Hello and welcome to this relaxation meditation for teachers,
A chance for you to put school worries behind you,
Slow down and experience a sense of calm.
To begin,
Get into a comfortable position,
Allow the body to settle and take a deep cleansing breath in,
Long breath out,
Let the breath and settle into its own natural rhythm,
Let the eyes comfortably close and just become aware of the body,
Become aware of the surface beneath you,
Feeling its support and relax,
Relax the muscles,
Releasing any tension you may have,
Just relax,
Let the shoulders and neck muscles soften,
Relax your jaw,
Letting all the facial muscles relax,
Soften your stomach muscles too,
Allowing you to breathe freely and easily.
Now,
In your mind's eye,
Imagine you're walking in nature,
Around you are trees,
Flowers,
Birds,
Notice what you see as you look around,
The colors,
The shapes,
The movement,
Including the feeling of your own body,
Comfortably strolling through this lovely scene,
Hearing leaves rustling in the gentle breeze,
Bird song and in the distance,
You hear the soft sound of running water,
You get closer and closer until you see in front of you,
A beautiful shallow stream glistening in the sunlight,
Its waters lazily flowing over the small stones on its bed,
Now,
Sit down by it,
Relax,
Watch its flow,
Hear its soothing sounds,
Feel the soft grass beneath you and as you do,
You notice some leaves on the grass beside you,
Pick one up,
Feel its texture with your fingers,
Now,
Imagine that this leaf represents a worry you have,
Maybe coping with workload,
Pastoral issues,
Management demands,
Maybe dealing with a colleague or a student,
Whatever worry you have,
Place it into this leaf,
Keep any ideas to solve the problem with you because those serve you,
But the worry doesn't,
So let the worry go and put it into the leaf in whatever way seems appropriate for you,
Then drop it into the stream,
Let it go,
Let it flow downstream,
Watch it slowly disappear off into the distance until not even its speck remains,
Allowing you to feel lighter,
Relieved,
Relaxed,
Sit now by the stream,
Just watching its flow,
The flow of life,
Not allowing worry to stunt its flow,
Just free,
Flowing on its own journey,
Allow yourself a moment to reflect on how you could be more like the stream and relax.
Well done,
Now bring your awareness back to the normal feelings of the body,
To the present moment and open your eyes,
Bringing that spirit of letting go and relaxation back with you into your day.
