Welcome everybody to this meditation.
My name is David Westlake.
I'm an Alaska-based meditation guide and yoga instructor,
And I want to invite you to travel with me for the next 15 minutes.
This is a journey into complete relaxation.
We use our body as a means to draw us into our inner stillness.
We use our breath as a guide as we move up and down our body,
Scanning,
Releasing,
And letting go.
All you'll need for this meditation is a place where you can be truly comfortable.
You might want to lay down,
Find a chair that supports you.
Whatever that might be,
You know,
But just make sure that you're uncompromising about your pleasure right now.
It's important that there's nothing obstructing you,
Hindering you,
Irritating you,
At least physically so that you can practice peace.
Take a few moments and find a place for yourself.
You might want to pause this recording or just continue and listen to my voice as I begin to prepare to go under.
This particular style of meditation falls under different categories.
You might call it deep relaxation,
Or for the more yoga-minded,
You can think of this as a type of nidra.
It's an opportunity for us to practice being completely relaxed but at the same time aware.
Now that you're comfortable,
Notice your breath,
The breathing in and the breathing out that this relationship with the world around you.
Noticing how the inhales are taking in what you need and noticing how the exhales are releasing what may not serve you at this time.
Just continue to breathe as you are,
No particular style right now.
Feel the breath animate your body and feel the sensation of releasing as you exhale.
Now we close our eyes and when our eyes close we start to become aware of the sounds around us.
External silence is a challenging thing to find,
But that stillness inside of ourselves is louder,
More poignant.
So whatever you hear around you now or you hear from my world coming into yours,
Just know that this is an external sound.
It has nothing to do with you.
If anything,
It's a guide letting you know that your journey is within and not without.
Notice how your body is resting wherever you may have sat down or lied down.
Feel the floor,
The chair,
The wall,
The props supporting you.
On your next breath,
Breathe in and hold the breath for a moment.
Then opening the mouth side out.
As you breathe in again,
Take the breath in through your nostrils.
And once more release out through the mouth.
Shifting into nasal breathing,
We breathe in through the nose,
Follow the breath down through our body into our stomach.
And as we exhale,
We feel the breath slide back out,
Moving through the chest out through the nose.
You might notice a fragrance of the room,
A smell.
Or when you sighed,
You might even notice the taste.
Just let these things be.
There's no judgment.
With your breath smooth,
With your body resting,
Open your eyes again.
Just look around quickly,
Taking the colors,
The textures,
The objects,
And close your eyes again.
The world is as it needs to be.
Let's walk into our interiors.
And as you breathe in,
Feel the breath roll into the nose,
All the way down your body,
Down to the toes.
And on the exhale,
Feel the breath flow back out of you,
Up through the chest and back out the nose.
And just continue breathing in down all the way to the toes,
Imagining that you're breathing in peace,
Serenity.
And as you exhale,
Imagine that the tension you're holding,
The aches,
The pains,
They're slowly trickling out.
The breath is moving.
Your body is beginning to relax.
You'll notice your mind may start to wander.
This is a natural occurrence.
Your minds are meant to wander,
Meant to ooze thoughts.
Don't be angry at it.
It too has a purpose to play in this process.
So we invite the mind to guide our breath down with us,
Traveling with the breath,
With our imagination,
Down to the toes and then back out through the nose.
Next time we breathe down to the toes,
This is the last time.
And as we exhale,
We slowly let the breath trickle out of us.
At any time,
Allowing the breath to move out the mouth,
Letting the exhale be longer than our inhale.
Again,
We breathe in,
But this time the breath changes and we feel it sliding down to our ankles.
And on the exhale,
A heaviness,
A connection moves through us as the breath leaves.
Just continue this process,
Breathing down to the ankles and breathing back up.
When the mind wanders,
Bring it along.
Give it this special task of helping the breath travel where it needs and helping the breath exit where it needs to go.
The breaths are full,
Unrestricted.
The rhythm is natural.
There's no need to control,
Just to observe,
To imagine and to assist.
On the next inhale,
Allow the breath to ease all the way down to the ankles.
And with a slow,
Steady exhale,
Feel the ankles sinking,
Softening and letting go.
And as we breathe in again,
We notice the breath moving down through us,
Through our ankles,
Landing on the knees,
Gently massaging them as they exhale.
And once more,
The breath flows.
Allow the breath down to the knees and travel with the breath back up.
If you're starting to wonder if you're doing this right,
Let go of that idea.
The body knows how to relax and when we give it breath,
When we give it awareness,
When we allow it to be,
It will soften.
