Bring yourself to your favourite meditation position,
Laying or seated.
You're welcome to use props,
Sit against the wall,
Or lay down,
Anything that's comfortable for you.
Be in such a way that your head,
Neck and torso are aligned.
You want your spine to be straight,
Not turned left or right,
Anywhere along the length of the spine.
If you're lying down,
A thin cushion makes a nice support for the head.
Your whole body posture should be relaxed enough,
But able to sustain that one position for 10 minutes.
Remember during meditation we should never be disappointed if our mind wanders or we become distracted.
This is the nature of the mind.
Simply accept what might come to you during this meditation.
Allow your breath to be smooth and slow,
With no noise or pauses.
Your natural breath.
Close your eyes and start to withdraw your senses from the environment.
Bring your awareness to your breath,
Your free breathing.
Allow your attention to move through and soften the muscles in your head and face,
Including the top of the head,
The forehead.
Soften your eyebrows and eyes,
Cheekbones and finally rest your attention at the nostrils.
Be aware of your breath at the nostrils.
Scan and relax your mouth,
Your jaws and chin.
Soften your neck and throat,
Your shoulders,
Arms,
Elbows,
Wrists.
Soften your hands,
Fingers and fingertips.
With every breath,
Feel as though you're inhaling energy up from the tips of your fingers to the shoulders.
And then with every exhale,
Feel as though you're releasing tension and waste of the body and the mind down the shoulders and out through the fingertips.
Inhaling energy up the arms and exhaling tension and waste of the body out through the fingertips.
Then move your attention from the fingers back through the hands,
The wrists,
Lower arms,
Upper arms,
Shoulders,
The upper back and chest.
Concentrate at the centre of the chest.
Inhaling and exhaling here,
Feel the subtle movement of your body in rhythm with the flow of your breath.
Be aware of the softening of the stomach and abdomen.
Soften the lower back,
The hips,
Relax the thighs,
The knees,
Calves,
Ankles,
Feet and toes.
With every breath,
Feel as though you're inhaling energy up from the tips of your toes to your stomach.
Feel and release the waste and tension down from the stomach out through your toes.
Breathing in the energy,
Breathing out the waste and tension down from the stomach out through your toes.
Start to move your attention back up from the toes to the feet,
The ankles,
The calves and knees.
Soften your thighs,
Your abdomen,
Your stomach and up to the chest.
Concentrate at the centre of the chest again,
Inhaling and exhaling here,
Releasing and relaxing with the movement of your breath.
And if you wish,
You can now direct your total concentration to the breath flowing smoothly in and out of your body.
Feel it flow calmly from the nose to the throat,
Chest and abdomen.
And then from the lower abdomen to the chest,
Throat and out of the nostrils.
Inhaling,
Nose,
Throat,
Chest,
Abdomen.
Exhaling,
Lower abdomen,
Chest,
Throat,
Nose.
While remaining aware of the breath,
Be conscious of whatever comes to you,
Whether it be thoughts,
Feelings or memories.
Simply be aware without it having influenced your thoughts or emotions.
We should never be disappointed if your mind wanders or you become distracted.
This is the nature of the mind.
Simply accept what may come to you during this meditation and the benefits will naturally arise.
Returning your attention to your breath and be conscious of whatever comes to you.
Start to now gradually,
As we move out of this meditation,
Allow your senses to reach out to your surroundings.
Become aware of the sounds around you.
Be aware of the feel of the body on the floor.
Observe the sensation of energy and vibrancy you feel throughout your whole body.
Keeping your eyes closed,
Take two long deep breaths here and then start to bring movement back to the body in a way that feels comfortable for you.
Perhaps wiggling your fingers and toes,
Having a stretch.
If you're lying on the floor,
You're welcome to roll onto your side and take a few breaths on your side.
When you're ready,
If you're lying on the floor,
Come to sit up in a comfortable seated position.
With the eyes closed,
Bring the palms together at the front of your body and rub the hands together vigorously.
Create some warmth in the palm of your hands and then bringing the palms to the eyes,
Cupping the eyes,
Noticing the warmth move from the palms to your eyes.
Keeping the eyes closed,
Return the hands once more to the front of the body,
Rubbing them vigorously,
Creating warmth in the hands and then gently cupping the hands over the eyes,
Being aware of the warmth move through to the eyes.
When you're ready,
Opening your eyes underneath the palm of your hands and then gently returning your hands to your lap.
