Legs On The Lounge

This guided mindfulness meditation is to invite the practictioner to elevate the legs on the lounge to support the heart to slow down and invite fresh blood into the internal organs. This guided body scan is designed to allow the practictioner to open to the language of sensation in the physcical body. A short practice to rest, restore, and renew, particularly if feeling very stressed and tired, a wonderful afternoon meditation.

Thank you for your ongoing practice.

Love and blessings,
Lisa

Transcript

Hello,

Welcoming to this practice now together,

Legs on the lounge.

So finding a place where you can elevate both of your legs.

So it can be ideal to be lying on the floor if you have a rug or if you can place a large pillow or cushion underneath your sacrum and elevate both legs onto a lounge so that it's comfortable for you.

You might be able to have a blanket ready to place over the legs or place socks on the feet because the feet can sometimes cool down.

And as you lie down you might have another pillow for the head or under the elbows,

Perhaps a blanket over the belly or the chest.

Or you might have an eye pillow for the eyes or even wrapping a blanket around the head.

Sometimes when we're stressed if we cover the ears and the eyes it can help invite ease into the physical body.

So making sure you don't have any pressure behind the eyes when you're in this position.

If you do it's important to come out of the position and perhaps lie flat just with a pillow under the knees.

So making yourself comfortable when we place ourselves in this position it gives the heart a rest.

The blood travels down from the legs replenishing the internal organs,

Slows down the heart rate and the diaphragm is in a neutral position so that we can breathe comfortably full diaphragmatic breathing and all the internal organs are gently massaged with the breath.

So once you're comfortable and in your position make any final adjustments and we're going to sense and scan the body.

And we'll begin by noticing the breath,

Taking your awareness to the belly,

The rise and fall.

If it's a comfort for you you might like to place your hands on the belly.

Or you might prefer one hand on the belly,

One hand on the heart.

Or you might interlock your fingers and place them over the belly or the heart space.

Whatever feels comfortable for you.

And noticing as you breathe in,

Belly and chest expand.

And as you breathe out condensing,

Releasing.

See if you can now unhinge your jaw and relax the face and check that the neck is comfortable.

So moving your attention from the body breathing all the way down to both legs.

You might have a sense of weight through both heels,

Paying attention to both feet at the same time.

Feeling pressure or touch through the heels,

To the soles of the feet,

The arches,

The balls.

And noticing now the toes,

The big toes to the little toes and all the toes in between.

You might feel the touch of the blanket here through the tops of the feet,

The skin.

And deep inside the tiny bones,

Leading to the ankle joints.

Really appreciating the joints in the body.

And as you breathe in being aware of the ankles and the feet.

And as you breathe out,

Letting the ankles and the feet be heavy and still.

Bringing your attention now to the lower legs,

Calf muscles spreading.

Touch or pressure,

Maybe the blanket on the shin bones.

You might feel cool or warm,

Being curious and attentive.

As you move the attention now from the lower legs to both knees.

Notice how the knees are bent,

Kneecaps at the front and the soft part at the back.

Moving your attention from the knees down the thigh bones.

Until you come down to the hips,

Being aware of the muscles around the thigh bones,

Hamstrings,

Quadriceps.

And a sense of gravity dropping down into the buttock area,

Resting on the pillow.

And as you breathe in,

Filling the legs with awareness.

Buttocks,

Thighs,

Knees,

Lower legs.

Breathing in and breathing out,

Allowing the legs to be heavy and still.

Bringing your attention now to the tailbone,

The base of the spine.

Noticing any sensations between the hips,

The pelvic floor,

Pelvic bowl,

Organs of elimination and digestion.

You can sometimes have sound coming from this part of the body.

Being aware of the belly,

The rise and fall behind the navel.

Any feelings in the gut,

Ears,

Tension,

Openness,

Whatever's here.

Sensing and feeling.

And if the mind wanders,

Not a problem,

Might be a thought or a sound.

We can note thinking or hearing and gently guide your awareness back to the language of sensation inside your body.

Feeling into the lower back now,

The sacral area,

The kidneys.

A slight arch through the lower back if you're resting on a pillow.

The length of the spine.

Points of contact.

Spread of the shoulder blades.

All the muscles that support the back,

The rib cage.

Feeling where the back of the torso meets the floor or the rug.

Feeling into the shoulder girdle.

As you breathe in and out,

Maybe a sense of the breath through the armpits.

The outside waist,

The lateral movement of the lungs.

And to the front of the torso,

Really appreciating the internal organs.

They support us day and night.

Maybe there's pulsing or movement here.

Flow,

Touch.

All the internal organs being gently massaged by the diaphragm.

One breath at a time.

Above the diaphragm is your good heart,

Pulsing away at center chest.

Feeling your heartbeat.

Blood circulating around the body.

You may have a sense that you can feel deeply in your good heart.

That the heart is being breathed by the lungs.

Two systems of the body working beautifully together,

Keeping us well.

And as you breathe,

Expansion through the chest,

Rib cage,

Sternum,

Shoulder blades.

