Hello,
My name is Kari.
If you're in need of a little bit of simple relaxation,
Then this meditation will be perfect for you.
All you need to do is sit in a comfortable position.
You don't have to close your eyes if you don't want to,
If you're at work or you're driving.
Just sit with your back straight.
If you can,
Relax your hands down on your knees.
And if you can,
Close your eyes.
Otherwise,
Leave your eyes open.
You want to focus on your breath intentionally,
So breathe in nice and slow through your nose.
Take your time.
Pull your breath all the way down to your abdomen.
And breathe out just as slowly.
Take your time.
Exhale until you're completely empty.
Breathe in again,
A nice,
Big,
Deep breath.
Slow and paced.
And exhale,
Slow and paced.
Calming your body down by slowing your breathing down just a little bit.
On your next inhale,
Breathe in and breathe all the way into the back of your neck and your shoulders.
Visualize that you're directing your breath into the back of your neck,
Down into the back of your shoulders and across your shoulders.
Let your breath settle and fall into your shoulders.
And as you exhale,
See if you can soften your shoulders,
Push them away from your ears,
Intentionally making more space between your shoulders and your ears.
Do that for the next couple of breaths.
Breathing in to the back of your neck and your shoulders.
Breathing out,
Making space between your ears and your shoulders.
Let your shoulders feel as if they're getting heavier the more you push down.
On your next inhale,
Bring your shoulders up.
Pull them intentionally up towards the sides of your neck,
As if you're scrunching your shoulders up towards your head.
Hold them the entire inhale.
And then slowly let them down as you exhale,
Pushing them all the way down,
Away from your ears once again.
Bringing them back up,
Squeezing them all the way up,
Up,
Up,
Up,
Till you're at the fullest point of your breath.
Squeeze them nice and tight on the hold.
And then slowly let them drop,
Slowly pull them down,
And then start to push past the normal length,
Down lower and deeper,
All the way to the bottom of your exhale.
See if you can do that for the next couple of breaths for me.
Bringing them up on the inhale,
Pulling them down slowly on the exhale.
Keep doing that action for me,
But now I'm going to pace your breath.
See if you can stay with me to the count of 8 on the inhale and 8 on the exhale.
Inhale 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
8.
Exhale 8,
7,
6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Repeat that for a few breaths.
Now on your next inhale,
See if you can scrunch your shoulders forwards as if you're closing them in around your ribs.
Scrunch them so that you're pushing your shoulder blades on your back open,
As if you're curling in,
Bringing your wings around yourself with your shoulders.
And then on the exhale,
I'd like you to push your shoulders back as if you're pushing out the front of your chest,
Opening up your ribs and the front of your chest.
So let's give that a try for the count of 8.
Bringing your shoulders around 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
8.
Bringing them back 8,
7,
6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Bringing them forward 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
8.
Bringing them back 8,
7,
6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Do that for the next two breaths without me.
Now resume your normal breathing.
Relax into your breath,
Keeping it still,
Nice and slow,
But just more relaxed.
No count.
Soften your shoulders and let them fall into a relaxed place.
Feel into the stillness,
Feel the ease and the relaxation that's now there present in the back of your neck and your shoulders.
Notice that your shoulders will feel softer,
More relaxed,
More open,
Less tense.
You can open your eyes,
Come back to your space.
Namaste,
My friend.
Hopefully I'll see you again if you get tension in your shoulders.
Take care until then.
