Welcome to this meditation on emotional awareness.
Just taking a moment to settle your body into a comfortable position.
Perhaps sitting cross-legged on the floor or on a pillow.
Or sitting on a chair with your feet flat on the floor.
Your knees lower than your hips to take the pressure off your lower back.
Shoulders relaxed but your back nice and upright.
Not too stiff,
Not slouching.
Resting your hands either on your thighs with your palms facing down.
Or you can cup them in your lap.
With the tips of your thumbs just slightly touching.
Closing down your eyes.
Letting the muscles in your forehead,
Your jaw and around your eyes just soften.
And letting your head just rest on your neck and your shoulders in a neutral position.
Taking a nice deep breath in through your nose and releasing out through your mouth as you let your body settle in a little bit further.
And letting your breathing flow in and out through your nose.
Finding its own natural rhythm.
Noticing the feel of the air as it flows in and out through your nostrils.
Noticing the feel of the air in your chest as it gently rises and falls with each breath.
Noticing the flow of air in your belly as it gently expands on the in breath and deflates on the out breath.
Noticing those pauses between the in breath and the out breath.
And after the out breath just before you take your next inhale.
Noticing those little pockets of stillness.
Remembering if any thoughts begin to arise or your mind starts to wander.
Just gently bring it back with the next breath by focusing on your anchor point of your nostrils or your chest or your belly.
We'll simply use the sound of my voice to bring you back.
Letting your breathing move to the background of your awareness.
You may like to picture that you're standing in a lush tropical rainforest.
Surrounded by trees,
Sunlight,
Soft ground beneath your feet.
The sounds of birds and a gentle breeze whispering through the trees.
Just tuning into your senses,
Noticing all the things around you.
What you can see.
What you can hear.
What you can smell.
Seeing what you can touch.
Beginning to picture in your rainforest as a gentle waterfall.
Tuckling down into a pool of water.
You might like to feel the water.
You might like to walk into the water.
Perhaps float on your back on the surface.
Or you might like to just sit on the soft ground and watch the water as it trickles down the bank and into the pond.
Sitting here watching the flow of the water.
Just beginning to notice any sensations in your body.
Beginning with your feet and your legs.
Just noticing any sensations in any of the muscles or the joints.
Perhaps releasing any tension that you're holding in your legs with your next breath.
Just allowing them to soften.
Moving your awareness to your shoulders and your arms.
Just noticing how they're feeling.
Perhaps you can drop them a little bit more.
Perhaps you might want to relax them with the next out breath.
Letting them feel a little bit lighter.
Bringing your awareness to the muscles in your face.
Checking to see if your forehead is smooth.
The muscles around your eyes are soft.
And your jaw and mouth nice and loose.
Bringing your awareness back to your breathing and the flow of the air going into your nostrils.
And up and down your throat.
Notice if the air feels like it's free and flowing like a wide river.
Or does it feel restrictive like a narrow creek.
Just allowing whatever feelings,
Sensations you can feel in your throat to just flow,
Unrestricted.
Just allowing any sensations to be present.
Moving your awareness into your chest.
Noticing the feel of the air as it gently expands your chest and relaxes it with each breath.
Beginning to notice if you can feel any other sensations here.
Does it feel hard like the rocks around the pond or does it feel open and spacious like the blue sky above you.
Just allowing yourself to feel any sensations without judging them,
Without analyzing them,
Just letting them be,
Letting them flow with the air.
Moving your awareness down to your belly.
Feeling it inflating with each in breath and deflating with each out breath.
You may even want to put your hands on your belly,
One hand on your belly and one hand on your chest.
If you notice any other sensations that you might feel in your belly.
Are there any heavy swirling sensations like churning water.
Or does it feel light and bubbly like the surface of the pond.
Just letting any sensations flow along with your air without trying to control them.
Just continuing to breathe in,
Breath out,
Just being with whatever sensations arise.
For the next few minutes,
Just continue to watch your water fall.
Following your breathing,
Allowing any sensations to flow.
And if there's any that you don't want to hold on to anymore or that you feel ready to release,
Just picture breathing them out,
Letting them join the stream of water,
Coming down the banks and float off downstream.
Where you no longer need them and they can move on.
And if at any time you start to have any thoughts or sensations that might be a bit too uncomfortable.
Just gently bring your awareness back with your next breath,
Placing one hand on your tummy and one hand on your chest.
And just watching them rise and fall.
Just rest in this peaceful place,
Just listening to the water,
Watching the air flowing in and out of your body for the next few minutes.
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