The following practice has been brought to you by the School of Kamma,
Empowering students through mindfulness meditation.
Before you begin,
Find a safe and comfortable space where you won't be disturbed.
For safety,
Do not listen to this recording whilst driving or operating machinery.
Hi,
I'm Matt and I'll be your guide for the following period of meditation.
Take a moment to make yourself comfortable and you may want to lie down with the feet hip width apart and the arms by your sides whenever you're ready.
Bring the eyes to a gentle close.
Now we're going to start by relaxing the body,
Anticipating unease and discomfort.
We don't need to focus on the breath but just do the best we can to bring the body to a state of balance.
And so with the mind's eye on the toes,
Notice any tingling sensations here,
Any sensations in the soles of the feet,
In the tops of the feet and the ankles.
You may feel perspiration or heat or maybe even nothing at all.
That's perfectly fine.
Relaxing the calves and shins,
Releasing any tightness in the knees in the knees and feeling into the thighs,
The backs of the thighs and the glutes.
Noticing how this area of the body feels,
I invite you to make any adjustments that you may need.
Oftentimes when we have put the body under a little more stress than usual,
We can feel unsettled and it may be hard to keep still.
And so just give yourself permission to make yourself as comfortable as possible.
Coming in to the lower back,
The middle back and the upper back,
We may see some tightness,
Strain in this area.
Maybe even just a general sense of aching which pervades the whole of the torso,
The abdomen and the chest.
The chest,
The chest may be feeling a little tight.
We may have some churning and discomfort in the abdomen.
Just bring a kind awareness to the organs and the heart,
The lungs,
Giving them permission to just feel how they feel and acknowledging that any tightness in the body will drop away eventually as we relax deeper.
Coming to the shoulders,
Scrunching them up ever so slightly towards the ears and releasing them on the exhale,
Stretching the back by pushing the chest ever so slightly out in front and releasing again.
As we allow the mind to drip down the arms,
Elbows,
Forearms,
Wrists and hands,
But we can notice some heat and perspiration.
It's perfectly normal.
Finally coming to the neck and throat,
You may feel some blockages here and that's fine.
We won't try to change anything but just allow it to be as it is as we relax the face finally,
Cheeks,
Lips,
Nose,
Eyes and forehead.
And arriving at the top of the head to notice this change in state to a feeling of stillness and calm in the whole body and recognizing that we may still feel worn out,
Restless,
A little bit anxious and knowing that that's fine and will dissolve as and when it needs to.
Events and socials are an integral part of the university experience.
They help us socialize,
Meet like-minded individuals,
Connect with our community.
Another aspect of these engagements is an increased exposure to things like drinking,
Something which when engaged with in a balanced way can loosen us up,
Give us a lift and even give rise to some of the most insightful conversations that we may have.
The truth is this particular element of uni life is not going to change anytime soon and we will likely be exposed to it often throughout our degree.
Sometimes it can be easy to get caught in the excitement of the moment and maybe get a little carried away,
Maybe even consuming a little more than we had initially planned.
We may also find that in the days that follow we can experience unpleasant sensations in the body,
Some of which we may be feeling right now.
So much so that even lying down can feel like the hardest thing in the world and we may also experience unusual fluctuations in the mind,
Self-doubt,
Anxiety and maybe even regret,
All of which can be compounded when we struggle to remember certain parts of our evening or experience,
Maybe even being made aware of unusual behaviors in the morning debrief with our friends.
As we settle and let go,
It is important that we remember that these things happen.
We don't have to become monks or avoid all social scenarios,
But we can use this space to remind ourselves one event,
One mistake or one wild night out does not make us a bad person.
The fact that we are here reflecting and aware of how we feel demonstrates our intention to take a more balanced approach in the future and we can also use these experiences as a way of caring for those around us.
By integrating all aspects of this experience,
We can learn to be kinder to ourselves care for our peers and make sure others are safe,
Whether we know them or not.
And so this discomfort can be transformed into a tool for compassion.
These things happen and we don't have to pretend that they don't.
Be kind,
Acknowledge any discomfort with curiosity and use it as a tool for wisdom to know every aspect of yourself a little more deeply.
And we're going to begin to deepen now,
Relaxing and releasing and being kind to ourselves as we do so.
Starting at the top of the head,
Slowly drip the awareness down over the forehead and the brow,
Gently over the eyelids,
Over the eyelids,
The cheeks,
Over the lips,
And wrapping around the jaw as we come to the back of the head,
Noticing any heat in this area,
Reaching the neck and throat and into the shoulders,
Notably lighter as we feel them pulled gently down towards the earth or surface upon which they rest.
As we come down the arms,
Down into the elbows,
The forearms and wrists,
Returning once again to prominent sensations in the hands before feeling into the chest where we may see some stiffness or tension still present,
That's completely fine.
Noticing any heat in the center of the chest and allowing that just to seep down into the cavity of the torso behind the abdomen,
Relaxing the organs in this area in an act of kindness towards oneself,
Refraining from any judgment which we may place on discomfort,
Coming into the lower back,
The middle back and the upper back,
Relaxing this area and if we find that there are parts which are a little more tense than others,
We can spend an extra moment or two there,
Finally coming into the legs,
The glutes,
Thighs,
Knees,
The back of the knees,
Calves,
Shins and feet,
Feeling the relaxation in the legs and we can just stay here,
Allowing thoughts to arise and pass away in the mind and knowing that any anxieties or insecurities do not define who we are and are not permanent aspects of our experience and soon we will return to our confident,
Vibrant and energized selves,
Coming close to the end of the meditation period now,
Take a moment once again to check in with how you feel,
There's no need to quantify or label anything,
Just feel and know,
Reminding yourself that you can work with this practice whenever you need to,
You will now hear the bell ring three times and on the third ringing of the bell,
Slowly and gently,
Opening the eyes,
You can return to the room
