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.
Take a second to check in with how you feel and it can be useful to notice the quality of the breath without trying to influence it.
Just notice it cool as you breathe in and slightly warmer as you breathe out.
Notice the depth of the breath,
Whether it is shallow and sitting high in the chest or whether it dives deep into the abdomen.
Just allow it to be as it is as we gently bring our attention to the soles of the feet.
Bringing the mind's eye to this area,
We can begin to relax the body part by part,
Increasing in mindful awareness as we move our attention from sensations in the soles of the feet to the toes and around the ankles and just setting an intention to relax the calves and the shins noticing any tightness in the knees as we come into the thighs,
The backs of the thighs and the glutes,
Feeling this area of the body in contact with the surface upon which we rest,
Solid and stable as we reach the area of the lower back and sometimes we can feel a little tightness or aching especially in this area of the back and so I invite you to give the back a little stretch by gently pushing the chest out before releasing and allowing the body to loosen as you come to the upper back and the shoulders and again we can usually feel some tightness in this area and we can imagine the shoulders being gently pulled down towards the earth as this area of the body relaxes a little deeper and pulling down with it the mind's eye over the arms and the elbows,
Forearms and wrists,
Feeling any tingling sensations in the fingers,
Heat in the palms and maybe even readjusting them if you feel it would help you relax a little more,
Coming into the abdomen,
The ribs and the chest,
Observing this area as a whole and becoming aware of any tensions,
Sensations and just allowing the mind a moment to recognize and accompany these with a kindness of heart in the knowledge that they will change completely of their own accord and as we sweep the attention up into the neck,
Throat,
Jaw,
Lips,
Cheeks,
Eyes and nose,
Feeling any tension in the face begin to drop away as we arrive at the forehead and the top of the head and bringing our awareness to our experience as a whole and turning inward to survey the quality of our mind for a few moments.
University life can sometimes feel a little daunting,
There's so much pressure to fit in,
Have fun and create a brand new social life all at once and with this pressure we can sometimes exhibit a tendency to doubt our experience,
Especially when things don't appear to be turning out like we'd imagined or like we were told that they would and this slight feeling of doubt can manifest in a number of ways,
We may feel isolated or slightly anxious or maybe even inclined to do things that don't necessarily align with who we want to be,
Maybe to go out a little more than we'd prefer or commit to more events than we really have the energy for,
Almost as a way of feeling part of this very new kind of experience.
University is strange and it can sometimes feel a little competitive and intimidating,
When we become aware of these patterns of thought or assessments occurring within us we can simply use this as an opportunity to ground ourselves and ask if expectations and social pressures weren't a thing,
Then how would I truly want to experience this part of my life's journey,
How would the person that I truly want to become engage with these challenging and interesting scenarios,
The key to confidence during this very intense period in our lives,
As simple as it may sound,
Is just to be yourself and yes there will be times where we feel like we are missing out and that can be hard,
But we have so much time,
So be proudly different,
This will help you make the right connections at the right time,
Laying the most positive foundations for your journey towards your best and most empowered self,
Feeling a little calmer in this stillness now,
Now we're going to begin to relax the body,
Starting again at the top of the head and allowing the attention to drip down over the forehead and the brow,
Simultaneously down the back of the head and over the eyes,
Nose,
Cheeks,
Lips and around the jaw,
Feeling the relaxation in the face,
A contrast to any tension we may have been holding there before,
As our inner gaze melts any tension in the neck and throat,
Melting the shoulders and down the arms,
Elbows,
Forearms and into the wrists and hands,
And again noticing any heat or tingling in this area which can intensify as we relax a little deeper and hold our mind's eye here,
And we may even notice similar sensations in the chest,
At the centre of the chest,
As we allow the mind to seep through into the cavity of the torso,
Again acknowledging the organs as we move into the abdomen,
Feeling the body deepening in calm and giving a couple of extra moments to any prominent sensations in an act of kindness and self-care,
And we may notice some residual tension still in the area of the back,
The upper back,
The middle back or the lower back,
And we can just kindly remain with any of these feelings without trying to change them or push them away,
After all,
We may have already found that any sensations that were prominent when we first scanned the body have already changed in quality,
Evidence of their temporary nature,
Finally returning again to the legs,
Knees,
Calves and shins,
And returning once again to the feet,
We may feel as though the legs have almost melted into relaxation and calm now,
By creating momentum through mindful awareness of different parts of the body,
We sharpen the mind and create within it the conditions for us to calmly watch the breath,
Allowing it to come to us naturally,
Calmly,
Like waves on the coast coming to the end of the meditation period now,
Take a moment to check in with how you feel,
We don't need to quantify or label anything,
Just feel and know,
And remember that you can work with this practice as many times as you need to,
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.
