Namaste.
As always,
Let's begin in a nice comfortable lying down position.
Now gently close your eyes.
Take a deep breath in and as you exhale,
Feel all the cares,
All the worries flow out of you.
Make sure body is fully comfortable.
If not,
Make all the necessary adjustments to your body position to release the discomfort.
Now place your right hand on your belly,
Gently feeling the movement there along with your breath.
Now a few abdominal breaths.
Slowly breathe in while expanding the belly as much as is comfortable.
Breathe out while bringing the belly down towards the spine.
Let go of the abdominal breath now.
Relax all the efforts.
And as you lie there,
Just notice how the body feels.
Does it feel heavy or light?
Restless or still?
Now humming.
Keeping the lips closed while teeth slightly separated,
Become aware of the center of the head.
Practice humming for six breaths in your own pace.
Develop a feeling of relaxation.
Feel as if you're about to sleep.
Allow yourself to become calm and steady.
Develop a sense of awareness of your surroundings.
Keeping the eyes closed,
Create a mental image of the space surrounding your body.
Just be clear in your motivation right at the beginning.
This is not about getting rid of anxiety.
No matter how strong the temptation may be,
This whole journey in meditation is about changing the relationship with anxiety.
Not just for you,
But also for those around you as well.
The practice begins now by just taking the attention to different parts of the body.
Become aware of the right hand.
Right hand thumb.
First finger.
Second finger.
Third finger.
Fourth finger.
Fingers and thumb.
Palm of the hand.
Back side of the right hand.
Wrist.
Forearm.
Elbow.
Upper part of the right arm.
Right shoulder.
Right armpit.
Right side of the torso.
Waist.
Right side hip.
Right thigh.
Kneecap.
Calf muscle.
Ankle.
Right foot heel.
Sole of the foot.
Big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
Fifth toe.
The whole right side of the body.
From toes to the fingers,
Fingers to the toes.
Whole right side of the body.
Now go to the left hand.
Become aware of the left hand thumb.
First finger.
Second finger.
Third finger.
Little finger.
Fingers and thumb.
Palm of the left hand.
Forearm.
Back side of the hand.
Wrist.
Forearm.
Elbow.
Upper part of the left arm.
Left shoulder.
Left armpit.
Left side of the torso.
Waist.
Hip.
Left thigh.
Kneecap.
Calf muscle.
Ankle.
Left foot heel.
Sole of the left foot.
Big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
Fifth toe.
The whole left side of the body.
From toes to the fingers,
Fingers to the toes.
Whole left side of the body.
Now to the back.
Become aware of the lower back.
The right buttock.
The left buttock.
Middle back.
Upper back.
The right shoulder blade.
The left shoulder blade.
Back of the neck.
Back of the head.
The whole back together.
Now go to the top of the head.
The crown of the head.
Forehead.
Both sides of the head.
Right eyebrow.
Left eyebrow.
The space between the eyebrows.
Right eyelid.
Left eyelid.
Right eye.
Left eye.
Right ear.
Left ear.
Right side cheek.
Left side cheek.
Bridge of the nostrils.
Right nostril.
Left nostril.
Upper lip.
Upper jaw.
Tongue.
Lower jaw.
Lower lip.
Chin.
Throat.
Collarbone.
Left collarbone.
Chest.
Left part of the chest.
Middle part of the chest.
Right part of the chest.
Upper part of the belly.
Middle part of the belly.
The belly button area.
Lower part of the belly.
The whole of the right leg.
The whole of the left leg.
Both legs together.
The whole of the right arm.
The whole of the left arm.
Both arms together.
The whole of the back.
Buttock,
Spine,
Shoulder blades.
The whole of the front.
Abdomen,
Chest.
The whole of the back and front together.
The whole head.
The whole body.
The whole body.
The whole body.
The whole body.
Become aware of your breath now.
Feel the path of your breath.
Just notice that breath flows in through the nostrils to your lungs and from lungs comes back to the nostrils to flow out.
Simply follow the path of your breath.
Now,
Keeping the awareness on the breath,
Start mentally counting down your breath from 27.
As the breath comes in,
Count 27.
And as it flows out,
27.
Breathe in,
26.
Breathe out,
26.
So on.
It's completely normal to make mistake or forget the countdown.
If this happens,
Simply start the countdown again from 27.
Now,
Let go the countdown.
Let go the breath awareness.
And bring your focus on the front of the closed eyes.
Now,
See yourself setting out on a journey to climb a sacred mountain.
You know that it is going to be a long and difficult climb.
But you feel sure you will reach the summit.
As you leave your hometown,
You meet your guide.
A person whom you have never met before.
But you know he is a qualified and experienced guide.
You find it difficult to assess his character.
And he is not very talkative.
But as you want to make the journey,
You follow him.
The path you are following passes through a large forest,
Beneath a canopy of trees and crossing many streams.
You come to an enormous lake,
A tranquilizing blue color,
Clear and fresh.
And you stop.
You and the guide drink the water and rest for a while.
After continuing the journey,
You begin to feel some frustration and mistrust of the guide.
The forest has become so dense that you cannot see far in any direction.
The sacred mountain is completely obscured from your view and you feel far from your home.
However,
After a little time,
You begin to ascend and the forest becomes less dense.
You look back into the direction you came from.
You see the forest and the rooftops of the houses of your town,
The sight of the town and the tightness of your body make you feel that the journey is perhaps useless.
And you want to return to the comforts of your home and the friends you left behind.
But the guide insists you go on,
So you follow.
The ascent becomes steeper and you are feeling very tired.
But the guide continues at his steady pace.
Sometimes you feel angry at his relentless pace.
But at other times you are grateful for his expertise in climbing the more difficult terrain and in avoiding places that would have been impossible for you to climb.
The vegetation becomes less dense.
The ground is rocky and rugged.
All thoughts of home and past have gone as you need to concentrate completely on climbing and keeping up with the guide.
Overcome by fatigue,
You collapse on the ground to rest.
You feel exhausted and defeated.
You don't care if the guide waits for you or not.
The whole journey seems pointless now.
The guide comes to you,
Takes you by the hand and starts walking again.
With each step,
He repeats the words,
I will,
I will.
You find that you are walking in step with him and the sound of the words I will is echoing through your body and mind.
Giving you tremendous strength and energy.
The guide releases your hand but the words keep resounding in your mind as you follow him further upwards.
As you near the top of the sacred mountain,
The ascent is even more difficult and the guide is far ahead of you.
You trudge spritlessly on alone and finally reach the top where the guide is waiting for you.
As you observe the awesome panoramic view,
A feeling of exhilaration,
Excitement floods your body and mind.
The guide gives you a meaningful smile and you are grateful to him for his toughness during the climb.
You are exalted by the environment,
Overcome by a feeling you have never experienced before.
You are just sitting enjoying the view when the guide says follow me and leaps from the peak disappearing into the space.
Without any thought,
You follow him.
Now,
With feeling,
Mentally say to yourself three times,
I am at ease,
I am completely relaxed.
Come back to the breath.
Notice your body and the surface beneath it.
Remember your surroundings,
The place you are lying down,
Being ready to come out of the practice.
Slowly,
Become aware of the body internally and gently move your fingers,
Move your toes,
Feet side to side,
Move your head side to side.
If you feel like,
Give your body a good stretch.
Now,
Without any hurry,
Whenever you are sure that you are wide awake,
Sit up slowly and open your eyes.
Namaste.
