5-Minute Stress Relief Meditation

Welcome to today's meditation.

I'm Chibs Okereke and I know how it feels when the weight of the day feels too much.

But whatever's going on in your life right now,

It's okay to set it aside for the next few minutes.

Most people feel more relaxed by closing the eyes but for some of us,

Especially when we're stressed,

The nervous system can sometimes go into high alert when we close our eyes and our mind can get even busier.

So feel free to crack open the eyes slightly to let some light in if thoughts or emotions become too uncomfortable.

I invite you now to bring awareness to the breath.

Without trying to change anything,

Just noticing how the body's naturally breathing.

With each inhale,

Breathing in calm and with each exhale,

Feeling the weight of the day leaving the body,

Releasing anything we no longer need.

Now let's shift our awareness to the body.

We're going to do a gentle scan through the body,

Beginning with the feet and then moving up to the head.

Let's begin by bringing our awareness to the feet.

As you breathe in,

Imagine the air making its way down to the feet.

And as you breathe out,

Imagine the feet sinking into the ground,

Allowing the feet to relax fully.

Moving our attention to the legs now,

The calves,

The shins,

The thighs.

As we breathe in,

Feel the air making its way down to the legs and with each exhale,

Allowing the muscles to soften.

Shifting awareness to the hips and pelvis,

As we breathe in,

Feel the breath moving into the hips.

As we exhale,

Seeing if we can release that tightness,

Allowing the hips to sink lower,

Supported by the earth beneath us.

And now bringing our attention to the back,

The lower,

Middle,

The upper back,

The spine.

And with each breath,

Feeling the back gently expanding and softening,

The muscles releasing.

And now focusing on the shoulders,

Allowing the shoulders to drop away from the ears,

Melting down like snow softening under the sun.

Bringing our awareness to the neck and jaw,

Allowing the jaw to unclench,

The neck to soften,

As if we're loosening a knot that's been gently holding tension.

And finally,

Let's expand our awareness to the entire body,

Feeling the whole body resting,

Grounded and at ease.

And as we come to the end of this meditation,

Gently bringing our awareness back to the space around us,

Noticing the sounds inside the room,

Sounds outside the room.

There's no rush,

We're taking our time to come back.

Whenever we're ready,

We can slowly open our eyes,

Or we can remain here,

Resting in this sense of peace for as long as we need.

As you move through the rest of your day,

Remember that this place of calm is always available to you.

No matter how busy life gets,

No matter the challenges you face,

Your breath is always here to guide you back to a place of calm.

Have a wonderful day.