Welcome.
In this meditation,
We will be talking and thinking and working towards resting,
Relaxing,
And restoring.
If this is during the day or early in the evening,
You may wish to sit or lie down,
Take these few minutes to revitalize,
To connect with yourself,
And then to move on to the other things that you need to do in your day.
If this is the end of your day and you're looking for a restful and deep sleep,
Then snuggle under the covers,
Lie down,
And get comfortable.
When you rest,
You catch your breath and it holds you up like water wings.
That's a quote from American novelist Anne Lamott.
Today,
We'll have water wings.
Let's start with a deep breath.
A deep breath in through the nose,
Out through the mouth.
And again,
In through the nose,
A gentle exhalation out through the mouth.
This process helps to trigger what we call the parasympathetic nervous system,
The rest and digest system,
As opposed to the fight or flight system.
This is what we want to get our body in that relaxed state,
That relaxed and restorative state.
It's also what we want for a good night's sleep.
But we're going to relax a little more deeply.
We're going to try to better understand what our body feels like when it is in a relaxed state.
We're going to start at the top of our head with the scalp.
See if you can relax the scalp,
If you can make it less tense,
Less stiff.
You may feel no difference,
But you'll be focusing on this area of the body.
Now,
The forehead,
An area where we hold a lot of tension.
Can you let go?
The temples relax.
The cheeks,
Perhaps they droop a little.
Can you feel the difference between the tension and the relaxation?
Your mouth,
Let it loose,
Easy.
And the jaw,
Certainly an area where most of us often don't realize we are clenching.
Let your jaw drop.
This is its relaxed state.
How does that feel?
Can you see the difference between the tight,
Clenched jaw and the relaxed,
Easy jaw?
Now to the neck,
Relax.
The shoulders,
Let them droop.
Feel the weight of the shoulders as they move down,
As they release tension.
Now your arms,
Everything from fingers to wrist to elbow to the arms themselves.
Let them go.
Feel the heaviness of them.
Feel what relaxation is for your body in this moment.
Next,
The chest.
Breathe.
See if the chest falls a little.
Do you feel a difference,
A relaxation?
The abdomen,
No need to tense the muscles,
But try to let them go.
See if they might drop a little more closely to the back,
To the floor,
To the mattress.
Now your back,
An area where certainly many of us feel the knots of a stressful day.
Let's let it go.
Relax.
Now your hips,
Relax.
And your legs,
From the feet all the way up.
Toes,
Ankles,
Knees,
Calves,
Thighs.
Just breathe and relax.
What you have now is you have a body that is relaxed.
And this is what relaxation feels like for you in this moment.
You can come back to this technique at any time that you want,
And it will remind you what it feels like not to be tense,
Not to be clenching,
Not to be worried.
Now let's breathe in to relax.
We're going to breathe in for a count of three,
Hold for a count of four,
And exhale for a count of five.
Let's do this together.
Breathing in two,
Three,
Holding two,
Three,
Four,
Exhaling two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
This is relaxation for body and mind.
Let's try it one more time.
Breathing in for a count of three,
Two,
One,
Holding for a count of four,
Three,
Two,
One,
And exhaling for a count of five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
How does that feel?
Ideally,
It feels easy.
It feels comforting and comfortable.
That's what relaxation is.
And when you're relaxed,
It's an opportunity for the body to restore itself.
Focusing on your breath will always help with this.
Breathing in and feeling the air as it goes through your nostrils,
Down the back of your mouth,
Into your lungs,
Exhaling a warmer air.
Perhaps your stomach rises.
Perhaps your chest falls.
This awareness of what is happening to the body when you are relaxing the body and when you are breathing is important to enhancing both the relaxation and the restoration that your body needs and your mind.
Feel that breath as it spreads throughout the body.
Imagine this breath infusing your cells,
Refreshing and restoring.
Feel how calm your mind is.
Can you notice a difference from when you started?
What we're going to do now is enhance the breath.
We're going to breathe in color.
Whatever color comes to your mind,
There is no right color or wrong color.
This is your breath and your hue.
So breathe in your color.
Feel the color spread throughout your body.
See it in your mind's eye as it spreads across your chest,
Down your arms,
Through your torso,
Into legs and feet,
Arms and fingers,
Face and scalp.
Exhale the color.
Feel the color as it leaves your body.
See the color as it exits.
And with it,
See all those things that you didn't need leave your body as well.
The worry,
The tension,
The concern,
Things you no longer need in this moment.
Breathe in your color again.
Feel it infuse your muscles,
Your fascia,
Your organs,
Your cells.
It's becoming part of you now.
It's helping to restore and revitalize.
Breathe out and with the color as it goes out into the universe,
So goes tension.
The things you've been holding on to that you no longer need.
Once more,
Breathe in your color.
Watch,
Feel as it moves throughout your body and transforms your body as it calms and stills your mind.
Exhale color and tension.
We'll take a minute to end with a few affirmations.
I will say them each twice.
You may simply want to listen.
You may wish to repeat them in your own mind,
Or you may wish to say them out loud.
Or perhaps you just want to take one of the key words and imprint it in your mind's eye.
I nourish my health with soothing rest.
I nourish my health with soothing rest.
I sleep serenely.
I sleep serenely.
Rest comes easily to me.
Rest comes easily to me.
I am grateful to restore my body and myself as I sleep.
I am grateful to restore my body and myself as I sleep.
I wake up refreshed.
I wake up refreshed.
I am revitalized.
I am revitalized.
A few words from author Brian McGill.
Your calm mind is the ultimate weapon against your challenges.
As we come to the end,
If you are about to be on with your day,
I hope you are enjoying that day with a little bit more relaxation and feeling a little bit more restored.
If you are preparing for sleep,
Perhaps you are already asleep.
I wish you well.
A good night full of rest,
Relaxation,
And restoration.
I am Donna Lee.
Thank you for meditating with me.
The light in me sees the light in you.
We are one.
