7 Days Of Meditation: Day 2, The Body

For Day 2 of 7 Days of Meditation: A Mindfulness Journey, I'm going to teach you an exercise that you can use to relax your body anytime - at bedtime, when you're feeling stressed, whenever. It's another tool, just like your breath that you can take with you wherever you go.

Transcript

Hi, Welcome back. So for day two of seven days of meditation, A mindfulness journey, I want to take you through a meditation to help you relax your body. Basically, It's scanning your body for any areas of tension and then softening each area. This helps you become very relaxed, Lets you let go of any stress you might be holding on to from your past day or week or so. And it also works to quiet the mind. So let's get started. Let's begin by arriving in this space, Connecting to the room you're in, Noticing the temperature, Any sounds, Noticing your place in the room. And now take several long, Slow, Deep breaths, Breathing in fully, Exhaling fully. Allow your eyes to gently close or you can leave them open and just soften your gaze if you'd like. And now allow your breath to find its own natural rhythm. Bring your full attention, Your full awareness to noticing each in-breath as it enters your nostrils, Travels down to your lungs, Causes your belly to expand. Notice each out-breath as your belly contracts, The air moves up through your lungs, But back up through the nostrils or the mouth. Invite your full attention to flow with your breath. Notice how each inhale is a bit different from the exhale. You might experience the out-breath is a bit longer than the in-breath. You might notice that the in-breath feels a bit cooler than the out-breath. Whatever you notice, That's fine. No need to force anything. And then as you turn more deeply inward, Begin to let go of the noises around you. Simply breathe as you breathe, Not trying to change anything or control your breath in any way. Remembering that your breath is your touchstone, That home base you can return to over and over again when you become distracted by thoughts. Just focus your full attention back on the qualities of your breath, Coming home to the breath with your full attention. All right, Now let's turn your attention to your body, Your physical body, Any sensations. We're going to do this systematically. So become aware of that spot at the very crown of your head as you begin to relax your body. You may not notice many sensations up there, So just become aware of it. Then move that awareness down into your face, Your facial muscles, Softening your eyes, Softening your jaw. Notice your neck and your throat, Letting them be soft, Letting them relax. If you find any areas of tension, As you may in the neck area, You may want to send your breath to those areas, Feeling that energy as you inhale and that release as you exhale. Let your shoulders be soft. If you find them working their way up to your ears, Just drop them, Let them drop, Let them relax, Let them be soft. Notice your arms, Feeling any sensation in your arms. Bring your awareness down to your hands. If you find yourself clenching your hands, Let them go. See if you can let them soften and send that release all the way to the very tips of your fingers. And now bring that awareness back to your torso, Your chest, Your belly. Soften any areas that might be holding. Take a deep breath and relax your chest area. Follow your spine down your back, Looking for any areas of tension, Those places you're holding stress. Again, Sending your breath to those areas to help soften, To help release. Noticing your back against the chair, Any pressure you might feel. Same with your bum, Your hips, Softening those. Notice any pressure or heaviness or lightness from the chair, The surface that you're on. Bring your awareness to your legs, Any sensations there. Soften those areas all the way down to your feet. Notice any sensations there. Feel the ground or the surface that you're on beneath them, And then let any remaining tension float out the tips of your toes. And now take a moment to scan your body for any remaining tension that may be held there still, And see what you could do to soften those areas. If you find that it's difficult for you to soften, That's okay, No judgment. Just see what comes up. And now just notice the entire body as one, Whatever that means to you, As best you can. See what that feels like. Okay, You could stay in this meditation just as long as you want, Scanning your body, Releasing areas of tension, Softening where you can. When you feel like you're ready, Begin to come back to the room you're in, The surface that you're on. Maybe bring some movement to your body, Wiggling your fingers and toes, Maybe swaying back and forth a little bit. And then allow your eyes to gently bat open to continue on with your day.

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