Welcome to this personal sanctuary meditation.
I'm Marianne DeCleer and thank you for joining me here today.
Before we get started,
Take a moment to get comfortable and you can sit on a chair or lie down.
Know that you can change your position at any time.
And as you go through this visualization,
I encourage you to welcome any feelings,
Sensations,
Images,
Or thoughts with a sense of kindness,
Gentleness,
And non-judgment.
Take this time for yourself and connect within.
Get into a position in which you feel no tension.
Close your eyes and allow your body to begin to relax.
Take a deep breath,
Filling the chest and the belly with air.
And exhale,
Allowing the chest and the belly to fall.
And then take a normal breath when you're done that.
Become aware of your body comfortably settled in,
Either on your seat or lying down.
And feel all the points of contact between your body and your support.
The back of your head if you're lying down,
Your arms,
Your hands,
Your back,
Your buttocks,
Your legs,
And your feet.
Feel your body begin to naturally stretch out and relax even more.
And notice the sense of calm settling into your body.
And to deepen this feeling,
Imagine a point of relaxation at the top of your head.
And imagine this point spreading all over your scalp.
And feel your scalp relaxing and letting go.
Smooth out your forehead.
Imagine it as smooth as the surface of a peaceful lake.
Feel all your expression lines smoothing out and disappearing.
Relax your eyebrows.
Feel your eyelids smoothing out,
Getting heavy.
And relax all the muscles around your eyes.
Relax your temples,
Your cheekbones,
Your nostrils.
Notice the cool air around your nostrils on each inhale and the warm air around your nostrils on each exhale.
Relax your cheeks.
Unclench your jaws.
Maybe find some space between your teeth or slightly open your mouth.
And let your tongue rest naturally in your mouth.
Feel your throat relaxing,
Letting go.
And feel free to swallow if you need to.
Become aware that your face is completely relaxed.
Let the release continue down into the nape of your neck,
Into your traps,
Your shoulders.
Allow your shoulders to naturally relax downwards as if pulled down by gravity.
Relax your upper arms,
Your elbows,
Your forearms,
Your wrists,
And your hands right down to your fingertips.
Become aware that your upper limbs are completely relaxed.
Now bring your attention to your back and imagine that with each breath it stretches out a little bit more.
And relax all the muscles along your spine,
From your upper back down to your lower back.
Become aware that your back is completely relaxed.
Bring your awareness now to your chest.
Observe the movements of your ribcage.
Feel your ribs opening with each inhale and closing with each exhale.
Pay attention to your heartbeat and notice how it's calm and regular.
Feel your belly relaxing and letting go.
Observe the movements of your belly.
Feel your belly rise with each inhale,
Lower with each exhale.
And notice how these movements are also calm and regular.
And now let this feeling of relaxation go down into your pelvis.
Relax your hips,
Your buttocks,
Your perineum.
And become aware that your upper body is completely relaxed.
Allow the feeling of relaxation now to continue down into your legs.
Relax your thighs,
All the muscles around your thighs,
And your knees,
Your calves and your shins,
Your ankles,
And your feet right down to the tips of your toes.
Become aware that your lower limbs are completely relaxed.
Become aware that your whole body is completely relaxed.
I invite you to imagine yourself in a natural setting of great beauty.
It can be any place you particularly like,
Either real or imagined.
It could be a meadow,
The top of a mountain,
The heart of a forest,
Or maybe along the ocean.
Wherever it is,
You are there.
And you can begin to explore your environment.
Notice the details,
The colors,
And the shapes of this landscape.
Feel all the sensations that are very particular,
Very specific to this place.
Tune into everything that you can hear,
All the sounds.
Perhaps you notice a smell or a fragrance that is typical of this place.
You can add or remove elements that make this place perfect for you.
You are comfortable and feel secure here.
This is your personal sanctuary,
Your safe haven.
Enjoy all the positive sensations it gives you.
Feel your sense of peacefulness and your sense of complete confidence.
You feel strong here.
You know that nothing can happen to you here.
You're perfectly calm and you feel completely safe.
Know that you can return to your own personal sanctuary at any time.
Bring your awareness to all the sensations you have in your body and integrate these sensations.
Remember that these sensations are always in you.
Think about activating them in your everyday life.
And now come back to the points of contact of your body and your support.
Feel the back of your head,
Your arms,
Your hands,
Your back,
Your buttocks,
Your legs,
And your feet.
Imagine the space that you're in and bring your awareness to the sounds outside.
Take a deep breath in through your nose to energize you and exhale through your mouth.
Take a normal breath when you're done.
And you can start to slowly move,
Twinkle your fingers and your toes,
Maybe do some wrist rolls,
Some ankle rolls.
And you can start to stretch and move the rest of your body.
Maybe reaching your hands up overhead,
Pointing your toes.
Yawn if you want.
And when you're ready,
You can open your eyes.
Take a moment while you're still in the state of relaxation to think about what feelings,
Sensations,
Or images came up for you during this visualization.
Remember that you can come back to this recording at any time whenever you want to feel safe in your own personal sanctuary.
Thank you once again for joining me here today for this personal sanctuary meditation.
You
