Welcome to this meditation for relaxation and rest.
I'm Victoria and I'll be your guide.
Begin by letting yourself get really comfortable.
Start by letting yourself lay down and tucking yourself in under the covers.
And wiggling and adjusting until it feels just right.
The Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh wrote a book called How to Relax.
And we'll begin our practice tonight by listening to a passage called In,
Out,
Deep,
Slow.
Here is a poem to practice anytime,
But especially when you're worried,
Sad,
Or angry.
If you know how to practice this poem,
You'll feel much better after just one or two minutes.
In,
Out,
Deep,
Slow,
Calm,
Ease,
Smile,
Release.
Present moment,
Wonderful moment.
As we invite in rest and relaxation,
We'll practice each of these phrases together.
Beginning with in,
Out.
Thich Nhat Hanh says,
In,
Out means that when I breathe in,
I know I'm breathing in.
And when I breathe out,
I know I'm breathing out.
You are 100% with your in-breath and your out-breath.
Don't think of anything else.
That's the secret of success.
So we'll practice this together for a few moments.
Breathing in,
Silently saying in,
And breathing out,
Silently saying out.
In,
Out.
In,
Out.
In,
Out.
Continuing at your own easy pace with each in-breath inviting in relaxation and with each out-breath inviting in rest.
Letting your attention stay on the phrases as you breathe in,
Saying in,
Being fully aware of yourself breathing in.
And on the out-breath,
Saying out,
Fully aware of yourself breathing out.
Thich Nhat Hanh writes,
In,
Out.
Thich Nhat Hanh writes,
After you've practiced in,
Out three,
Four,
Or five times,
You'll notice that your in-breath naturally becomes deeper and your out-breath becomes slower.
Your breath is calm and you're more peaceful.
That is deep,
Slow.
Let's practice that.
As you breathe in,
Notice yourself breathing deeply and say deep.
Even as you breathe out,
Say slow as you feel your out-breath slow down.
Deep,
Slow.
Deep,
Slow.
Deep,
Slow.
Deep,
Slow.
Letting those phrases go and just noticing the quality of your breath now.
Breathing in relaxation as you breathe in and inviting your body to rest as you breathe out.
Thank you.
Thich Nhat Hanh writes,
Calm,
Ease means breathing in,
I feel calm.
Breathing out,
I feel at ease.
This exercise is wonderful to practice,
Especially when you're nervous or angry or you don't feel peaceful inside of yourself.
So we'll invite in these phrases,
Breathing in,
Saying calm,
Breathing out,
Saying ease.
Breathing in,
I feel calm.
Breathing out,
I feel at ease.
Calm,
Ease.
Calm,
Ease.
Down,
Down,
Down,
Breathe in,
Breathe out,
Down,
Down,
Down,
Down,
Left.
Down,
Down,
Down.
Letting those phrases go and just noticing relaxation as you breathe in and rest as you breathe out Take not Han rights then you come to smile release Release breathing in I smile You may feel it's too difficult to smile but after practicing three or four times You may feel that you're able to smile if you can smile you'll feel a lot better You may protest why do you want me to smile it's not natural many people ask me that I protest I have no joy in me I can't force myself to smile it wouldn't be true I always say that a smile can be a kind of yoga practice yoga of the mouth You just smile even if you don't feel joy and after you smile you'll see you feel differently Sometimes the mind takes the initiative and sometimes you have to allow your body to take the initiative So breathing in saying smile breathing out release smile release Smile release smile release And inviting in the final phrases Present moment wonderful moment Present moment wonderful moment Present moment wonderful moment In out deep slow calm ease smile release Present moment wonderful moment Repeating these words as long as you need to come into a place of effortless relaxation and rest
