Sitting or lying down.
Allow yourself to get comfortable.
Close your eyes.
Take a deep sighing breath and relax.
Breathing through your nose.
Connect to the breath coming in and out of the body.
Allow the breath to be relaxed and natural.
If you like,
You can place a hand onto the abdominals to feel the rise of the breath as you inhale and the fall of the breath as you exhale.
Breathe in slowly to the count of four.
And then let go and allow your body to expel the air in an effortless exhalation.
And again when you are ready,
Breathing in to the count of four.
And then let go and allow your body to expel the air.
Do this a few more times.
Now imagine that as you inhale,
The breath is coming in through the left nostril.
And as you breathe out,
The breath is leaving the body through the right nostril.
So in through the left and out through the right.
And again in through the left and out through the right.
This has a calming effect on the nervous system.
So counting that breath in for four in through the left nostril.
And then letting go of that breath as it leaves the body through the right nostril.
Remember to always move at your own pace and to stop and rest if you feel uncomfortable.
Do not force the breath,
Hold the breath or try to rush the breath in any way.
And then finish the next breath.
And then finish the next breath out through the right nostril.
And then breathe evenly through both nostrils.
And you can practice this calming breath regularly throughout the day to relieve stress and calm the body and mind.
And now just scan through your body.
Softening,
Releasing and relaxing each part in turn.
Perhaps start with the top of the head,
Feel the softening there.
And then allow that softening to spread down through your body.
And as that softening moves down through your body,
Feel the body releasing and relaxing.
Let go of any holding,
Of any tension that you find in your body.
Let it go now.
And then bring the awareness again back to the breathing.
This time just witness the breath.
Without altering the breath,
Just witness that flow of breath coming in and out of the body.
Soft and effortless,
The breath flows in and out.
If you feel any restriction around your breath,
Simply soften into that area.
Use your awareness to soften into that space.
So you can allow the breath to move deeper.
And as the breath moves deeper,
Get that sense of slowing down.
Keep witnessing that natural,
Spontaneous breath.
And now we're going to colour the breath with a sound,
A mantra.
The mantra we are going to use is,
So harm.
So harm.
So harm just means I am,
I am that.
It's not really about the meaning but the vibration,
The sound,
So harm.
This vibration having a calming,
Centering and grounding effect on your body and on your mind.
So witness that breath and as you breathe in,
Think to yourself so.
And as you breathe out,
Think harm.
So as you inhale,
Harm as you exhale.
So harm.
So harm.
Allow that sound to colour the breath,
To follow your breath.
So as you inhale,
Harm as you exhale.
And if you find that the mind is wandering off to other things,
Thoughts,
Feelings,
Sensations in your body,
Sounds outside,
And you find that you have become distracted,
Simply bring your focus back to the sound,
Back to that mantra.
So as you inhale,
Harm as you exhale.
So harm.
And just continue with this meditation.
So as you inhale,
Harm as you exhale.
And gently bringing the mind back whenever it wanders off,
Without judgement,
Without annoyance.
Simply bring that mind back to the breath and to the sound.
So as you inhale,
Harm as you exhale.
So harm.
So harm.
So harm.
So harm.
So harm.
So harm.
So harm.
So harm.
So harm.
So harm.
So harm.
So harm.
So harm.
So harm.
So harm.
And now leave your mantra.
Leave the awareness of your breath and bring the awareness back into your body.
Start to deepen the breath.
And giving a gentle wriggle to your fingers,
A gentle wriggle to the toes.
Stretching and moving the body if you need to.
When you are ready,
Coming into a comfortable seated position.
We'll take a few breaths here.
So breathing in deeply.
Let that breath go.
And again breathing in deeply.
Let that breath go.
And one more breathing in deeply.
Let that breath go.
Namaste.
