This is a meditation for deep rest.
So I just want you to spend the next few moments ensuring that you're as comfortable as possible.
Make any small adjustments to help settle your body.
I just want you to make yourself aware of the room that you're in or whether you're outside.
And just imagine where you are positioned.
If you hear any sounds,
I want you to hear them as pure sound without attaching a story,
A narrative,
Or any kind of label to them.
Just let sounds fall into the background of your awareness.
And then I want you to begin by taking five or six,
Just easy breath,
Focusing on your exhale.
With each exhale,
I want you to feel your body being grounded.
Commit your weight to the support beneath you as though tension is falling through your body and into the ground underneath.
I want you to make it an intention for your body to rest.
Make an intention for your body to rest deeply.
And I want you to bring your awareness to the hinge of your jaw and let it slack a little.
Let the root of your tongue soften and widen in your mouth.
And let your attention wander to the back of your eyes,
Imagining a spaciousness deep in your eye sockets.
If your mind is busy,
I want you to try to shift your focus from the front of your brain right behind the forehead to the back of the brain.
Imagine thoughts and worries dropping back towards the ground.
Just let the back of your throat relax and widen as your shoulders surrender to the support underneath you.
Let your lungs and organs rest in the back of the body,
Softening deeper with each exhale,
Softening deeper with each exhale.
Visualize the muscles of your arms softening away from the bones.
See your skin softening away from the muscles.
Imagine your whole body settling into rest.
Just visualize your whole body surrendering to rest.
Give yourself permission to rest deeply.
And as I guide to various points throughout your body,
There is nothing to do except settle your attention on each body part with an intention to rest.
So I want you to bring your awareness to the space in between your eyes,
Between your eyebrows,
And I want you to rest the center of your throat.
Rest.
Make an intention for your right shoulder to rest and let your attention run down your upper arm to your right elbow.
Then down your forearm into the right wrist through each finger.
Finally,
Letting your whole hand rest,
Letting your right elbow,
Your wrist,
Shoulder,
And finally your whole right arm rest.
Move your attention to your throat.
Commit to rest.
And now we're bringing the awareness into the left arm,
The left shoulder,
The left upper arm and elbow,
The left wrist and every finger.
Letting the whole left arm rest.
Now bring your attention back to the throat.
Rest the center of the chest,
The right side of the chest,
The center of the chest,
The left side of the chest,
Your abdomen.
Let the whole abdomen and torso rest.
And now the center of the right hip,
Let your attention run down your thigh to the right knee,
Through the shin to the right ankle,
To each toe.
Deep in the right hip,
The right ankle,
The right knee,
Finally letting the whole right leg rest.
To the space in between your hip bones and now the center of the left hip,
To the thigh and the left knee,
The shin to the left ankle,
To every toe on your left foot.
The left ankle,
The left knee and back deep into the left hip,
Finally allowing the entire left leg to rest.
The space in between your hip bones rises to the navel,
Our whole abdomen is at rest.
The center of the chest,
The walls of the throat relax,
The space in between our eyes and now our whole body rests.
Your whole body is at rest.
I want you to begin visualizing the breath moving through the right nostril and out the left nostril,
In through the left and out through the right and allow the breath to be as easy and as soothing as you can.
I want you to visualize that the breath moves in from below the nostril and travels all the way up past the center of the eyebrows into the middle of your brain.
I want you to watch the breath fall,
Exhaling from the center of your brain all the way beyond the tip of the nostril.
I want you to bring your attention to the front of your body,
From your face all the way through your chest and torso to your legs and your feet.
Let your whole front body rest into the back of your body.
Let there be a feeling of weight in your body as your front body settles back and rests.
I want you to imagine how comfy it would feel for your whole body to feel weighty as you let yourself sink into the support of the ground.
Just let your whole body explore a restful and deep heaviness.
Now imagine your back of your body floating up into the front.
Your whole body is light.
It's spacious.
It's effortless.
Let your whole body feel light as though you're resting weightlessly.
Now I want you to just have a sense of deep,
Deep rest in your body.
A sense of deep rest in your mind.
A sense of deep rest in your whole being.
It is unchanging.
It is at rest.
And it is whole.
Let your whole body rest in the unchanging nature of your whole self.
I want you to feel your breath move your body.
Notice the natural and ease of the rhythm of your breath.
As you take a deeper,
Richer breath,
How does that breath feel as a sensation in your body?
Remember where you are.
Feel free to open your eyes if that's helpful and let your eyes fall closed again.
And gently begin to move your body.
Wiggle your fingers and toes.
Stretch your arms and legs.
Make any movements that gently bring your body back to a wakeful state.
And when you're ready,
Gently roll to your side and let the eyes open softly so you take in some light,
Some color.
And when you're ready,
Come to a comfortable seated position.
Take a moment to close this practice in your own way or return to any feelings or sensations of deep rest.
Gently open your eyes.
Take plenty of time to move back into your day.
Thank you for meditating with me.
