Hi,
And welcome to this meditation to help you slow down and reconnect with your breath and body.
Come into a comfortable position,
Either seated or lying down.
Make sure your spine is in straight alignment.
Allow your shoulders to drop away from your ears,
Your hips to settle into the surface beneath you.
Your head is either in your lap or at your sides.
And when you're ready,
Let your eyes drift closed or choose a spot in the room where you can gently rest your gaze.
Let's begin by just noticing your breath,
The natural flow and rhythm.
Welcome yourself to this practice and just become more aware of your breathing.
Not trying to change your breath in any way,
Just observing it.
And see if you can begin to let go with each out breath.
Become aware of the weight of your body.
Feel the contact points between your body and the chair or surface beneath you.
Just allow yourself to feel your body being supported here in this space.
Noticing more of your body's weight being held as you allow yourself to let go.
And begin to notice where in your body you're not yet fully relaxed.
Take your attention to those places now.
Take a few breaths into that area.
With each out breath,
Just feeling it relaxing,
Releasing,
Letting go.
And as you continue to do this,
Perhaps you can feel your breathing becoming even more relaxed now.
You know that you have a conscious mind and your conscious mind has various ideas of what it thinks should be happening or shouldn't be happening.
So just notice those thoughts,
But don't feed them and don't let them become the center of your awareness.
You can trust your unconscious now to know what's important as you prioritize your attention on your breath and on your muscles as they relax even more.
And as thoughts begin to arise,
Which they will,
Each time you notice a thought or an idea in your mind,
Notice them,
But then bring your attention back to your breath and to your body.
And now I'd like you to begin to notice the pauses between your in breaths and your out breaths.
They may be just tiny moments as the direction of your breath changes.
See if you can let yourself hang out in these moments of stillness.
Notice the quality of your breath as it moves in and out.
Notice the sensations of breath in your body.
You may notice that your breath is becoming a little deeper,
A little slower as your body becomes heavier and your mind becomes quieter.
Notice not that there's an absence of thoughts,
But you're just giving less of your focus to these thoughts.
Instead feeling the sensations of breath,
Feeling the weight of your body,
Noticing the sensations in your arms,
In your legs,
Your hands,
And your feet.
How do they feel right here and right now?
As you allow your attention to more fully inhabit your body,
Noticing again the quality of your breath,
Maybe noticing your breath is even deeper now.
Maybe your mind becomes a little quieter as you feel your body more fully in this moment.
And as you feel your system settling,
Quieting,
Calming,
Notice how this feels.
Perhaps feeling more of a sense of openness,
Of spaciousness,
Perhaps feeling more present and connected.
And if there's anywhere in your body right now that doesn't feel fully relaxed,
If there's any tension or tightness,
Take your mind there now and encourage that location to relax deliberately,
Releasing any tension.
Maybe becoming aware of your body becoming even heavier,
More deeply relaxed.
There's nowhere to go,
Nothing for you to do except simply be present,
Experiencing that feeling of surrendering to this moment,
The magic and the beauty of this very moment.
And as we come to the end of this practice,
Know that you can come back to this place as often as needed with a commitment to inviting in space and quiet.
And now begin to bring some movement back into your body,
Maybe stretching your arms and legs or wiggling the fingers and toes.
And as your attention comes back,
Bring with it this feeling of calmness and connection for the remainder of your day.
And when you're ready,
You can open your eyes.
Thank you so much for joining me in this practice today.
I hope it's helped you,
And I hope you have a beautiful day.
