Guaranteed Calm

A sequence of six short meditations that reliably leads to a calm mind and relaxed body.

Transcript

Okay,

So I'm going to introduce you now to a sequence of six short spot meditations.

And you could do any of these meditations in the spaces of two or three minutes,

If that's all you had available.

Alternatively,

If you wanted to guide yourself into a deeper meditation,

Then this sequence done in any order could provide a useful structure,

A little template if you like,

In order to do that.

So let's start.

We'll start just by noticing how we're sitting.

And we'll just make a few little adjustments to the posture.

So ensure that both of your feet are flat on the floor,

And the knees are comfortably apart so that the belly is open and available for the breath to move.

And you can shuffle back in the chair so that your back is supported by the backrest.

Let your arms hang loosely from the shoulders,

And you can let your hands rest lightly in your lap or on your thighs.

And if you haven't already,

You can allow the eyes to gently close,

Or of course you can keep them open if you prefer.

And just tucking the chin in a fraction so that the back of the neck is broad,

Open.

And just noticing how it feels in that posture.

If you feel comfortable,

Grounded,

Nicely balanced.

And then just allow your body to begin to rock gently from side to side.

So adjusting our posture is meditation one in the sequence.

We'll now do some gentle rocking.

This is meditation two.

So the torso is just swaying from side to side.

You can feel the movement of the spine.

The whole body just floating through space to the left,

To the right.

You can get a sense of your weight shifting from side to side.

And then gradually just allow that movement to become smaller and smaller.

Until of its own accord,

The body becomes still.

And also nicely balanced over the hips.

And then similarly allow your head to sway gently from side to side.

You might sense muscles of the neck lengthening on one side and the other.

And you can gradually,

With that motion,

Become smaller and smaller.

Until that motion stops.

The head nicely balanced over the shoulders.

Just notice how the body feels.

Is there a sense of balance or centeredness?

And then bring your attention to the left foot.

Just feeling the contact of the left foot against the floor.

This way we commence the third meditation in the sequence.

Sinking.

So just getting some sense that the left foot is sinking downwards into the ground.

Imagine the left foot,

The whole of the left leg softening,

Relaxing.

No need to hold it in place.

Imagine that the whole left leg is going to sleep.

And has permission to rest.

And from the left shift to the right.

Notice the right foot.

Is it warm or cool?

You sense your socks or stockings or footwear.

Noticing how the weight is distributed.

More towards the ball or the heel,

The inside or the outside of the foot.

Letting the whole right leg sink downwards.

Perhaps becoming heavier.

Then getting a sense of your whole body in space.

The sense of the force of gravity bearing down upon the body.

That you are just surrendering to that force.

Letting the entire body sink downwards.

Feel the thighs and the buttocks sinking into the chair.

Letting the body rest.

And we'll move to the fourth meditation in our sequence.

The blue light meditation.

So just imagining,

Picturing.

Align at the central axis of the body from the coccyx,

The base of the spine,

Right up to the crown of the head.

And you can imagine that the breath is flowing through the body along this line.

Moving up the spine as you breathe in.

And floating back down the spine as you breathe out.

You can just picture the breath as a blue light rising and falling through the body.

You don't have to make the breath deep or long.

Just observe.

Normal,

Natural rhythm.

And if you find it difficult to visualize a blue light,

You can just get a sense of the breath moving up and down the spine.

The fifth meditation in this sequence simply involves listening.

So you can let your attention drift out into the soundscape.

Just appreciate what you hear.

Notice the directions from which sounds arise.

Appreciate how they come and go.

Continually changing.

What's the most obvious sound you can hear?

It's not complicated.

All you have to do is listen.

And of course it's perfectly natural for the mind to drift into thought from time to time.

And that's no problem at all.

You'll find that naturally enough your mind will return at some stages to the soundscape.

And then we'll conclude this sequence with a brief body scan.

So we'll start at the eyes.

Letting all the muscles around and behind the eyes soften.

Let the eyeballs rest gently in their sockets.

You can let the mouth and jaw go slack.

And just letting your attention drift down through the neck and shoulders.

Just like you're touching each part of the body with your mind.

Sensing it from within.

You can feel the rise and fall of the chest as you breathe.

Letting the belly soften completely as you breathe out.

Letting go of the deep muscles in the groin,

Hips and pelvis.

And finally sensing your whole body in space from the top of the head right down to the tips of the toes.

Almost as though you're flooding your body with attention.

You may notice that the breath is quite deep,

Soft,

Subtle.

You might appreciate the changes.

Changes in the way you feel physically,

Mentally and emotionally.

And just drawing two or three slightly deeper in breaths.

And then very gently in your own time.

You can open your eyes and finish.

Reviews

Thank you! This was really calming and soothing and easy to do. 🙏

Great way to start the day.

I love this meditation, it’s so calming and peaceful. 🙏🏼 Thank you 😊

Lovely ... however abrupt ending.. just the sound, like a tape being turned off

Great, thank you!😊👍

Lovely sequence. Any one can be used for quick relief or the full sequence for retiring calm and body balance.

This was a wonderful meditation to do in the middle of the day at work. I feel refreshed and ready to tackle the rest of the day!

I find his voice caming. The bit of movement blended in was helpful in reaching out to grasp the mind. Thanks for the break.

THANKYOU 💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖
your work has reignited my love of Ideokynesis, Feldenkrais, and Alexander techniques, which I studied as part of dance in the 90's. Love your soothing voice. Keep up the great work.

Very peaceful, thank you 🙏

Fabulous! Very relaxing and great techniques to use any time anywhere. Thank you

So wonderful. Even hyper city talkers somehow fit into the meditation
thank you

Excellent techniques I feel totally relaxed thank you & blessings Matt.

Fantastic and true to description very calming

Beautiful and very calming 😊

Beautiful, effective, practical.

This is a wonderful clear process that I have started using to set myself up for meditation practice. Thank you very much.