Welcome.
Today's meditation is designed to help release the stress of the body and mind and become restful.
This is an ideal practice to wind down at the end of a busy day.
Let us begin by sitting or lying down in a comfortable posture.
As you lie down,
With your eyes open,
Observe your immediate surroundings,
The room or the space where you are,
And watch the objects and things around you.
Let your attention slowly move over everything,
Observing the shapes,
Forms and colours.
Allow any thoughts or memories that pop up associated with them to flow through you.
Now shift your attention to the sounds and noises of people talking or doing their chores,
The sounds of nature or the traffic or any mechanical noise that you hear.
Acknowledge them,
They are part of the environment,
They will be a support for our restfulness.
Now notice the temperature in the room.
Do you feel comfortable or uncomfortable?
Is it cold or warm?
Continue to pay attention to your surroundings.
We now move to the second step of the practice,
Settling in the body.
Slowly close your eyes and bring your focus inwards to your body and your mind.
Notice how you are feeling overall.
Do you feel tired or do you feel wired and restless?
Is there a general sense of comfort and restfulness in you?
Notice if you feel hungry or you feel full.
Let your attention spread over your body,
Feeling the different sensations coursing through you.
Maybe there is a tiredness,
Aches and pains,
Any pleasant or tingling feeling of anticipation.
Check how you feel.
You don't need to change any of these sensations.
Just stay with them.
We move to step 3 of this practice,
Releasing the tension and stress in the body.
Start bringing your attention to the movements or sensations of the breath.
You could observe the flow of the breath at your belly or at the chest.
Notice how your body is breathing.
Is it calm and soft?
Or is it short and shallow,
Quick?
Or is it just long and easy?
It doesn't matter how your body is breathing.
You just pay attention to it.
Start breathing in and out a bit longer,
Deepening your breath with minimal effort.
Imagine you are releasing any residual tension,
The accumulated tiredness and the stress of the day with each out-breath.
As you breathe in,
You focus on any tension in any part of your body.
As you breathe out,
You gently let it relax.
Particularly focus on the parts of your body where you usually accumulate stress.
It could be your temples,
Your jaw.
Bring attention to that part and gently breathe out.
You could breathe out through your nose or through your mouth,
Whichever is comfortable.
Or you could move your attention to your neck and shoulders.
Continuing to breathe out any residual tension,
Allowing your shoulders to fall back.
Now moving attention to your chest,
Feeling the rise and fall of the breath,
Checking if it is comfortable.
And slowly moving your attention to your belly.
Breathing in,
Focus on any tension that you have held in your belly.
And breathing out,
Releasing it,
Allowing your belly to be soft and easy.
Releasing of sensory inputs calms down our body and mind.
And it creates a space for healing and restoration to happen.
So continue to breathe.
Now bringing your attention to your lower back and pelvis,
Relaxing them completely with each out-breath.
Now scan your body gently to see if you are holding any tension in any other muscles.
And as you breathe in,
Focus on them.
And as you breathe out,
Let them relax.
You could also bring your attention to any accompanying thoughts,
The to-dos,
The should-haves,
Shouldn't-haves,
What you should accomplish tomorrow.
Breathe them out as well,
Letting them pass.
Feel your body and mind becoming more relaxed,
Less rigid,
And more at ease.
Now we step into the last part of the practice,
Integrating positives.
Shift your focus to the in-breath.
Take three gentle but deep breaths,
Keeping your attention on the in-breath.
Remember the events of the day that brought positive feelings of connection,
Love,
Comfort,
Or a sense of completion.
Bring the faces of the people with whom you felt these feelings,
Or the situation or event,
And allow these positive feelings to fill you.
They could be small events.
They could be big events.
Just take them in.
As you breathe in those feelings,
Say,
This is mine.
I receive it and acknowledge it with thankfulness.
This is mine.
I receive it and acknowledge it with thankfulness.
Take them all in,
One by one,
Cherishing the good feelings.
Slowly bring attention to the whole of your being.
Seeing yourself lying there,
Your body and mind is completely relaxed.
Let us affirm the restfulness.
Say,
I feel calm and at peace.
My body and mind is completely relaxed.
May I sleep well and wake up energized.
We repeat,
I feel calm and at peace.
My body and mind is completely relaxed.
May I sleep well and wake up energized.
Visualize yourself falling asleep easily,
Staying asleep comfortably,
And waking up with bright energy for a fresh new day.
Gently follow the rhythm of the breath as it rises and falls,
And rises and falls.
With this,
We come to the end of this practice.
You could stay longer in this meditative space,
Or you can slowly move your body and open your eyes.
Shanti.
Shanti.
Shanti.
Shanti.
