Welcome to this guided meditation.
We will be working on relieving stress in our bodies and our minds.
Please find a comfortable meditative posture.
You can sit on a chair and place your hands on your knees with your feet flat on the floor.
Or if you wish to completely and fully relax,
Please lie down on a flat surface,
Whether it be a mat,
A sofa,
Or a bed.
Place your hands beside but not touching your body and your legs slightly apart from one another.
Please inhale through your nose for four counts.
Hold for four counts.
And exhale for four counts.
When you inhale,
Visualize your belly like a balloon filling up.
When you pause,
Visualize the balloon in its puffed up state.
And when you exhale,
Visualize the balloon releasing all the tension stored up inside.
Stress is your body's reaction to a challenge or demand.
Can you identify what challenge or demand you're facing right now?
Can you identify where you feel it?
Are they thoughts circling in and around the mind?
Or do you feel tension building up somewhere in your body?
From a scale of one to ten,
Please rate how the stress is building up somewhere in your body.
From a scale of one to ten,
Please rate how the stress feels,
With one being the lowest and ten being the highest.
You might feel tension arising in your body or your mind right now.
That is completely normal.
You are processing and becoming aware of where the stress is sitting and how it feels.
And by doing so,
You are regulating your autonomic nervous system.
Right now,
The sympathetic nervous system,
Which activates the flight or fight mode,
Might be in overdrive.
You've been overworked.
You feel tired.
And you've been pulled in all different directions.
It is so natural that you feel this way.
But you don't have to stay here.
Turning our focus back to our breathing,
Please inhale through your nose for four counts.
Hold for four counts.
And exhale for four counts.
When breathing in,
Visualize a pure,
Clean,
And positive life force that is entering your body.
And notice when breathing out,
You are releasing all the negativity,
All the tension,
All the stress.
By breathing and taking a moment for yourself,
You are enabling your parasympathetic system to be able to feel the stress.
You are enabling your parasympathetic system to rest and digest,
To balance and align,
To heal and to restore.
Picture yourself as a young child.
They look quite exhausted.
But the moment you see them,
You open your arms to them and greet them like you would an old friend.
They love and care for you so much.
They just haven't been given much attention.
Now,
Here you are,
Showing up for them,
Breathing into your body,
Taking a pause for yourself.
They are so grateful that you showed up and are so thankful that you are restoring yourself to who you are.
They are so grateful that you are restoring yourself to a state of calm.
Inhale through your nose for four counts.
Hold for four counts.
And exhale for four counts.
Please place your right hand on your belly and your left hand on your heart.
Become aware of the rising of your belly and your chest while breathing in.
And become aware of your belly and your chest falling while breathing out.
You are whole.
You are calm.
And you are at peace.
The more you return to the breath,
The more you will manifest this calmness and sense of peace in your everyday life.
Now,
Slowly become aware of your body.
Become aware of your sitting bones that are either on the floor or on the chair.
Become aware of your hand on your belly and your other hand on your heart.
Become aware of your spine,
Your shoulders,
Your neck,
And your beautiful eyes.
Now,
Wiggle your toes,
Wiggle your fingers,
Bring some movement back into your body,
And gently open your eyes.
Take a moment to notice how you feel now compared to how you felt before breathing in.
Thank you so much for joining me.
I'm sending you gratitude,
Compassion,
And peace your way.
Namaste.