And as you breathe out,

Releasing,

Letting go.

And just notice the whole torso is breathing.

Expanding with the in-breath.

Gently condensing with the out-breath.

And as you breathe out,

Letting go through the torso,

The spine,

The internal organs.

Bringing your attention now to both shoulders from the inside.

Sweeping your awareness down the arms until you reach the hands.

The palms of both hands.

Maybe touch,

Warmth,

Tingling.

Whatever you're aware of.

Noticing thumbs and fingers,

Knuckles and joints.

Skin at the back of the hands.

And the poles at the wrists.

Appreciating the hands.

Being aware of the forearms,

Skin and the bones.

Gently resting in the elbow sockets.

This hinge joint,

Front and back.

From the elbows to the upper arms.

The arm bones resting.

All the muscles here,

The triceps,

The biceps.

Maybe the touch of clothing.

Or where the arms meet the floor.

And as you breathe in,

Awareness through both arms,

Shoulders,

Hands,

Fingers.

And as you breathe out,

Letting go.

Allowing this part of the body to be steady,

Still,

Quiet.

Bringing your attention now to the throat and the neck.

Place where we breathe,

Communicate,

Swallow.

Take in our food and drink.

You might notice the passage of air moving between head and torso.

The top of the spine resting in the base of the skull.

You might be able to unhinge your jaw.

Letting go of any tension through the tongue.

Feeling into the jaw bones,

Top and bottom.

Chin,

The touch of the lips.

Taste or moisture in the mouth.

The whole of the mouth,

Including the roof of the mouth,

The base of the mouth,

The teeth,

The gums.

And both cheeks inside and out.

Touch of the air.

Both ears noticing any sounds coming and going.

Hearing without judging.

Back of the head,

Heavy,

Resting on the pillow.

Scalp,

The hair,

Hair follicles.

Crown of the head.

Flared temples.

The space behind the eyebrows,

Deep into the skull and the brain.

Eyes are closed,

Eyelids heavy.

You might have a sense of the eye pillow covering the eyes or a blanket wrapped around the head.

Sensing and feeling.

Behind the eyes,

Maybe noticing a dropping back and down.

Feeling into the cheekbones,

The sinuses,

The bridge of the nose.

Observing touch of the air here.

And noticing now the whole face,

Throat,

Neck and head as you breathe in and out.

And then having a sense that your body is connected and whole.

From the head down to the throat and the neck.

Shoulder girdle,

The arms and hands.

The torso down to the pelvic bowl.

And the pelvic bowl down the legs to the tips of the toes.

Sensing and feeling your whole body resting and breathing.

Notice if your breathing has slowed down and your heart rate.

And any effects of the practice,

Having the legs elevated.

Seeing now if you can drop back into the stillness and the silence.

And perhaps this quiet place deep inside.

Might be a space deep inside the brain,

The skull.

The cave of the heart or the space behind the navel.

Or you might have a sense that that quiet space is the whole body resting and breathing.

Really observing,

Noticing.

Nowhere to go,

Nothing to do except be here now.

And take in the benefits of the practice.

So I encourage you to stay here for as long as you need to.

Listening to the wisdom of your body.

And know when it's time for you to move.

So resting deeply now and when you feel that your body has finished with this practice.

You just gently take the legs off the lounge and roll off to your right side.

And pause there,

Feeling the blood travelling to the feet.

And then only coming up to a comfortable position when you're ready.

Otherwise staying,

Resting,

Breathing.

Taking in the benefits of this gentle inversion where we turn the body upside down.

Replenishing the internal organs.

And when we do these restorative postures,

It brings more energy into the body.

So thank you for your practice.

Feel free to try this any time of the day when you know your energy has dipped.

It's a lovely way of self care and to bring us gently back into balance and ease.

Just resting for a few more moments in the stillness and the silence.

Until you hear the sound of the bell.

Coming back to the breath once again.

And know that you can stay here as long as you need to.

And if you feel ready,

Hearing the sound of the bell.

Thanking yourself for practicing and doing the lying down body scan meditation with the legs elevated on the lounge.

Reviews

Thank you for the meditation. 🌸🌺

What suggestions do you have for restless legs in the evening?

An amazing meditation which always helps me to emerge blissfully relaxed.

Thank you Lisa. I regularly do this restorative pose in silence, but this is a really wonderful way of formalising my practice and take it that bit deeper. Incredibly helpful for my brain fog and fatigue. X

Lovely thank you 🙏

Hi Lisa,
Thank you very much for this meditation. I also use it in the afternoon for my chronic leg pain. It’s like a little trip home for me hearing a soothing Australian accent :) and is that a train horn in the background? I recognize the sound and have been trying to place it.
Namaste 🙏🏻

So wonderfully helpful! I will save and look forward to this practice when I have my late afternoon crash. Namaste 🙏

Very relaxing and peaceful thank you

The best body scan ever. I really enjoyed the peace I experienced wanted to stay in the space for a long time. Namaste

Excellent body scan. Deeply nourishing. Namaste 🕉