Greetings,
Friends,
And welcome.
Welcome to a meditation to help guide you into a restful evening and let go of the day.
This meditation is intended to help you unwind from your day and move into a restful evening.
We'll really take our time to create a ritual that works for us,
So we might all take this meditation a little differently.
You might use it as you come in from work and you want to take a little time to unwind,
Or you might use it last thing at night before you go to bed.
It may well be as we move now into the winter season and the darkest time of the year,
That when you get home from work it is already dark.
And we're going to take some time in this darkness to consciously step over a threshold,
To step over from the busyness of our day and really embrace the restfulness,
The calm,
The quiet and even the dark of the evening.
So take your time as we settle in our own way.
If you've just got in you might want to take off your shoes,
You might want to get rid of any work clothes that aren't comfortable,
Maybe wrap yourself in a blanket or a dressing gown,
Maybe even dim some bright overhead lights and ignite some candles.
Take your time to create your evening space,
Create a little sanctuary just for yourself.
And when you feel ready to do so we'll settle into a comfortable place,
Whether that be seated or laying down.
And just as we take a little time to settle here we'll say goodbye to the day by counting some of the gratitudes we've experienced.
So as we step over the threshold into the evening,
Into the night,
Let's first reflect on the day.
We might start with simple gratitudes that we had clean clothes to put on this morning,
That we woke up in our warm bed,
That we have food in our bellies from a day of eating,
Breakfast,
Lunch and dinner perhaps.
And then maybe we'll move on to maybe the people we met today and even some challenges we may have overcome.
Maybe we are simply grateful that we made it through the day,
Sometimes that's enough.
Take your time just to reflect on the day in gratitude for a few moments here.
And something we can always be grateful for through each day and each night is our breath,
Our constant companion.
So that's where we'll move our attention next.
If it's comfortable to do so,
Rest your hands somewhere on the chest or the tummy where you can feel the rise and fall of the breath underneath your hands.
Feeling that movement,
That rhythm of the breath underneath the hands and also the weight and warmth of the hands upon your body.
Connecting to body and breath,
That which we can always be grateful for.
Our body and breath that has carried us through our day can now help ease us into the evening.
Feeling that movement of the breath,
Perhaps we'll inhale for a slow count of three and exhale for a slow count of three.
Just taking our time,
Visualising perhaps the lungs completely filling with air on that slow three count and completely emptying of air on that slow three count.
And we're just going to take this slow and easel breath for two minutes.
So,
We're going to take a slow count of three and exhale for a slow count of three.
And we'll continue this slow and easeful breath,
That gentle rhythm.
And you can keep the hands on your body if that feels nice or you can just let the hands fall to a restful place.
Along with bringing our focus inwards towards that slow and steady breath,
We're taking our time to consciously draw our mind towards the breath.
And as we draw it inwards,
We can draw our thoughts,
Our attention,
Our awareness away from our day,
Leaving the deadlines and schedules at our workplace,
Consciously stepping away from the tasks we've done today,
The projects,
The things that have gone well and the things that have gone not so well.
Whatever has happened today,
It is time now to set those things aside.
Time now to embrace the here and now,
The restful dark of the winter's evening,
A time for drawing inwards,
For rest and reflection.
As we let go of the busyness of the day,
Both from our thoughts and also from our body.
If we've had a stressful day,
We may have gathered tension within our tummy or hips.
If we've felt anxious,
We may have felt it within our shoulders.
Here is a time where we can consciously let go of those airs of the body we've been holding on to today.
We've held ourselves tall,
We've held ourselves strong,
But now it is safe to let go,
To let the body surrender,
To release and allow the body to relax.
Softening the feet and the legs that have carried us around today,
Softening hips and tummy and the chest as it rises and falls with the breath.
Softening the arms and shoulders,
The muscles of our back.
Releasing any little tensions around the neck or the jaw or even that we may be carrying within our face,
Those tiny muscles around the eyes and the forehead.
We can thank the body for all it has done for us today,
How strong it has been to carry us through the day.
But now it is time to bring body,
Breath and mind to a slower pace.
An unwinding and unravelling of tension as we move into our evening.
And as we take our final few minutes to relax here,
What I'll do is just let the music play for a few minutes to give you a little bit of your own peaceful time.
But during these few minutes,
I'd like you to envisage how in your mind's eye you may journey from day to night.
Perhaps you'll envisage stepping over the threshold of a beautiful doorway and then closing the door behind you on the stresses of the day.
Maybe you walk over a bridge,
A stream trickles below you carrying away the noise and busyness of the day.
Maybe you swim through water and the water washes away the day.
Allow yourself to envisage your threshold,
Your stepping over in any way you wish.
As you make your conscious choice to hold this beautiful evening and night in a special place,
In a special way for you,
Where you can relax and let go and enjoy a little peace in your evening.
On this beautiful,
Dark winter's night,
I wish you good evening.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
