This is a guided meditation for relieving stress.
It's especially for when you feel pressured.
It may be pressure from a real deadline,
Or it may be some kind of self-created pressure.
In any case,
The sense of pressure doesn't actually help you to accomplish.
You'll be able to accomplish a lot more when you're feeling relaxed and your mind is clear.
So you can let go of whatever it is that you think you have to do and take some time for this meditation.
Now find a comfortable position and close your eyes.
Just be easy,
Noticing what's happening right now.
If you've been feeling pressured,
You'll feel that now.
How do you sense that?
Perhaps it's a rush of thoughts,
Some feeling of anxiety or frustration,
Or some kind of instability.
Where do you feel it in your body?
Letting yourself feel that sense of pressure in your body.
And now bring your awareness to your breathing,
Noticing the breath moving in and out.
Not trying to change your breathing or manipulate it,
Simply noticing it.
Your breath moves in and out without effort.
It's been going on automatically without you even thinking about it.
Your ability to create and achieve is there without effort.
Things can be accomplished in a very relaxed way.
Now coming back to that sense of pressure.
Not minding thoughts as they come and go.
Letting go of the meaning of thoughts.
Not pushing out thoughts and yet not following a train of thought.
And if the mind wanders from the meditation,
Doesn't matter,
Just easily bring it back.
How do you experience that sense of pressure?
Noticing the feelings that you may have.
And allowing the feelings to be there.
Allowing them to be felt fully.
You don't need to act on those emotions.
You don't need to act on that pressured feeling.
Simply feel it.
And if thoughts come about what you need to be doing,
Let them go.
And simply feel that feeling of pressure in your body.
Letting your attention be fully with the feeling.
Whatever emotions there may be,
Feel how they feel in your body.
Find them in your body.
Whether it's irritability or anxiety or fear,
It's all that fight or flight response.
You don't have to fight,
You don't have to flee.
Simply be feeling whatever you feel.
And let whatever you feel be okay.
It's a natural response to the stress of life.
Simply by allowing these feelings,
These bodily sensations to be in your awareness,
They'll resolve,
They'll melt away.
Can take time.
Allow yourself the time.
Bringing the awareness from time to time to the breath.
Noticing the restfulness of the breath.
Noticing again how the stress and pressure feel in your body.
Feeling that fully.
You can breathe into that.
Let it go out with the out-breath.
You can simply feel it.
And if you notice tension in your body,
If you feel there's some holding,
Some muscles that are tight,
You can just let that go.
As soon as you notice the tension,
Let it go.
Let your muscles relax.
Maybe there's tension in your shoulders and you can let them drop.
Let your jaw relax.
Your hands,
Your arms.
Not minding if a feeling of pressure is still there.
Knowing that you don't need to do anything about it.
Allowing yourself to let go and relax.
Knowing that when you're relaxed,
You'll accomplish a lot more than when you feel pressured.
And continuing to simply feel what's being experienced right now.
Noticing the emotions.
Allowing them to be there.
Noticing the feelings in your body.
Not trying to push them out or change them.
Simply being with them is enough.
Simply being with yourself fully is enough.
Present to yourself.
Fully present.
Now you can continue like this for as long as you'd like.
When you feel ready to end the meditation,
Take your time to come out slowly.
