Enter A Space Of Deep Relaxation

This is a guided deep relaxation to bring us home to our bodies with openness and gratitude. Relaxation practice helps us to learn to listen to our body, offering a supported space to rest and restore, and connect deeply with the physical body. Learning to bring an intentional awareness to relaxing is an important part of mindfulness practice. Sometimes, we spend so much time in our heads that it can become difficult to reconnect with our bodies. Often we prioritise our mind over our body; we heed what our busy (obsessed) mind wants to do, rather than listen to the messages coming from our body. This gentle practice lasts just over 40 minutes. For those who have less time, there is a bell that sounds half way through - you can use this as your timer if you want a shorter session.

Transcript

To start we take a moment to check in on our breathing.

Just take a moment to notice your breath coming into your body and leaving your body in its own very natural rhythm.

Like waves coming in against a seashore.

And you can take a moment to notice where your body is making contact with the ground.

Whether it's a bed or a floor or a mass.

Just notice what is supporting the weight of your body.

Notice the sensation of that contact.

From your back,

Notice where your head is touching.

Your arms and hands.

Your legs.

Your feet.

Just allow yourself to be really held,

To be supported in this moment.

And I'll sound the bell and while we enjoy the sound,

Can really focus on being really present for this sensation of where your body touches the ground or the bed.

Just really relax into the weight of your body.

And I'll sound the bell.

And I'll sound the bell.

Breathing in,

Bring our attention all the way down through our body to our right foot.

And we try and sense what life is like for our right foot from inside our foot.

So we really inhabit our foot.

So you might notice what the skin of your foot can feel.

So you might feel a sock or tights,

It might be inside a shoe or a slipper.

Just notice what it makes contact with.

Whether it's the heel of your foot or if you're curled up the side of your foot.

So just notice what sensations,

What external textures and what pressure your foot can feel from outside.

And notice how the temperature feels for your right foot.

Does it feel neutral?

Does it feel warm or cool?

And maybe the one part of your foot feels heat and another part feels chilly.

We just observe what our right foot is feeling.

Notice if it feels constricted or if it feels spacious.

And then we allow the entire foot to fill with this very heavy,

Relaxed energy.

So that every part of our foot,

The bones and the musculature,

All our cells can fill with this really deep energy of relaxation.

So that it can rest very deeply in the present moment.

We allow our right foot to let go of everything.

And on your next in-breath,

Bring our attention to the left foot.

Just take a moment to explore your left foot and see what its experience is right now.

So from the heel of your foot,

Across the sole and the arch,

All the way down your five toes,

Just notice what sensations the foot is able to feel.

So what textures or what sensation of pressure on the outside.

And then what temperature it feels.

Is it warm?

Is it cool?

Does it feel spacious?

Does it feel constricted?

Just take a moment to be aware of the experience of your foot right now.

And then really infuse your entire foot with a heavy,

Relaxed energy.

So that your foot totally fills with this energy of relaxation and is able to rest completely.

And bringing our awareness up to both our ankles.

Just be aware of the ankle joints.

If they feel at ease.

If there's a feeling of an ache or a tension.

And your intention towards your ankles can be to allow them to let go of whatever they're holding onto.

So we offer them this heavy energy of relaxation.

So that they know it's okay to relax.

That it's a good time for them to really rest.

So letting both joints fill with this heavy,

Relaxed energy.

And they may fall open a little bit if we're lying on our back.

As a result of really letting go.

And then bring your energy to your calves,

To your two calves.

And really aim to embody your two calves.

So that you can understand their experience.

You can learn what they feel right now.

You can hold an awful lot of tension in our calves.

So just notice if there's a gripping quality to the muscles.

And then offer them this very heavy,

Relaxed energy.

So let it fill upwards from the ankles,

Filling your two calves.

Our calves and our feet run us around for so much of the day.

And now there's nothing for them to do.

There's nowhere to go.

They have no jobs.

So we let this heavy,

Relaxed energy really fill our two calves.

Let them rest wholly.

And then bringing that heavy,

Relaxed energy up to infuse our two knees.

You really want every aspect of the joint to be saturated with this heavy,

Relaxed energy.

So our ball and socket,

The musculature around the sinews that connect,

The skin that surrounds it,

The blood that moves through the joint.

You want to breathe this energy in in such a way that the joint can feel that it's safe to relax.

That it can feel perhaps a little bit more spacious and it can really rest.

And bringing your attention to your two thighs.

Let this heavy,

Relaxed energy begin to fill your two thighs.

We have large muscles here.

They do a lot of work for us.

To see as that heavy,

Relaxed energy spreads through your thighs.

If it's possible for your muscles to let go of some tension,

To offer more weight to the ground.

To really rest fully and let themselves be completely supported.

And then bring your attention to your pelvis and the cradle of your hips.

