Welcome to this relaxation meditation.
The intention with this meditation is first of all to help you become more aware of any unnecessary tensions in the body and next letting them go and becoming more present with the aliveness and sensations in the body.
So we have this natural tendency to shut off our feeling into the body if there is something unpleasant going on such as pain or difficult emotions or if we are preoccupied with a busy mind and all the doings of the day.
So you could say that we with this meditation we shift from our thinking self into our feeling self.
So I will invite you to lie down for this meditation down on your back.
So find a place that you will not get disturbed and settle into a comfortable but still awake position.
So perhaps not choosing the position you are likely to fall asleep in and again if you do fall asleep this is maybe what you need the most right now.
So take a few moments finding a comfortable position on your back,
Maybe on your bed or on a mat,
Mattress.
And slowly settling into your body and turning your attention from the outer world to your inner world.
And you can begin by simply noticing that your body is breathing.
That it is expanding on the inhale and contracting a bit again on the exhale.
Slowly noticing the air entering and leaving the body.
In a moment we will slowly begin scanning through the body and we will tighten up the muscles one area at a time on an inhale and then we will let it go again on an exhale.
So go ahead and begin by moving your attention to your feet.
Just feeling into the feet and the contact with the mattress or the surface you are lying on.
And maybe you will find it easier shifting from left to right but just see what works best for you.
S settling into the feet.
Now taking a deep breath and at the same time tighten all the muscles in your toes.
Curl your toes all you can squeezing,
Holding the breath with the squeeze and letting go again on an exhale.
Once more squeeze,
Clench the muscles in your toes on the in breath,
Holding and letting go on an exhale.
Moving on to your legs.
Press both legs down in the mattress.
On an in breath squeeze the muscles,
Hold,
Press them down and let go on an exhale.
And feel the legs from the inside out.
The aliveness and sensations that become available when letting go.
Now move your attention to the buttocks,
Tighten up and squeeze your buttocks on an inhale,
Holding and letting go on an exhale.
And more the buttocks,
Squeeze,
Tighten,
In breath,
Hold and letting go.
And now the back and the whole torso at the same time,
Pressing your navel down towards the mattress,
Tightening the abdomen.
In breath pressing the back firmly into the mattress.
Holding and letting go.
And do the breathing at your own pace.
Now moving to both your arms,
From the shoulders to the fingertips,
Making a fist of your hands,
Squeezing,
Tightening,
Pressing the hands,
The arms down,
Down into the mattress.
In breath,
Holding and letting go.
And now going to the face and the head.
So squinting the eyes,
Tuck on your lips and clench all the muscles in your face.
Pressing down the back of your head very gently in the pillow so that you tighten the small muscles in the neck.
In breath,
Holding and letting go on an out breath.
And do the face again,
Squeezing,
Holding the breath,
Letting go.
Sensing the eyebrows,
Smoothing,
Your eyes soften,
Your jaws unclench.
And now the last one,
With the whole body at the same time.
To squeeze,
Clench,
Tighten from top to toe,
Pressing the whole body down in the mattress at the same time.
In breath,
Holding and letting it all go with a long deep sigh.
And now feeling into what is going on in the body,
Sensations,
Feelings,
Maybe a sense of space or maybe tingling or buzzing,
Perhaps even pain arising.
Just noticing whatever arises in the body with a gentle and kind awareness.
Breathing into all there is in this present moment.
All of you right here,
Right now,
Letting everything be just as it is.
And now slowly getting ready to move your attention from the inner world to the outer world.
Taking your time,
Gentle,
Mindful,
Noticing the sounds around you,
Maybe the air in the room.
Begin to move your fingers and toes very slowly,
Maybe stretching the body in whatever stretch it is calling for.
And eventually opening your eyes,
Returning to your room.
Feeling into this state maybe of relaxed awareness.
As you move into your day,
Settle into your evening,
Or if you are doing this at night,
Take this state with you into your sleep.
And thank you for joining me.
Thank yourself for taking time to nurture yourself and your own wellbeing.
See you again soon.
