Hi and welcome to this quick restorative meditation.
Come into a comfortable position,
Either seated or lying down.
Let your spine be straight and long and rest your hands in your lap or at your sides.
Take a moment here to notice the feeling of support for your body against the surface beneath you.
And if it feels comfortable for you,
Allow your eyes to slowly blink closed or gently rest your gaze on the floor ahead of you.
Begin to breathe into your entire body,
Flooding every last cell with oxygen and relaxing deeply with each out breath,
Letting go of anything you don't need.
Allow the muscles in your face to soften,
Your forehead,
The eyes,
Your jaw,
And allow the shoulders to drop away from the ears as you settle into your body and connect with your breath.
Next,
Begin to inhale deeply into your belly to a count of four,
Hold it for a count of two,
And then exhale slowly to a count of four and hold it for a count of two.
We'll do this for three full breath cycles.
Let's begin.
In,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold,
Two,
Out,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold,
Two.
Do this two more times on your own.
Good.
Now allow your breath to return to its natural rhythm and allow yourself to be soothed and comforted by the flow of breathing.
Bring your attention to the rising and falling of your chest and belly as you breathe.
Follow your breath lovingly and with the tension in and out.
And as you're ready,
Begin to expand your awareness to your entire body.
Allow your attention to lightly sweep your body from head to toe and take note of whatever you notice is present.
Maybe it's coolness or warmth,
Tingling,
Numbness,
Tension,
Or another type of discomfort or pain.
If you do notice pain or discomfort,
See if you can make a little space for it in your awareness with kindness and compassion.
Now begin softening into that location of your body.
Let the muscles soften and let them relax as if they were in warm water,
Softening and allowing.
With each breath out,
Continue to let go,
Creating some space where these sensations can arise and release.
Similarly,
You can do this with thoughts in the mind as well,
Allowing the thoughts to totally flow just like the blood flows through your veins.
You don't have to dive into a thought or elaborate on it.
You also don't have to suppress or try to prevent it from arising.
Simply let go of the struggle and let the mind begin the process of emptying itself,
If only for a few moments.
You can make space and awareness for this emptying and this healing process.
Rather than responding to physical discomfort or mental agitation with frustration,
You can respond with the quality of recognition,
Of compassion,
And gratitude that the body's beginning to heal itself at the deepest levels.
Now begin to bring your awareness back to your breath,
Focusing on your body as a whole and allowing yourself to feel whatever you feel,
To be exactly as you are in this moment.
Begin to bring some movement to your body,
Perhaps stretching your muscles or wiggling your fingers and toes.
And when you're ready,
If your eyes were closed,
Go ahead and open them.
As you return to your daily activities,
Know that you can come back to this state whenever you need to.
Thank you so much for joining me in this practice today.
Namaste.
