visualization

Allow Lisa to take you through a body scan to relax your mind, and contribute to eliciting a comfortable and contented state of being. She will then take you on a journey of breath work to connect you in the moment and focus on bodily sensations. A visualization is also used to help you with unwanted reccurring thoughts. This practice enables you to experience deep relaxation, a connection to the breath and the earth, and a deep sense of calm as your thoughts gently come and go.

Transcript

Bell rings Bell rings Bell rings Sitting comfortably in a chair with your feet on the floor.

You can also lie down if that's better for you.

If you're seated,

Just let your feet rest into the floor.

Allow your spine to be long but not strained.

Let's begin with finding our breath in our body right now.

Feel our natural breath moving in and moving out.

You might want to notice where do you feel your breath most predominantly in this moment.

You might feel it moving in and out through the nostrils.

You might feel a gentle rise and fall at the chest.

You may feel it deep in the belly as the belly expands and recedes with every breath.

And just notice where it is for you.

Finding the breath,

Feeling it moving in and moving out.

And see if you can stay with that breath.

Just like a gentle wave moving in and out,

Can you ride the wave of the breath as it enters the body and leaves the body.

And throughout this practice,

Whenever thoughts come in,

Which is perfectly normal,

We can observe the thoughts and gently return to the breath as our anchor,

Following it again,

Moving in and moving out.

Begin to notice the body bringing your awareness to the forehead,

The eyebrows and the eyes.

Allow a softening in there,

A release,

Let every muscle relax.

And even noticing sensations in that area,

Noticing sensations without any judgment.

Moving down into the cheekbones,

Allow the cheekbones to grow heavy.

Feel the jaw on both sides release so the teeth are no longer touching.

Feel the softness inside the mouth,

Let the tongue grow heavy and fill the lower palate.

Let the whole face,

All the muscles soften and notice again any sensations that may arise,

Tightness,

Heaviness or lightness,

Whatever shows up,

Allow it to be here.

Taking our awareness to the back of the head and the back of the neck,

Allowing that whole area to soften,

Release.

And again,

Notice the sensations,

Is there tightening or gripping,

Is there heat or coolness,

Observing and exploring the sensations that are here.

Letting the back of the head and neck area melt,

Release if possible.

Right down into the tips of the shoulders,

So the tips of the shoulders can move away from the ears comfortably,

Letting go.

Feeling that same release from the top of the arms into the elbows,

Forearms and wrists,

And right through the palms and the fingertips.

And again,

Releasing,

Relaxing and noticing sensation.

Feel the area across the chest,

Center of the chest,

I like to call the heart center,

Can we allow for some opening there and releasing.

Letting go of gripping,

Softening and again observing sensations.

Observing without judgment,

Being curious with what's showing up in our body today.

Let the belly release,

Feel the sit bones resting on the chair,

Feel the hip bones and the hip socket and the pelvic area.

Observing sensations and noticing,

Again there might be pressure,

There might be tingling,

There might be coolness or warmth.

Whatever we observe can be part of this moment.

And as we relax down into the thighs and the knees,

Feeling the heaviness in there,

Letting the knees fall away,

Letting the shins and calves melt down all the way into the ankles.

And again,

Feeling that connection of the feet into the floor,

Feeling the toes release and the top of the foot.

So we give way to the weight of the body and we become aware of the sensations from the hips all the way down through the feet.

Observing,

Being curious,

No judgment.

And then allowing the breath to move in again and noticing that breath,

Allow it to move through the whole body and notice any tension.

And if there is any possibility of allowing the breath to soften,

Bring the breath into those areas that might need a little more attention that we tend to hold tightly.

Feeling the breath move through all the cells in the body.

Feeling the breath or even visualizing the breath moving through all the bones in the body.

Feeling our breath,

Fill us,

Refill us,

Feeling our breath release and relax us.

Connecting deeply inside with the breath,

Even visualizing it or feeling it move right down the spine,

All the way to our core,

Breathing in and out at our core,

Settling in deeper and deeper.

Getting a sense of the inside of your body.

Letting the breath take you inside the body.

As the breath moves in and the breath moves out,

Can we feel it deep inside?

And as thoughts may come in,

Which is perfectly normal,

Notice the thoughts,

Observe the thoughts as if they're on the surface of an ocean.

And that we can be deep in the ocean where it's calm and still.

As thoughts come in,

Can we observe them as the choppy waters on the surface?

Noticing them,

Observing them,

But still feeling that sense of calm deep in the ocean.

Feeling that sense of connection deep inside with the breath and the body gently being held and supported in the ocean and in the earth.

Whatever comes up in the mind,

Whatever emotions,

Can we observe them as floating at the top of the water?

Knowing as we breathe in and out,

We can return to the depths of the ocean,

Stay settled and grounded,

And observe the thoughts as the choppy waters above.

And if we get pulled into a thought,

Know that that's okay too.

When we're ready to release the thought,

We can come back to our breath,

Come back deep inside our body,

And return to that place in the ocean where it's calm and still.

And again,

Watching thoughts come in,

Watching them go out like the waves on the surface.

Some will be more turbulent and choppy,

Others will be quieter and smoother and maybe move in and out more quickly.

We don't have to push anything away,

Any thoughts or feelings.

We can observe them,

Be curious about them,

But still stay deep.

Stay deeply connected to our body,

To our breath.

Stay calm and clear in the depths of the ocean as we observed the different patterns of thought moving on the surface.

We can practice observing without being swept away.

We can practice naming thoughts as we observe them,

Such as planning,

Worrying,

Or just thinking.

As the thoughts move with the waves on the surface of the water,

And we keep coming back to the stillness of the depths of the water,

Where the water is calm,

Finding our breath,

Being supported by the earth and the ocean.

And returning to the breath as needed if we've moved on with a thought or a worry or a situation.

Pause and notice that we've moved on,

And use that pause as an opportunity to be mindful.

Softening around the thought,

Naming the thought,

And returning when ready to the depths of the water,

Where it's calm,

Where it's tranquil,

Where we can rest deep inside the ocean,

Deep inside our bodies.

Coming back to where we can be aware of thoughts,

Observing thoughts without getting lost in them.

Continuing to practice that as those thoughts move along the surface of the water,

And knowing we can always return,

We can always start again as needed.

Continuing to practice this for the next few moments in silence.

Pause and notice that we've moved on,

And we can always return,

We can always rest deep inside the ocean,

Coming back now to noticing where you're at and finding the calm depths of the ocean.

Knowing that we're in a safe place.

We can explore what's showing up.

We can explore the rising waters of our mind.

Coming back to this place deep inside the water,

The oceans,

Coming back deep inside our own bodies,

Finding our breath,

Being in that place of allowing,

Being in that place of compassion for whatever shows up.

And practicing observing,

Observing from this place of calm,

Deep in the ocean,

From this place that's safe,

This place of being held.

And as we explore all the different storms and patterns of the waves that occur,

We know we can find compassion in those.

We can find sometimes insight and better understanding as we observe from a place of calm and we observe from a place deep inside of us,

A place that we feel held and safe,

Finding compassion and loving kindness for whatever shows up.

And taking a deep breath in and a deep breath out,

Start to come back into the physical body.

Begin to notice how it feels again to be seated.

Take a moment.

Thank yourself for practicing this meditation.

I thank you for joining me in this meditation.

Reviews

Calming and smooth!

Lovely bookmarked thank you

A wonderful visualization meditation with excellent instructions! Thank you!

Very relaxing and perfect timing, inviting, but strong voice

Very nice and relaxing combination of techniques