It will let go.
It will anchor us here in the moment.
Every time the mind wanders,
Just come back.
Acknowledge your thought.
Acknowledge your feeling and let it pass.
On the next exhale,
You can release out the mouth if you so wish.
And we breathe in again,
Tracing the breath down to our hips,
Feeling our body settle just a little bit deeper where we're resting.
We just continue this smooth wave-like breath down to our hips and back out of us.
Just breathing as we need to breathe,
Following the innate rhythm of our body,
The wisdom of our breath,
Using our imagination and our mind to help.
One more time to the hips,
Releasing what may be there.
Now the breath moves.
We feel the breath starting to roll down towards our navel,
Just below the ribs.
We feel our body lift there.
Then we feel the breath roll back in and move out.
Just like a tide,
It rolls in,
Expanding this part of our body and gently,
Gently moves back up.
Every time it rolls in,
It brings what we need.
And every time it releases,
It lets go of what no longer serves us.
Breathing in and breathing out.
One more time down to that region of the body and releasing.
On the next breath,
Feel the air moving into the lungs,
The expansion of these beautiful organs,
The warming of the heart and an exhale of releasing.
When we breathe in,
We breathe in space between ribs,
Through the shoulders,
Maybe even the upper arms.
And as we exhale,
We feel a settling,
A resting.
Remember the sounds outside of us.
They're just pointing inward.
They're not distractions.
They're helpful,
Helpful guides.
Reminders.
On the next breath in,
Let your chest completely,
Completely fill.
Maybe you feel your back pressing into the floor,
Into the chair.
You might feel your chest lifting and then you release.
Total emptiness.
Next time you breathe in,
Allow the breath to roll down into the throat.
Feel its touch and feel its exhale as it slides back out.
As you breathe in,
You might need to clear your throat.
Swallow.
Release any gripping sensation through the throat.
As we breathe in,
We feel our neck massaged.
As we exhale,
We feel release.
One more inhale into the neck.
Hold in for a moment.
Releasing.
Next time we inhale,
We breathe into the skull.
We might even feel the sensation through our face.
As you breathe,
Feel free to move your jaw around.
Lick your lips.
Wiggle your nose.
Squeeze your eyes and release them a little bit.
Feel the muscles of the skin around the brow softening.
Feel an emptying of negativity,
Of obsession,
Of over-analyzing.
And as you breathe in,
Receive an openness,
A possibility,
An expansion that exists outside of lines of definition.
Even your brain is being washed.
Still breathing into the nose and releasing.
On the next breath,
Completely draw in what you need and completely let go of what you don't.
And with the next in breath,
I just want you to breathe in and imagine that as you breathe in,
Your breath is expanding you.
Both your physical body,
Your emotional body,
Your spiritual body,
If you want to use that definition.
And on the exhale,
Everything you expand out to is brought back in you,
Filling the emptiness.
And we breathe in,
Expanding into the world around us,
Reaching beyond our boundaries,
Beyond our limitations.
And as we exhale,
We find that truly the world is within us,
Moving into us,
Filling that void.
And from that void,
We breathe in and reach out around us.
Do that a few more times.
You are the center of a circle.
Every point is the center.
We breathe in,
Washing across numerous centers.
And we let that pour into us.
Take three more breaths.
Complete,
Full,
Rich.
On your last in breath,
Breathe in and hold the breath for a moment.
Notice how vast you are,
How full you are.
And as you exhale,
Share that.
Let it go,
Knowing that as soon as you breathe in again,
You once more are filled,
Maintaining this smooth rhythmic breath.
Let the breath again just move down to the tummy,
To the stomach.
Begin to reach your awareness into your limbs and gently move your fingertips,
Move your toes.
You might hear a popping and a cracking as joints release their fixation.
Roll your wrists.
Let your head roll side to side.
Wake up as you need to wake up.
Only you know this.
As you start to feel more embodied,
More connected,
Let your movements expand until eventually you can roll onto a side or roll forward and back or just gently make your way up,
Using whatever means necessary.
And find an uprightness,
Whether you're sitting on the ground,
On a chair,
Edge of a bed,
Leaning against the wall.
Let your eyes be fully open.
Look around again to the world.
Smell,
Taste,
Feel,
And listen.
Perhaps turn up the corners of your mouth,
Bring your hands in front of your chest,
And we just acknowledge the truth that is within each and every one of us,
And I acknowledge the truth within you.
Be well,
My friends.
May we all be free.