So your lower back,

Your hips,

Your lower belly.

Just breathe into this area and let it begin to fill with a heavy,

Relaxed energy.

So that its weight can truly rest.

And from the base of our spine.

You can trace the line of the spine slowly up your back.

So vertebrae by vertebrae.

You allow this heavy,

Relaxed energy to saturate your spine.

Going up from your lower spine to your middle to your upper.

And then span your attention outwards from your spine.

So that you take in the muscles of your lower back.

So that fan of muscles that comes out.

Your rib cage.

Your shoulder blades.

So that the whole landscape of your back is clear in your awareness.

And it fills with this very heavy,

Relaxed energy.

And rests really deeply.

Really fully.

Our life is so much richer for having a healthy spine.

And it's wonderful to have an opportunity to allow all those fine bones that protect so many nerves to really relax and feel nourished and refreshed.

Then bring your awareness to the tops of your shoulders.

Just notice how they're feeling.

You might imagine someone placing a hand on your shoulder.

A reassuring touch.

To let them know that it's okay to relax.

It's okay to let go.

So we let the two shoulders fill with this heavy,

Relaxed energy.

And if we notice pockets of tension or of resistance to relaxing.

You can imagine that as ice.

So you can imagine that area as ice.

And then focus on ice melting to water.

So this softening,

Softening.

And then water releasing to vapor.

Creating a spaciousness.

A sense of ease in that area.

And then from the top of your shoulders we'll move down our two arms and let them fill with this heavy,

Relaxed energy.

So our upper arms filling,

Relaxing.

Our elbow joints.

Feeling a sense of ease into the joint.

And letting it rest and relax.

And then our forearms.

Letting them be totally at rest.

Filling with a heavy energy of relaxation.

And then coming into the fine bones of our wrists.

Breathing in in such a way that we offer a sense of spaciousness,

Relaxation.

To the detailed joints of our wrist.

And then we come in to embody our two hands fully.

So across the palm of our hands,

Our thumb,

Our fingers.

All the way to the very tips of our fingers.

Resting in our hands,

Residing within their presence.

Can be a very peaceful place to be.

Meditation ball And then bringing our attention back to our lower belly,

To our lower abdomen.

Breathing deeply into that space.

Offering space to our internal organs.

They have such wisdom.

Our lower intestines know what nutrients to retain,

What our body needs,

And they work hard.

So we let them fill with this heavy relaxed energy now and really rest in that.

They might feel nourished,

Restored.

And then inviting that energy to move upwards to our upper abdomen,

Our stomach,

Our liver,

Our pancreas.

We let all our internal organs be bathed in this heavy relaxed energy.

So that they can really rest,

So that they can heal.

They work so hard for us.

And then noticing the movement of our lungs.

We bring our attention to our rising and falling lungs.

They've taken so many breaths for us.

And whether we've been sleeping or sobbing or shouting,

Our lungs continue to support us exactly where we are,

Whatever we're experiencing.

So we can offer our gratitude to our lungs.

Let them fill with this heavy relaxed energy and really move in their gentle rhythm in a very easeful way.

And then bring your awareness to your heart.

You may be able to feel its beating rhythm.

Or sense a pulse of blood moving through your body.

Your heart has been beating for you since before you breathed air.

And even when we rest at night and sleep,

Our heart keeps working for us.

And we have this opportunity now to offer gratitude,

Our kindness to our heart.

And let it really rest in this relaxed energy so that its beating is very easeful,

Gentle and steady.

So that all the tissue around the heart can feel this deep,

Heavy relaxed energy.

With the heart beating steadily in its midst.

And then bring your attention to your solar plexus,

That very upper part of your chest.

See how it feels,

If it feels at ease.

And allow this heavy relaxed energy to saturate your solar plexus.

So it fills it and fills it,

Reaching up to the very top of your shoulders.

And then drawing that energy upwards into your neck.

And let that heavy relaxed energy begin to fill your throat and the very upper part of your spine.

Where the vertebrae become very fine and delicate.

Our neck can hold a lot of tension very easily.

And if we're lying down then the neck has no work to do at the moment.

It doesn't need to hold up our head.

It can really rest deeply.

So we breathe in in such a way that this energy of relaxation infiltrates all the parts of our neck.

Offering it a sense of spaciousness,

Of deep relaxation,

Of healing.

And then from the nape of your neck,

Draw your attention up your skull and around the whole way down your face.

Notice the weight of your skull against the ground.

Just notice that heaviness of your head,

Your face.

Just let it rest really deeply.

We can let our brain rest totally inside our skull.

Just let it be held by our skeleton.

And then bringing your attention to your forehead.

Try and feel your forehead from the inside.

And let it fill with this heavy relaxed energy across your forehead.

As though someone rested a hand on it for a moment to reassure you that it was okay to let go.

