Welcome to Meditation Rocks!
I'm Lucy.
Today's meditation is to help us to get away from it all for a little while.
To help us to feel relaxed and maybe get a sense of perspective for something on our mind.
It's inspired by a hot air balloon.
So go and get yourself somewhere comfortable and we'll begin.
So I was teaching a child meditation recently and they said to me that meditation feels a bit like a hot air balloon.
Because our feet when we're on the ground is a bit like the basket which is tied down.
And our body and the upper part of our body feels all floaty and light and relaxed just like the balloon fabric itself.
And I thought that was just a genius way of describing the practice of meditation in that our feet or our sit bones are grounding us.
But our body hopefully and indeed our mind can feel a little bit more floaty and relaxed.
So that's what we're looking for today.
A little bit of inspiration from a hot air balloon.
A little guided meditation for you to hopefully take some time out of your day to relax.
So bringing our hands into a comfortable position on our lap or our knees.
Drawing up through the spine and let the shoulders just drop down away from your ears.
And take a little moment to just release any tension that might be stored in your neck or in your shoulders.
And bring your shoulders down away from your ears.
And if you're happy to now just close your eyes or soften your gaze on a fixed point.
And allowing any sounds of life or thoughts or distractions to just fade into the background.
And this is easier said than done.
I know.
But each time the mind tries to wonder.
The art of meditation is bringing the attention back.
On to what you have chosen.
So you might choose the weight of the body.
Sitting or lying here.
Or perhaps you'll choose your breath.
So start now to feel your rise.
And fall of your breath.
As you breathe in and out.
And we just take these first few moments.
To settle down with every exhale.
Allowing the body to be supported.
For our practice today.
As you breathe in,
Feel the coolness of the inhale.
And as you breathe out,
Feel that sense of release.
And feeling grounded into the air.
And let's take two deep breaths together.
So breathing in through your nose.
And out through your mouth.
And again,
Breathing deeply in through your nose.
And out through your mouth.
And if it's comfortable for you now just seal your lips,
Close your mouth.
And start to breathe in and out through your nose.
So this is the usual breath.
Which calms and balances the mind.
Take a few moments here just to be still.
And be with your breath.
And I'd like you to bring to mind a picture of a hot air balloon.
And it can be any shape or size,
Color or style that you choose.
Just try and see this picture in your mind.
The balloon.
And it's basket.
And now imagine that this basket is tethered or tied to the ground.
And your feet are in fact your basket.
So just notice all of the contact points of your feet with the ground.
Notice how your feet hold you still and secure and safe and grounded.
And then notice how your upper body is soft and light.
With every breath you breathe in,
Inflating your body,
Your balloon a little more.
And every time you breathe out,
Feel your basket,
Your feet tethered to the ground.
So breathing in to inflate.
Breathing out to soften ground.
And we're going to take three of the slowest,
Deepest breaths that we can take,
And then we will release the basket from its tether from the ground.
So take three deep breaths.
And then feel that sense of release.
As the basket is untied.
And you begin to float in to the sky.
Over these next few breaths begin to feel a little lighter.
A little freer,
A little more relaxed.
And notice as you slowly lift into the sky,
That you're leaving everything behind on the ground.
Everything on the ground is beginning to get smaller and smaller.
As you go higher and higher into the air.
So imagine now that you're inside your basket on your hot air balloon.
You're safe.
And you are free.
You have that sense of freedom and space all around you.
And as you look down below.
Everything is getting smaller.
Take a look at your view.
Maybe you can see people.
Buildings that you recognize.
Cars and traffic.
Animals and fields,
Trees.
Everything you know.
Is down on the ground.
Getting smaller.
Higher and higher.
Higher and higher.
You're feeling lighter and lighter.
More free.
More space.
More peace.
More stillness.
You are now high in the sky.
It is a beautiful day.
With only the clouds and the birds for company.
You notice you can barely hear a sound.
It is perfectly still.
And peaceful.
Everything on the ground is small.
Just notice how you feel.
Taking some nice deep breaths.
Here,
High in the clouds.
Nothing to worry about.
You feel free.
And light.
Allow yourself to let go.
And float for a little while.
Notice how you feel.
Allow any resistance or tightness in the body.
To release.
Feel relaxed.
And light.
And soft.
Come back down to earth.
So allow the feelings that you have right now.
To fully absorb into your body.
And mind.
Three deep breaths.
And on your third breath,
Just wiggle your toes and feel your feet.
Gently in contact with the ground.
As your basket settles.
And is returned that back.
Secure.
You feel grounded through your feet.
You feel soft in your body.
And bring your hands together.
And just feeling that sense of security.
Feeling safe.
Whenever you're ready,
Just gently.
Moving the hands just a little.
Create some warmth and some heat.
Allowing your breath to return to a comfortable rhythm for you.
Just hovering your hands over your eyes.
Blinking your eyes open inside your hands.
And bringing your hands down.
Away from your face when you're ready.
And I'm here.
I hope you enjoyed your little hot air balloon ride today.
It's a really nice way to imagine the body in relation to our meditation.
So grounding through the feet.
And feeling softer in the upper parts of the body.
So have a lovely rest of your day and I will see you again very soon.
