Thank you for trying this meditation around cleansing your concerns,
Finding a comfortable position and settling in,
Making any adjustments you need and finding a deeper breath,
Moving the air down into your belly,
Feeling your belly rising and falling with your breath.
With each exhale relaxing any parts of your body that may be holding tension.
Common places for tension are the eyelids and forehead,
The jaw,
The shoulders,
Hips or hands and feet,
Just using your exhales to actively relax these areas and just returning to your natural breath,
Just observing it,
How the air moves through your body,
What sensations or movements are associated with the breath.
I invite you now to visualize yourself sitting on the bank of a stream,
Watching the water flow by a shallow stream,
Observing the bed of the stream,
The stones that protrude the surface of the water,
The moist smells,
The vapor in the air,
The earthy scents coming from trees and shrubs,
Mosses that are growing nearby,
And then bringing your awareness to some of the sounds of the area,
Insects or birds,
The sound of the water flowing,
Any movement of the leaves from the trees.
So I'd like you now to just gaze at the bed of the stream and bring your eyes to some of the smooth stones on the stream bed,
And I'd like you to select three of these to take out of the stream,
When you visualize your hand entering the water,
Just noticing the sensation the water brings to your hand and how that sensation moves through your body.
Then laying the stones out on the bank of the stream,
I invite you now to think of some of the areas in your life where you experience concern,
Worry,
Anxiety,
Tension or stress.
Just roaming through some of those areas,
Thinking about the elements that contribute to making these areas tense or stressful.
Over the next few moments,
Deciding on three words to describe three areas of stress,
Stress,
Tension or worry in your life and then writing a word on each of the rocks that adequately summarizes that area and makes sense to you.
So when you found three suitable words,
Writing them on the stones and then just reviewing your words,
Gazing at them on the stones,
And we'll move into alternate nostril breathing now,
Taking the right hand,
Using the thumb to close the right nostril,
We'll inhale for four seconds through the left,
Then closing the left with the ring finger,
We'll exhale for four.
Inhaling for four,
Closing the right and exhaling for four,
And continuing this on your own for four more rounds.
And just taking the last exhale of your last round,
Letting your hands rest on your lap,
And now visualizing the stone to the left hand side,
Remembering the word you wrote on this stone,
Just spending a moment thinking about all the elements that contribute to why you wrote this word on the stone.
Us thinking about this word bring up any feelings or sensations around the body and if it does,
Bringing your awareness to those feelings and sensations,
Observing where they are and observing how they feel.
So now letting go of the thoughts and feelings associated with that word,
And taking the stone and placing it back in the stream,
And watching as the water slowly causes the word to be eroded,
To fade away,
To dissolve and be carried away by the water.
And we'll move into our second set of alternate nostril breathing,
We'll do five rounds again,
This time the inhale will be four seconds and the exhale will be six seconds.
If six seconds isn't comfortable for you just reducing it to five or four,
All breath work should be within your comfort zone.
So now just bringing your round of alternate nostril breathing to a close and resting your hands on your lap once again,
And visualizing the second stone you wrote your word on,
Picking up that stone just looking at the word,
Remembering what that word means to you,
What it implies,
The circumstances surrounding that word and just dwelling on that for a few moments.
So again observing what feelings or emotions arise and how they feel within your body,
And taking this stone,
Placing it back in the stream and observing the water do its work,
Move over the smooth surface of the stone and start to dissolve the word you'd written there,
Carrying it away.
And moving back to alternate nostril breathing one last time,
This time if it feels comfortable inhaling for four and exhaling for eight seconds,
Again this will be for five rounds,
So so so and finishing off your last round,
Exhaling completely resting your hands gently on your lap and visualizing that third stone the word you'd written there,
And thinking about that word and what it means to you and the events or situations surrounding that word.
So again observing what feelings or emotions arise within the body when you think about this word and all that surrounds it.
So then taking that stone placing it back beneath the water letting the water wash over it,
Watching as your word slowly disappears bit by bit and the stone is returned to its former self,
Smooth and sedentary,
Resting at the bottom of the stream.
So to return from your visualization just listening out for any sounds coming from the room you're in,
Or any sounds coming from further afield your building or out in the streets,
And becoming aware of your breath once more,
Of how the air flows through your body,
Any movements or sensations associated with the breath,
And then acknowledging that the process of alternate nostril breathing means you're combining a lot of logical elements,
There's the connection with the breath,
The predictable rhythm of the breath,
There's the counting and the movements of your hands,
These all combine to quell the emotional parts of your mind,
Allowing you to think more rationally,
More logically about certain situations in your life.
Then just acknowledging yourself for taking the time to practice meditation,
And starting to move your fingers and toes,
Your arms and legs,
And stretching out,
Making any movements,
And over the next few breaths,
Deciding to come out of the meditation and opening your eyes when you truly feel ready to do so.
