Hello,
And welcome to this Beginner's Guided Meditation with me,
Jamie,
From True Nature.
Shortly,
I will guide you through a simple and easy breath awareness meditation which will help you to calm an overactive mind,
Helping to reduce stress,
Anxiety,
Depression and insomnia,
Creating more inner peace and improving your attention and your focus so that you are better able to focus on the more important things in your life.
But first,
I will quickly provide you with information about what meditation is,
How to practice meditation and what you might experience during your practice.
During this practice,
Your attention will drift off into thought,
Thinking about your to-do lists,
What happened yesterday,
What happened last week or what might or might not happen in the future.
Your mind will even analyse and judge your meditation practice.
And this is normal,
The nature of the mind is to think.
Your job in this meditation practice is to notice that your attention has drifted off to a thought and return your attention back to the breath.
These benefits aren't just experienced during your meditation,
But in your daily life as well.
Don't try too hard to focus during your meditation practice,
You just need your gentle attention with no expectations,
No goals and no particular sensations to be experienced.
Whatever you experience during this meditation practice is right for this moment,
As each meditation practice is a personal one,
So don't judge or monitor your experience as good or bad.
During your meditation practice,
You may experience restlessness,
Twitching,
Tingling,
Warmth,
Coolness or other bodily sensations.
Your breath might speed up,
It might slow down or even pause for a moment.
This is all normal,
As these can be signs that stress is being released from the body and from the mind.
You may experience peacefulness and bliss,
But whatever you experience,
It is normal.
Don't try to change it,
Don't try to control it or don't try to force anything.
Just allow the experience to unfold naturally.
Turn off or silence any distractions and find a quiet place where you won't be disturbed.
Finding a comfortable seated position with your back upright but not stiff.
If you're sitting cross-legged,
Then your hips need to be higher than your knees.
If you're sitting on a chair,
Be comfortable with both feet flat on the floor.
Resting your hands on your lap or knee,
Palms facing up or down.
Feel free to find what is most comfortable for you.
Now softly close down the eyes and scan your body to make sure you are in a comfortable seated position.
If you need to make any slight adjustments during your meditation practice to be more comfortable,
Then it is okay to do so.
Be sure to move mindfully.
We will start by taking three deep cleansing breaths to settle the mind and the body.
On your next inhale,
Take a long,
Slow,
Deep inhale.
Feel the breath fill up your stomach,
Your chest,
Your back.
And a slow exhale,
Fully exhaling all of the air out of your lungs as your body relaxes.
Take another long,
Slow,
Deep inhale.
Feel your body expand.
And a slow exhale,
Fully exhaling all of the air out,
Allowing the stress and tension to drift away.
Take one more deep inhale and one more full exhale as you fully relax the body and return back to your natural breath.
Gently focus on the crown of your head,
Allowing the top of your head to relax.
Bring the relaxation into your forehead.
Allow your forehead and eyebrows to become heavy,
Relaxing around the eyes.
Feel the eyes relax,
Relaxing deep into the eye sockets.
Feel the face soften as you relax your cheeks,
Your mouth,
Your jaw.
Unclench your jaw,
Allowing your tongue to rest away from the roof of your mouth.
Turn the corners of your mouth up slightly into a half smile as this helps to relax your face.
Relaxing now into your throat and neck.
Relaxing into your shoulders,
Allowing them to become heavy and rest away from your ears.
We often carry a lot of tension in our shoulders,
So feel them become heavy and relaxed as you release the tension from them.
Allow your arms to become heavy,
Relaxing from your upper arms down to your elbow,
Your forearms,
Your hands and your fingers.
Relaxing into your upper back,
Your chest.
Relaxing your middle back and lower back.
Soften the stomach,
Allow it to relax.
We can carry lots of tension in the stomach,
So feel the tension drift away as the stomach softens and relaxes,
Becoming heavy.
Relax the area around your pelvis,
Your hips.
Feel the legs become heavy as you relax into your thighs,
Down to your knees.
Relaxing your calves,
Down to your feet and to your toes.
Take one more deep inhale and as your body expands,
Feel the crown of your head rise up to the sky.
And on the exhale,
Keep the crown of your head up high,
Allowing the body to soften and relax.
This will help to keep your spine upright but not stiff.
And return to your natural breath.
Bring your attention to the sounds around you.
Listen to the sounds that are close by and the sounds that are far away.
Don't label what the sounds are or judge the sounds,
Whether they are pleasant or unpleasant.
Simply be a witness to the sounds that are around you.
If you get distracted by sounds at any point during your meditation,
Just welcome the sounds,
Accept the sound and return your attention back to the breath.
Bring your attention to your breath now,
The natural rhythm of your breathing.
Feel the breath as it enters the nose on the inhale and feel the breath as it leaves the nose on the exhale.
On the inhale,
You may notice the cool air as it enters your nose and the warmer air as it leaves your nose on the exhale.
You might begin to notice other sensations around the nose as you breathe,
Such as the movement of your nostrils.
You may notice twitching,
Tingling,
Throbbing.
Notice any sensations that you feel without labelling or judging them.
Notice the pause between your breaths.
Notice the pause between the exhale and your next inhale.
Place your attention on this pause for a few breaths and notice the stillness.
Don't try too hard to focus during this meditation.
Use your gentle attention.
On your next inhale,
Focus on your breath going down into your chest.
Feel your chest and shoulders rise on the inhale and on the exhale your chest and shoulders lower.
Inhale following the breath down into your chest and shoulders as they rise,
Exhaling feeling your chest and shoulders lower as the breath leaves your body.
Don't try to control your breath at any time.
Allow your breath to be natural and follow its natural rhythm.
On your next inhale,
Follow your breath all the way down into your stomach and feel your stomach expand on the inhale and on the exhale feel your stomach contract.
Inhale following the breath down into your stomach as it expands,
Exhaling feeling your stomach contract.
Just relax,
Let go of any expectations.
Now select a focus for the remainder of this meditation.
Wherever you felt the sensation of breathing most prominently in your body,
You will use that as your focus point.
Whether that is the breath in and out through your nose or the rising and falling of your chest or the expansion and contraction of your stomach,
Or it can be the whole sensation of breathing as the breath enters and leaves your body.
Breathe in and out naturally,
Following the natural rhythm of your breathing,
Focusing on the sensation of your choice.
If your attention drifts off into thought at any time,
Be kind to yourself no matter how many times this happens and without judging or going into a story about your thoughts,
Just notice that your attention has drifted and gently and kindly return your attention back to your breath.
If you have any physical sensations or any discomfort during your meditation,
Bring your attention to the feeling of these sensations without labelling,
Without going into a story about them,
Without analysing or judging the sensation.
Gently and gently focus on what the sensation feels like and after a while,
You will notice it will dissipate and once it has,
Return your attention back to your breath.
If it becomes too uncomfortable,
Then please move mindfully to get a more comfortable position and return your attention back to your breath.
If your attention has drifted off to a thought,
Return it back to your breath.
Keeping your eyes closed,
Take your attention off your breath and simply sit in the stillness you have created.
Become aware of the sounds around you.
Start to get a sense of your surroundings.
Feel where your body is in contact with the ground or the chair beneath you.
Feel where your body parts are in contact with other body parts.
Keeping your eyes closed,
Start to move your hands and feet.
Start to move your arms and legs and stretch out into the space around you.
Take your time here,
Very slowly,
Open your eyes,
Starting off gazing down at the floor and take your time coming back around.
Thank you for practicing with me.
