Hello and welcome.
I'm Dan Brakewell and this is a meditation called Dropping In.
It's a short meditation and body scan designed for those moments in life when we're so busy it's almost like we don't have time to come up for air.
And so I've created this meditation specifically for those moments.
So let's begin firstly by getting comfortable.
If you want to lie down,
If you want to sit and just have that moment to wriggle and arrange yourself.
Any movements,
Any light stretches and definitely a couple of deep breaths in through the nose just until you feel a nice big stretch of the ribs and out through the mouth all the way till empty.
Perhaps when you reach empty you can just linger there and see if you really are empty.
There might be just a little bit of air left to let go of.
And just do that once or twice more.
In till full,
Maybe holding gently at the top of the in-breath and then out of the mouth till empty.
And now just allowing a regular breath to resume.
Softly in till full.
Softly out in till empty.
Just allowing any sense of rushing to dissolve.
Noticing the edges of your body that move as you breathe in and out.
Noticing how the body expands and contracts with no effort required.
Notice the floor and where you feel it under the body.
If you're lying down or sitting,
They'll be in different places.
But just note where you feel that weight of your body meeting solid,
Sturdy ground.
Invite the breath into those places.
Maybe each exhalation can allow you to surrender more easily to those places.
And let's begin a scan of your body.
Just checking in,
Connecting to all of these amazing parts of our body that do so much for us day in,
Day out.
And just starting by bringing awareness to the crown of the head.
Breathing into that space.
And then letting awareness drift down through the face,
The back of the skull,
The neck,
And the throat.
Through the upper shoulders,
Across the collarbones,
Into the shoulder sockets,
And letting your awareness part in two directions down through each arm.
Scanning awareness through the upper arms,
The elbows,
The forearms,
The wrists,
The palms of the hands,
The backs of the hands,
The joints of the fingers to the fingertips.
And let your awareness drift back up through the hands and arms.
Through the shoulders and into the chest.
Across and around the upper ribcage and into the upper back and shoulder blades.
Down into the middle back and around the floating ribs to the solar plexus and the diaphragm where the ribcage parts.
Down through the belly muscles,
Around the waist,
The lower spine,
Lower back muscles,
Through to the sacrum,
The upper glutes,
Around to the pubic bone,
The groins,
The hip flexors,
The whole junction of the hips and the pelvis,
The hip sockets,
The upper legs,
The thighs,
The hamstrings,
Through the knees,
Through the lower legs and the calves and shins,
The ankles,
Through to the heels,
The soles of the feet,
The arches,
The balls of the feet,
The joints in the toes,
To the tips of the toes.
And then bringing your awareness back to the edges of the body that expand and contract as you breathe in and out and see if you can sustain that sense of there being no rush.
Breathing into the ground that supports you and the heaviest parts of your body.
And taking that support with you through the rest of your day as you walk upon the ground every time you sit.
Just bring any awareness you can to the space that you're in,
Any sounds near and far,
The temperature.
Bringing some movement to the fingers and toes as you prepare to move into the rest of your day.
With more connection,
More grounding,
Less rush in your body.
Take any stretches that feel good.
If you're lying down,
Slowly find your way back to a seated position.
Let's bring both hands to the chest and just feel that sense of contact and care for a moment.
Send an affection towards the body,
Feeling the breath rise into the hands and fall away again.
And perhaps we can endeavour to carry some of that warmth and affection into the rest of the day,
Whatever it has in store.
Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to come and meditate with me.
Take care and I hope you can join me again soon.