Okay to relax.

And then bring your attention to your eyes.

Your eyeballs resting inside the eye sockets.

See if they can feel a little bit heavier as they fill with this energy of relaxation.

As it suffuses the area around your eyes.

Your eyebrows,

The skin around your eyes,

Your eyelids,

The inside of your eyelids.

Just let them all fill with this energy of relaxation.

This intention to let go.

To rest really deeply.

Our lives are so rich because of our two eyes.

All the colours that we can see.

A friend's face smiling.

A member of our family laughing.

Such a beauty that we've seen in nature,

In human beings.

Sunsets,

Starry skies.

Incredible colours.

Dazzling arrays.

A beauty that it can literally feel that it takes our breath away.

We're so touched.

And we have all this richness because of our two eyes.

So we can send our gratitude,

Our appreciation to every cell in our two eyes.

And thank them for all their gifts.

And then we bring our attention to our nose.

We try and feel our nose to sense it from the inside.

We let our nose and our sinus cavities fill with a heavy relaxed energy.

So that they know it's okay to rest.

We've smelled such beautiful things because of our working nose.

Because of our healthy nose.

Flowers in a garden or pine trees or box after the rain.

Lilies,

Sweet pea,

Jasmine,

Honeysuckle.

Such beauties.

And we enjoy our food so much more because of our healthy nose.

When we smell bread,

Baking,

Or perhaps coffee,

Fragrant tea.

So many riches because of our healthy nose.

And we also enjoy the scent of familiarity which nourishes our heart when we're close to our loved ones.

Our nose registers loving,

Beloved,

Home.

And breathing in we bring our attention to our two ears.

We try and experience our ears from the inside.

And from the very depth of the ear canal we fill with a heavy relaxed energy.

Outwards and outwards.

Filling our earlobe.

Filling our whole ear.

Knowing that it's okay to relax and rest.

They don't need to be alert to anything.

They have no job at the moment.

And what sounds we've heard in our life.

Sounds that have given such happiness or inspiration or support,

Reassurance.

Sounds of our dearest friends.

Sound of laughter.

The sound of music that makes our hearts soar.

That brings such energy,

Such inspiration to us.

Sounds of birds song.

Sounds of our wise teacher helping us to learn to take care of our suffering and nourish our happiness.

We have so much to be grateful for thanks to our two healthy ears.

And we bring our attention to our jaw.

We become aware of our jaw,

The bone,

The musculature around our jaw.

And we allow it to fill with this very heavy relaxed energy.

So that our entire jaw and its muscles stretching up behind our ears,

Everything knows that it's okay to rest.

It's okay to relax.

We let our jaw rest.

We bring our attention to our two lips and we let our lips rest.

They fill with this heavy relaxed energy.

And then inside our mouth we become aware of our gums,

Our teeth,

Our tongue.

We let them all rest really deeply.

We notice the root of our tongues,

The very base of our tongue where we can sometimes hold tension.

And we offer that this opportunity to feel completely at ease,

To rest.

And then bringing your attention from the crown of your head all the way down through your body,

Through your head and neck,

Throat,

All the way down through your back,

Torso and your arms,

Your hips flowing over your hips through your two legs all the way down,

Down till you feel your ten toes.

And just scan for a moment and see if there's any area that might let go of more tension,

Might offer even more weight to the bed or the ground so that you could be held even more in this moment,

Supported even more.

It's a beautiful surrender of heaviness when we learn to relax deeply.

Reviews

Beautiful thank you just out off hospital in pain this helped :)

Orlaith, what an incredibly beautiful meditation. It was like a massage and giving gratitude for all our body does for us.

Thank you so very, very much. I loved the full 40 minute meditation.

Very relaxing! I had a deep, fulfilling sleep. Thank you 🙏

So lovely and peaceful! The language was empowering and helped me connect to my body - very needed after a long day!

A very peaceful and relaxing body scan.

Very nice. Thanks!

I love it. Thanks for sharing

Excellent body sweeping and relaxing meditation. The pace is slow but the time seemed to fly. I love moving energy through my body. Very healing. Thank you for you kind guidance.

Very soothing and calming, put me right out to a dream state. Namaste 🙏🏻🌸🙏🏻

Sooo relaxing, that I don't know at what point I fell asleep! Your voice has a lovely lilting quality. Thank you.

This was great Orlaith and love the voice (from Cork myself) but would love you to do some more with less background noise. Namaste 🙏

Excellent relaxation meditation ! Really appreciate your relaxation techniques.
Thank you 🙏

Very relaxing. I really enjoyed this.
Thank you.

Great guidance, I fell asleep Beautiful, thank you 🙂

Lovely thank you

Wonderful thank you.

This is very nicely done! The gong got me a little at the end but mostly because it was so effective in getting me relaxed! A solid 5!