Welcome to this guided meditation to help you to become inspired to exercise and increase your motivation to exercise regularly.
Before you begin,
Find yourself a comfy chair to sit in and make sure that you won't be disturbed.
So switch off your phone and laptop and prepare to take some time just for you.
Do not listen to this meditation while driving or operating any kind of machinery.
So if you are sitting comfortably,
Let us begin.
So just focusing on your breath for a few moments,
Taking a deep breath in and out and again a deep breath in and out,
Gently blowing the air out so you can just hear it and allowing your body to relax now,
Deeper and deeper,
Allowing your head to relax,
Your face,
Your cheeks and your mouth,
Allowing the feeling of relaxation to flow into your neck and shoulders,
Releasing all the tension there and relaxing into your chest,
Allowing your breath to deepen into your abdomen,
Your internal organs,
Just releasing and relaxing now,
Deeper and deeper,
Relaxing your arms,
Your hands down to your fingers and sending that feeling of peace and relaxation into your hips,
Your bottom,
Moving down your legs,
Your calves,
Your feet and down to your toes,
Feeling so calm and so relaxed now and the more you hear my voice,
The deeper your sense of relaxation gets,
That's right,
Very good.
So now I want you to imagine that you are in a beautiful forest,
It's a dark and starry night,
The full moon is shining down on you and lights up a stony path in front of you,
You hear an owl hooting in the trees above you,
You feel safe and protected,
You can hear the gentle flowing of a river somewhere in the distance,
As you walk along this path in the beautiful moonlit night,
You begin to hear drumming in the distance,
You start to walk towards the drumming noise and the drumming is becoming louder and louder and soon you come to some steps leading down to an ancient part of the forest and there are handrails made of wood next to the steps and in a moment you are going to walk down the steps and as you do so you will relax deeper and deeper.
So standing on step ten,
Down to nine,
Eight,
Seven,
Six,
Five,
Half way down now feeling so relaxed,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One,
You are so relaxed now,
More than you have ever been in a very long time.
At the bottom of the steps is a small enclosure surrounded by tall oak trees and you can hear the wind rustling in the branches.
In the middle of the circle of trees is a golden throne,
It is covered in a lush purple velvet covering on the seat with colourful plump cushions and as you sit down on the throne you sink into the cushions and it feels as though they are wrapping themselves around you and this throne is your place of safety and you can come back here at any time.
This is your place of safety so just sit here for a few moments to feel the safety and security of this throne.
As you are sat in the throne you can see a glow just beyond the trees so you get up and walk towards this orange glow and you come to an old oak door and the orange glow is coming from the gaps in the door around the hinges and you want to know what is beyond this door,
You feel a sense of anticipation.
So I want you now to turn the large handle on the door,
Open the door and walk through closing the door behind you.
You now find yourself in a log cabin which is full of shelves of books and photographs.
The room is comfortable and tidy with smells of freshly brewed coffee and bread baking.
All around the cabin are rows and rows of books and photographs and you start to explore the room and as you do you notice that the books and pictures all relate to moments in your life.
There are books and pictures reminding you of all the happy times when you felt motivated to exercise,
Happy with your weight and full of energy.
But there are also some books there and photographs that remind you of the bad times.
Perhaps when you have not taken care of yourself,
When you have eaten badly or not exercised and all the reasons why.
This may be times when you have felt hurt,
Insulted,
Guilty,
Fearful or sad.
When people may have made you feel stupid,
Useless or unworthy,
All the bad things are mixed in with all the happy times.
In the centre of the cabin is a large wheelbarrow and I want you now to start to go through the shelves and take out all the books and photographs that relate to all the negative things.
Such as excuses not to exercise,
Fears about exercise and doubts and anything else that has been impacting your motivation to exercise.
So take as much time as you need and fill that wheelbarrow now.
OK,
Well done.
Now towards the rear of the cabin is a door to the garden.
Push the wheelbarrow to the door and it opens automatically for you and you can walk through with your wheelbarrow and the door closes behind you.
You are now in the garden and you see a bonfire and this was the glow that you could see earlier.
Now you can have some fun.
Throw all the items in your wheelbarrow into the fire and as you throw each item into the fire send loving forgiveness to those that caused the hurt and also to yourself for allowing it to hurt you,
Allowing it all to burn now.
OK,
Very good.
Now see a golden door to the garden.
Go to the side of the bonfire and walk towards it and walk through the door.
And you now find yourself on a beach.
The stars are out and the moon is reflecting on the water and you can hear the water lapping on the sand and you feel happy and peaceful here.
You feel lighter and freer.
You start to run along the beach.
You feel motivated and find it so easy.
Here it feels easy to exercise.
You are motivated and as you look at your reflection in the sea you can see yourself in the moonlight.
You are healthy,
Your ideal weight and toned.
Look at yourself,
Notice how it feels.
See yourself as your ideal weight.
See yourself smiling.
You are now motivated to exercise and you will do so with ease.
You reach into your pocket and there is a small seed.
You plant this in a special place on the beach.
This is your motivation seed.
And now I want you to take yourself a month into the future.
And your seed has grown.
On the beach now are shoots from your seed reaching up to the sky.
See yourself exercising and keeping healthy.
And now go three months into the future.
A small tree is beginning to grow where you planted that seed.
Full of life,
Strong roots into the sand,
Green and healthy.
See yourself motivated,
Strong and healthy.
And now three years into the future,
A strong,
Tall,
Healthy tree that continues to grow.
See yourself so motivated,
Reaping the rewards of your hard work.
How does it feel?
Look around you,
You are no longer alone on the beach.
People are around you,
Smiling at you,
Complimenting you.
You feel vibrant,
Alive and euphoric.
See yourself exercising now.
See that picture of yourself in perfect health.
Turn up the dial,
Make the picture brighter and brighter,
Bigger and bigger.
A stranger takes a photo of you on a polaroid camera.
He gives you the photo and you put it in your pocket.
This is yours to keep,
To bring back to the present time so that you can recall the feeling of total health and motivation to exercise at any time.
So come back to the present time now,
Finding yourself back on the beach in the moonlight.
Walk along the beach towards some sand dunes and notice a path leading up through them.
Follow the path.
At the top of the path is a large wall with a gate.
Open the gate and walk through.
You are now back in the circle of trees in the forest where you were before.
Make your way to your throne in the middle,
Now in your safe place.
See how light you feel on the throne.
You do not sink as deep but you still feel safe and secure.
You can come back to this throne at any time you want.
And now we are going to make our way back to normal time,
To the here and now.
So walk back towards the steps that you walked down earlier.
And we are going to bring back with us the motivation to exercise and keep healthy.
The motivation growing stronger every day and your excitement,
Passion and euphoria grows every day for this healthy happy life.
The photograph at you at your best,
Firmly planted in your mind.
So walking up the steps now.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
More awake,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
Nine,
Ten,
Fully awake,
Wiggle your fingers and your toes and have a good stretch.
And now,
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
More awake,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
Ten,
More awake,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
More awake,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
More awake,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
More awake,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
More awake,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
More awake,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
More awake,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
More awake,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
More awake,
Six,
Seven,
