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 this following period of meditation.
Take a moment to make yourself comfortable.
You may want to sit upright with the back straight or you may want to lie down.
Whenever you're ready,
Bring the eyes to a gentle close.
During busy and stressful periods of our lives,
It's important that we can find time to relax and recenter.
And we're going to do this by first relaxing the body part by part,
Starting with the soles of the feet.
Noticing any sensations here,
Any contact or tingling.
And we're just going to slowly guide our awareness around the toes and over the tops of the feet.
Gently wrapping around the ankles as we very slowly move into the calves.
Allowing the mind's eye to slowly rise up,
Glazing over the calves,
The calves,
Feeling over the shins and coming around the knees as we feel into the thighs and the backs of the thighs.
Feeling the weight of the body on the glutes.
Stable and grounded.
Irrespective of things that may be happening in our daily lives.
Feeling into the lower back and rising up into the middle of the back.
Maybe feeling some aching or tightness in the sides.
Perfectly natural.
Without turning anything away.
Without turning anything away.
We can arrive at the upper back and slowly come into the shoulders.
An area where we can feel tightness and strain in times of stress.
And we can just gently release a little by kissing the shoulders up towards the ears before relaxing on the exhale and dropping down into the abdomen.
Allowing the breath to dive and fill this area.
Expanding like a balloon.
As we feel into the cavity of the torso.
Acknowledging the organs as we rise up into the heart center and emerge at the chest.
Again where stress will manifest as a bit of strain which will dissolve completely on its own.
As we drop down over the arms,
The elbows and into the forearms,
Wrists and hands.
And into the forearms,
Wrists and hands.
We may notice some tingling in the tips of the fingers.
Maybe some heat in the palms.
Perfectly okay.
And gathering our mind's eye as we guide it up into the neck and throat.
Caressing the jaw,
Moving over the lips,
Cheeks,
Nose,
Eyes and forehead.
And just arriving at the top of the head.
Where we can take a second to notice how we feel in this moment.
During busy periods of testing,
Examination,
Assessments.
We may notice that the mind becomes more unsettled.
Experiencing an increase in tension in the body.
Maybe even sometimes a headache that we just can't seem to shift.
Especially as the time comes closer.
We may even experience an increase in our heart rate.
Sweating in the palms or around the area of the forehead.
Maybe noticing that the breath is a little shallower.
Sitting higher in the chest.
And when we notice these things arising,
We can have a tendency to panic.
To doubt ourselves a little more than usual.
We may notice thoughts that dissociate our potential performance with our worth and value as human beings.
Even though we know,
Deep down,
That this is not true.
That this is not true.
To compete in multiple assessments within a short period of time.
And define ourselves based on an arbitrary metric.
It has no correlation to our kindness,
Our compassion,
Or the quality of our heart.
Carrying negative self-assessments from previous exams just simply doesn't make sense.
After all,
We know that no matter how things were before,
The world did not disappear.
Our family and friends did not stop loving us.
And our ability to experience positive emotions in our daily life was without harm.
And so with this in mind,
We can just allow ourselves to have this brief period of peace.
We can allow any self-criticism or thoughts about the future to just pass by.
Like anonymous cars on a busy road.
We can remind ourselves that any panic or stress that we may be experiencing will disappear naturally,
As it always has.
As it always has.
And so we calm the mind in this safe space.
Where such externals have no relevance at all.
And doing so,
We re-emerge with a sense of balance.
A sense of balance and clarity.
The kind which inevitably allows the knowledge that we have already accumulated to arise naturally,
Like a shining lotus from a cloudy lake.
Setting the intention to relax a little deeper now,
We can begin to scan down the body once more.
From the top of the head.
Melting down over the forehead and the eyes.
Over the nose,
Cheeks,
Lips,
Jaw and chin.
Briefly allowing the awareness to drip down the back of the head.
And acknowledging the ears as we seep down into the neck.
And shoulders.
And maybe even repeating to ourselves a little mantra,
As we release from each area of the body.
Saying to ourselves,
I am letting go and relaxing deeper.
Healing the shoulders.
Letting go and relaxing deeper as you drip down the arms.
Over the elbows,
Forearms and into the wrists and hands.
Tingling in the fingers.
Relaxing deeper and letting go.
Sensitivity in the hands,
Evidence that the mind is sharpening in concentration.
As we return to the upper back.
Feeling down through the middle of the back.
Using the spine as a guide as we arrive into the lower back.
Deepening and letting go.
Feeling into the chest.
Softening and smoothing.
And guiding the mind's eye down into the abdomen.
Where we may feel the breath diving deeper here.
Returning to its natural rhythm.
Checking in again at the base of the spine.
And feeling the weight once more of the body on the glutes and the backs of the thighs.
Feeling the heaviness of relaxation.
As the legs begin to almost disappear into the surface upon which they rest.
Over the tops of the thighs and through the knees.
As we arrive into the calves and shins.
Wrapping around the ankles,
Over the tops of the feet.
Maybe feeling an increased sensitivity in the soles of the feet.
And we can just zoom out here.
And notice the body and mind as they are.
As a whole.
One field of unified activity.
Which can always find a sense of balance and stability.
Showing us that we can establish calm.
Irrespective of the external stresses and concerns of our daily lives.
Experiencing the reality of being.
And just taking a few moments to enjoy it.
To be here.
Before re-emerging with an increased sense of focus and a calm detachment.
Allowing whatever is to unfold in the coming hours or days to do so.
Without judging or labeling anything.
Coming close to the end of the meditation period now.
Take a moment to check in with how you feel.
Notice how your mindset may have shifted in this short space of time.
In this short space of time.
We don't need to quantify or label anything.
You can just be and know.
You will now hear the bell ring three times.
And on the third ringing of the bell,
Gently open the eyes and return to the room.
