Hello there,
Welcome to Meditation Rocks!
I'm Lucy.
So we're continuing with our monthly theme of being in the moment with today's meditation,
Which is all around the theme of the passing of time.
And time is a funny thing,
Isn't it?
Sometimes the days go really quickly,
And other times the days really drag.
So today's meditation is about noticing the passing of time and always trying to control that moment that we're in.
So go and get somewhere comfortable and let's get started.
So today's meditation is really about just noticing how time passes.
And we've all had those days,
Haven't we,
Where it just seems to be tea time before we know it,
And other days where we keep clock watching and it's 10 o'clock,
11 o'clock and the day just seems to be dragging.
So what we're going to do is use a little bit of a visualisation of an egg timer with the sand falling down from the top to the bottom.
And I know not everyone can visualise,
So don't worry,
We'll also be using our breath and using that to notice the passing of time too.
So hopefully you're somewhere comfortable now that you want to meditate today.
Wherever you are,
Maybe you're sitting down,
Just make sure that your feet are flat on the floor or if you're lying down,
Just make sure that your arms are down by your side and your weight is equally spread from left to right.
And you can just bring your hands down onto your lap or to your knees and we'll begin.
So you might want to close your eyes or just soften your gaze past the tip of your nose.
And just take a moment to let go of the day,
Whatever kind of day you've had so far.
And just be in this moment in time.
And just allowing any distractions or sounds of life around you just to fade to the background.
I know it's not easy,
So just do your best.
And immediately start to feel the presence of your breath coming and going.
And what I mean by that is almost watch and engage with your breath.
As the breath enters the body,
Feel where in the body you feel your breath.
And as you breathe out,
Just fully release,
Letting go.
And this moment is all that we have.
So let's try and treasure this moment and this breath.
Try and savour the details,
The sensations as you breathe in and out.
Now I'd like you,
If you can now,
To picture an egg timer.
You know the sort,
The old fashioned ones made of glass with the sand filled to the top of the top half of the egg timer.
And slowly the sand will begin to fall into the empty half at the bottom.
So let's now all turn our egg timers up so the sand is filled into the top half of the egg timer.
And it's already beginning to pour those grains of sand into the bottom half.
And as you breathe in,
Just notice this visualisation or this presence of sand in the top half.
And as you breathe out,
Notice that the sand is beginning to fall down into the bottom half of the egg timer.
So breathing in,
Noticing the sand that's left in the top half.
Breathing out,
Allowing the sand to fall into the bottom half.
Almost like you're blowing the sand down with your exhale.
Just notice how the sand is rushing to get through the gap and into the bottom half of your egg timer.
And when all of the sand is in the bottom half of the egg timer and is resting there,
You can take a few moments to reflect some nice long deep breaths before you turn your egg timer back up the other way so the sand is now filling the top half of the egg timer.
And as you breathe in,
You feel the presence of the sand beginning to fall as you exhale,
You feel that passing sensation of the sand rushing into the bottom half.
And if you're struggling to visualise the egg timer,
Then just feel your breath.
As you breathe in,
Feel this moment in time.
Hold on to it for as long as it's comfortable.
And as you breathe out,
Just feel the rushing,
The sensation of life speeding up,
Of time passing within your control.
And we're just going to be with our breath and with this visualisation for just a couple of minutes now.
Breathe in,
Feel the moment,
Breathe out,
Feel the passing of time.
And we'll talk to you again in just a couple of minutes time.
Remember if your mind begins to wander,
Bring your attention back to your breath,
Breathing in,
Feel this moment,
It's all we have.
Breathing out,
Feeling the passing of time at your pace,
Your rhythm.
Celebrating this moment,
Letting go of any obstacles to savouring this present moment.
And just remember you can use the egg timer analogy for as long a meditation as you like.
Breathe in,
Feel the presence of the sand.
As you exhale,
Allow the sand to pass at your pace.
And for these final few moments of our meditation,
Let's try and make the breath unapologetically long.
Purposely take as long as you can over every breath.
You don't need to be anywhere else.
This is the most important thing you can be doing right now.
So take your time.
Save every moment of the inhale.
Save every moment of the pause or the hold.
Save every moment of that long exhale where you completely let go.
And repeat two or three times now as our meditation draws to a close.
So just relaxing your whole body from the feet and the toes.
Let go.
Your legs,
Just relax.
Your tummy and your hips and your sit bones.
Relax your back and shoulders.
Just relax your shoulders and your chest.
Relax your arms,
Hands and fingers.
Just relax.
Your head,
Your neck and your face.
Completely relax.
Just celebrate this moment that you're in and how you feel.
And just allow your breath now to return to a comfortable rhythm and flow for you.
Beginning to make any tiny movements.
You want to make wiggling fingers and toes,
Arms stretching,
Maybe moving your legs a little or your head from side to side.
And you might want to bring your hands together and give them a little rub to create some heat.
And just relaxing your hands over your eyes so that when you blink your eyes open into your hands,
It's dark and warm.
And you can move your hands when you're ready.
And I'm here.
And hopefully that's a nice meditation to use throughout the day or at the end of the day where you just stop and notice the moment we're in.
We're busy.
We can be trying to do a million things at once.
And just focusing on that one thing can really help us to be present and all the physical and mental health benefits that can bring.
I hope you enjoyed today's meditation.
You take care and I'll see you again very soon.
Bye.
