My name is Lucy Stone and this is Meditation Rocks.
Now as a child you may have been advised to count sheep if you couldn't sleep.
And there's a science behind that.
When we are counting it can help us to focus the mind,
To let go of things that might be worrying us and to help us to relax.
So we're not going to be counting sheep today unless you want to of course.
And it's important to say that if you find listening to somebody counting for you more stressful than you were feeling already,
Then of course return to this another day or it may not be for you at all.
But many people actually quite like to have the guide of someone counting with them,
That reassurance and also something to focus the mind on,
My voice counting for you and hopefully we can work a way to relax you at the end of the day.
So get yourself somewhere comfortable and we will begin.
So what we're going to do is to start off with equal length of breath and we'll be counting for different amounts of time as we breathe in and as we breathe out.
And then we will move to a longer length of exhale and also adding a pause too which can help us to feel sleepy.
But simply to start this meditation we are going to be counting our actual breath.
So an inhale and an exhale is one breath.
I'm sorry if that's patronising but just to be clear.
So starting now to bring an awareness inwards and letting go of the sounds and distractions around you.
And just begin to soften the body allowing a sense of support wherever you are,
Whether that's a chair or a bed.
And as you breathe out just trying to find a sense of relaxation and softness within the body.
So just start by bringing your attention to your breath and we're not looking to change anything about how you're breathing right now but just to feel that natural rise and fall of the breath within the body.
And let's take two deep breaths together.
So breathe in through your nose and breathe out through your mouth and again.
And if it's comfortable now close your mouth and begin to breathe in and out through your nose.
This is your yuzhai or ocean breath.
Take a few moments here,
Just breathing in and out.
So now we will count together your breaths to number five.
So when you're ready breathe in and out.
And again.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
We'll try again with longer breaths,
So breathing deeper.
One.
And again,
Breathe in.
And out.
Two.
Again.
Three.
Four.
Five.
And now we will count the length of the breath starting at three.
So breathe in.
One.
Two.
Three.
Breathe out.
One.
Two.
Three.
Again.
One.
Two.
Three.
Breathe out.
One.
Two.
Three.
Breathe in.
One.
Two.
Three.
Breathe out.
One.
Two.
Three.
We move to four.
Breathe in.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Breathe out.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Breathe in.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Breathe out.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Breathe in 1,
2,
3,
4,
Breathe out 1,
2,
3,
4,
Move to 5,
Breathe in 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
Breathe out 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
Breathe in 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
Breathe out 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
Breathe in 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
Breathe out 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
Breathe in 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
Breathe out 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
Breathe in 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
Breathe out 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
Just breathe normally for a few moments.
So now we're going to add a pause between the inhale and the exhale.
That pause will get longer with every breath.
So we're going to breathe in and out for 5 and with every breath our pause will get one beat longer.
So we'll breathe in for 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
Hold for 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
Breathe in for 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
Hold for 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
Breathe in for 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
Hold for 1,
2,
3,
Breathe out for 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
Breathe in for 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
Hold for 1,
2,
3,
4,
Breathe out for 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
Breathe in for 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
Hold for 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
Breathe out for 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
Breathe normally for a few moments.
We're going to add a pause at the bottom of the breath making this square breathing.
So again we breathe in for 5,
We hold,
We breathe out for 5,
And then we add a pause on the bottom.
So 5,
5,
5,
1 will be our first round.
When you're ready breathing in for 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
Hold for 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
Breathe out for 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
Hold for 1,
Breathe in for 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
Hold for 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
Breathe out for 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
Hold for 1,
2,
Breathe in for 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
Hold for 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
Breathe out for 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
Hold for 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
Hold for 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
Breathe out for 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
Hold for 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
Breathe in for 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
Hold for 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
Breathe out for 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
Hold for 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
Breathe normally for a few moments.
So finally we will just have one round of 4 and 8.
So breathing in for 4,
Pausing for a moment,
Breathing out for 8.
I'll count slowly and just allow your body to relax as you breathe out.
So breathing in for 1,
2,
3,
4,
Breathing out for 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
8.
Now just allow your body to relax and settle as you let go of anything you are holding onto that you don't need.
Pay attention,
Allow yourself to relax and let go.
And if you are choosing to go to sleep now maybe just pausing and stopping the tape here.
Or if you want to come back just allowing the breath to return to a comfortable rhythm and flow for you.
Beginning to find a little bit of movement wiggling fingers and toes,
Maybe taking a little stretch.
And you might like to bring your hands together and give them a little bit of a rub to create some warmth and heat and then hovering the hands over the eyes and blinking the eyes open whenever you are ready.
Bringing the hands down to complete our practice.
And I hope you found the counting meditation a useful way to almost switch off and allow someone else to guide you.
And if you saw sheep then that's great but otherwise it's a nice way to focus the mind and let go of your day.
Thank you for joining me and I hope that you can join me again very soon.
Take care.
