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 if you're new to the practice,
You may want to lie down.
And whenever you're ready,
Bring the eyes to a gentle close.
During times when we're experiencing anxiety or stress over upcoming engagements,
It can be useful to bring ourselves back to the reality of our experience.
And one way we can do this is by establishing a mindful awareness of the body,
Which can in turn relax the mind.
And so I invite you to bring your attention to the soles of the feet,
And just start by noticing any sensations here.
Maybe noticing some subtle tingling,
Or even just their contact with the surface or body parts upon which they rest.
And gently guide the attention around the toes and over the tops of the feet.
Wrapping around the ankles,
Feeling through the shins and the calves.
And as we emerge into the knees,
We can sometimes feel a little tightness in the lower knees,
A tightness which will dissolve on its own.
And so we can just acknowledge it as we move into the tops of the thighs,
Feeling into the backs of the thighs.
An area which holds the weight of the body here and on the glutes,
Stable and grounded,
Always.
Checking in at the base of the spine,
You can gently rise up into the lower back,
Maybe feeling a little tightness or aching running parallel to the spine,
Perfectly normal.
And we can rise up through the middle of the back,
Just caressing this part of the body with a kind inner attention,
As we feel into the upper back,
Spreading the mind's eye like wings across the shoulder blades.
And wrapping around the tops of the shoulders,
Maybe even feeling a little tightness here,
Which is perfectly natural,
As we can often hold tension,
Born of anxiety or stress,
Here,
Maybe in the neck.
Here,
Maybe in the neck.
You may even feel some tightness in the chest,
As we move our attention here.
And just acknowledging the fact that this will change throughout the course of the practice,
We can allow the inner gaze to melt through the chest and into the heart center,
As it drops down into the cavity of the torso,
Kindly acknowledging the work of the organs,
And maybe even feeling the breath diving deep into the abdomen.
Expanding this area,
As it begins to assume its natural rhythm.
Deepening of the breath,
Relaxing us from one moment to the next.
We can come back into the area of the shoulders,
And just slowly drip down the arms,
Over the elbows,
And into the forearms,
Wrists,
And hands.
And we may feel some perspiration in the palms,
And I invite you to take a moment,
To adjust any parts of the body here,
If you feel as though it would help you become more relaxed.
We don't have to punish ourselves in meditation,
Just find what works for us.
Which can be different,
At different times.
As we come back into the neck and throat,
We can glide the awareness around the jaw,
Over the lips,
Cheeks,
With the bridge of the nose and the eyes,
Smoothing over the forehead,
Very briefly,
As we station our inner gaze at the crown of the head,
And just take a second to check in,
With how we feel in this moment.
Exam season is a time of considerable anxiety and stress,
For all of us.
It doesn't matter how many of them we do,
Or how familiar we are with the subject,
They always seem to catch us off guard.
No matter how much preparation we seem to do,
We can still feel unprepared,
And we can't help but feel anxious,
And we can't help but feel anxious,
We can still feel unprepared,
Maybe lacking in confidence,
Or maybe even slightly pessimistic.
In the mind,
These subconscious evaluations can manifest as a difficulty concentrating,
Maybe deliberating about the future,
Or even self-doubt.
In the body,
Nerves can manifest as an increase in heart rate,
Maybe a slight shallowness of breath,
Or even headaches.
And of course,
There will be some subjects that don't worry us,
Challenges we almost relish to demonstrate our understanding.
But there's always a couple which can and will unsettle us.
When we experience these exam-related anxieties,
It is important that we see our subjective experience of them for what it is.
That is,
The body and mind's way of preparing us for what we have deemed a survival situation.
But this experience only exists within the mind.
Within a very specific set of conditions.
Conditions that convince us that the very long and unpredictable,
Diverse life that we will go on to live is defined by one or two hours relaying information from a book.
And it may even feel counter-intuitive to be here now.
It may feel like we are wasting time when we could be studying or revising.
But I invite you to ignore the logic for just a few minutes.
For just a few minutes.
And maybe even feel a sense of gratitude for making a wise choice to centre yourself in reality.
After all,
These social constructions will never define our worth.
As kind,
Caring,
Compassionate and loving human beings.
We don't need to shut out the stress or the racing thoughts.
But we can choose to watch them with a calm and kind mind.
We can get to know the experience.
Reminding ourselves that it is natural and okay to feel how we feel.
We can remember that the body and mind is merely giving us a small dose of discomfort to make the actual scenario a little more bearable.
An act of kindness,
If you will.
So whether you are preparing for,
In between or anticipating an upcoming exam,
Give yourself permission to enjoy this space in the knowledge that by choosing calm you inevitably create the best possible conditions for future success.
Getting ready to relax the body a little deeper now.
Opening up the channels which will allow energy to flow freely.
Freely.
We can start at the top of the head as we slowly drip down over the forehead,
The eyes,
The nose,
Cheeks,
Lips and chin.
Briefly scanning the back of the head and the ears.
As we wrap around the jaw,
Dropping into the neck and throat.
And arriving at the shoulders.
Maybe feeling a slight pull of relaxation as we dissolve tension and open up a little more.
Dropping down the arms over the elbows,
Forearms and into the wrists and hands.
We may notice an increased sensitivity in the palms,
The tips of the fingers.
A sure sign that we are increasing in mindfulness.
As the mind sharpens,
We can guide it back into the chest.
Loosening,
Softening.
Dropping down over the front of the torso and arriving again at the abdomen.
Feeling the breath diving and filling this area on the inhale.
And contracting even closer to the spine on the exhale.
As the body begins to return to its natural state.
Filling the system with energy.
And releasing any stress or tension.
We can return to the upper back.
Maybe still feeling some stiffness here.
Perfectly okay.
Feeling into the middle of the back and the lower back.
We can just zoom out for a moment and scan this area as a whole.
Giving an extra moment or two.
Giving an extra moment or two to any prominent sensations.
Just watching their activity very carefully.
Noticing.
Returning then to the base of the spine.
The body stable and grounded as always.
As we feel into the backs of the thighs.
The tops of the thighs.
And melt into the knees.
Maybe still feeling a little strain.
Where the knees meet the shins.
Where the knees meet the shins.
Or maybe even nothing at all.
Whatever is true for you is perfectly fine.
Feeling the calves.
As we wrap around the ankles and glide over the tops of the feet.
Around the toes.
And arriving again at the soles of the feet.
Maybe noticing an increase in temperature.
Or a very subtle tingling.
Completely relaxed.
You can just be here and enjoy this space of calm.
And when you hear my voice again.
We'll begin to bring the meditation period to its conclusion.
Coming close to the end of the meditation period now.
Take a moment to check in with how you feel.
Notice what has changed.
Maybe noticing a change in perspective.
From just a short time ago.
We don't need to label it or quantify anything.
We can just feel 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.
