Dear friends,
Welcome to this meditation which will consist of a short breathing exercise followed by a body scan and ending with some thoughts and prayers.
I hope it brings you to a place of grateful presence in the here and the now.
Let's begin by taking a little time to come into the present moment.
If you find it comfortable,
Feel free to close your eyes,
Take a deep breath in and as you release the breath,
Encourage your body to relax.
Another deep breath in.
Breathing out any tension.
Breathing in,
I am aware that I am breathing in the good air.
Breathing out,
I notice that I am breathing out and releasing any tension.
And with each passing breath,
We begin to relax more and more.
With each breath,
Allow your body and your mind,
Your muscles,
Your bones,
Your entire being to just relax and unwind.
We'll give ourselves 60 seconds for this.
Welcome back.
And hopefully you will have noticed that your shoulders have started to drop.
Your jaw has loosened,
I hope.
Now feel your weight sinking down and allow yourself to be supported by the good earth.
Imagine the planet below you and the blue sky above.
Let go of any remaining tension,
Any worries and anything on your mind.
Just breathe and be still.
Another short pause.
Next we're going to take a little time for a body scan.
We are told that we cannot think of two things at the same time.
So as we concentrate part by part on the different areas of our bodies,
This will help to keep us focused in the present moment.
We'll allow time for a brief pause between each area,
Beginning at the top of the head and moving right down to the feet.
So begin this part of the meditation by paying attention to the very top of your head.
And after a moment,
Let your attention move down to your face,
To your forehead,
Your eyes,
Ears,
Nose,
Cheeks and chin.
And then move your attention down to your neck.
You might gently move your neck up and down and to the right and the left,
Very gently,
Not causing any pain.
Just a little exercise to keep your neck flexible.
Next move your attention to your shoulders.
Make sure the shoulders are relaxed.
Sometimes they can be tensed.
So check that the shoulders are dropped.
And if not,
Give them a little roll forwards and then backwards,
Forwards and backwards.
Just relax the shoulders.
Next notice your upper arms,
Your elbows.
You might like to move your elbows gently.
Notice the flexibility we have in our elbows.
And then down to your forearms,
Your wrists,
Your hands and your fingers.
Flex and move your wrists,
Your hands and your fingers.
A miracle of engineering.
Back now to your chest.
Notice your chest rising and falling as you breathe in and out.
If you still feel any tension there,
Just take a deep breath in.
And as you breathe out fully,
Try once more to release any tension.
Each time you breathe out,
Remember to relax a little more.
Just letting things be.
Anything on your mind,
Leave it be.
Whatever it is,
It will be there when you come back after this meditation.
You can leave it there for now.
There will be time enough for this later.
Next draw your attention to your back.
First your upper back,
Then your lower back.
Sometimes the back can be the seat of pain and tension.
Or at least the place where we feel pain and tension.
Remember this too shall pass.
A reminder too at this stage to make sure you're sitting comfortably.
And always notice any tendency to bad posture.
In our computerised and always connected society,
We are inclined to sit for too long,
All of us.
Sitting has been described as an illness causing epidemic.
The new smoking,
As has been said.
We read that sitting or lying down for too long increases our risk of chronic health problems,
Such as heart disease,
Diabetes and some cancers.
So we all need to set reminders to ourselves to get up and move in the course of the day.
Next move your attention around to your stomach.
Notice your belly rising and falling as you breathe in and out.
Next down to your groin.
And be aware of your buttocks as you sit on your chair or cushion.
And now let your attention move down to your hips.
Then to the front of your thighs,
The back of your thighs.
Notice your knees,
Flex them a little.
Another miracle of engineering.
Let's try and take care of our knees and try and avoid having them to be replaced too soon.
Although the fact that that can be done is one of the mind-boggling wonders of our world.
We move on to notice your calves.
Now move down to your ankles.
Wriggle the ankles a little.
And then down to your feet and your toes.
And wriggle your toes a little.
And now having moved from head to toe,
It's time to relax.
Giving thanks for the wonderful gift that is our body.
We may have perfect health with everything in good order.
For that we have to be grateful.
On the other hand,
We might have one or two problems or complaints.
But just think of all our parts that are working as they should.
All operating without any particular instructions from us.
And how grateful we have to be for every body part that is working properly.
We give thanks for doctors and nurses and dentists and chemists.
Medical people of every description who are there to look after us when things do go wrong.
And we just have to think with gratitude of the progress of medicine in our time.
And realise all the benefits that we enjoy,
That our parents and grandparents could never have imagined.
Transplants,
Keyhole surgery,
Stents,
Bypasses,
Cancer treatment,
IVF,
Vaccines,
Artificial limbs and the magic of DNA.
So many advances that we all enjoy.
So let's pause now to give thanks for our bodies,
Our wonderful bodies and for everyone who helps us in the maintenance of our bodies.
Again,
Breathing in and out,
Just so as to keep ourselves in the present moment.
Breathing in,
I am aware that I am breathing in in gratitude.
Breathing out in gratitude,
I am aware that I am breathing out.
And if the mind wanders,
Just bring yourself back gently to the breath.
Gently and gratefully back to the breath.
And back to feelings of gratitude for the body.
Welcome back again.
To end our meditation I am going to light a candle.
This is lit for the intentions of everyone who listens to this meditation.
This candle is lit for you.
And as I blow it out,
And as I see the smoke rising from it,
Let's imagine all our hopes and prayers entering into the ether and being received by the universal consciousness that I believe underlies all existence.
May you find comfort,
Peace,
Contentment,
Hope and love each time you sit in meditation here on Insight Timer.
May you and everyone you know and love be blessed.
Namaste.
