Deep Relaxation Meditation

Inviting you to find a place that allows for relaxation,

Even sleep if you like.

This could be lying down on a bed or a couch,

For example,

Or sitting in a comfortable chair.

Trust your wisdom for what position is best for you to relax into.

And taking some time to connect with an anchor point that's here with you every moment of the day,

Such as your breath,

Or a particular part of the body,

Or even sound.

Allowing the attention to settle on this breath,

Or this part of the body,

Or this sound,

Or lack of sound.

And if the mind wanders,

Just noticing where it went,

And then inviting it back,

Back to this moment,

To this breath,

Or this body,

Or this sound.

And then if you like,

As we start to bring awareness to the body,

Perhaps first bring awareness to the points of contact of the body on the surface that it's resting on,

Such as the sit bones,

Or the shoulders,

Or the back of the head.

And as we engage with this deep relaxation,

And connect in with different parts of the body,

Knowing that it's fine to engage in any way with this meditation if it's a good fit for you.

And if any parts of the body are overwhelming to be with,

You can always skip those parts,

Or even let this meditation go.

And if you like,

Starting to encompass the entire body in awareness,

And we'll actually start to invite some muscular tension into the body,

Starting with the fists,

If you'd like to clench the fists,

Even curling the toes,

Clenching the feet,

And then starting to bring tension into the leg muscles,

Tightening all those leg muscles up into the abdomen,

Continuing to tighten all the abdominal muscles,

The shoulders,

The arms,

And the neck,

And tightening muscles in the face,

If you'd like,

Tightening every single muscle in the body,

Holding,

Holding those tightened muscles,

And then release,

Allowing those muscles to relax out,

Noticing how that feels as we shift from tension to release.

And if you like,

Starting to focus in on one particular part of the body,

We'll be starting off with the right foot,

Particularly the right toes,

Just bringing awareness to any sensations in those right toes,

Maybe it's of touch,

Like on a sock,

Or lack of touch,

Or warmth,

Or coolness,

Or if there's not much sensation in the toes,

Just noticing there's not much sensation,

And then offering some appreciation for the toes,

As to how remarkably important they are to allow us to walk and move throughout the day,

And giving them permission to relax,

Release any tension in those toes,

And continuing to that right foot,

Offering gratitude for the right foot,

The arch of the foot,

All the muscles,

The bones,

Tendons within,

Allow us to move throughout our day,

Offering appreciation to that right foot,

And also giving it permission to release out,

Similarly with that right ankle,

Circling it in awareness,

Seeing what sensations are here,

Appreciating that right ankle for what it does to allow us to move,

To walk,

To run,

And seeing if we can release any residual tension that's there in the right ankle,

If there's any tension there,

And continuing to draw awareness up now into the lower part of the right leg,

Noticing what messages are here in that right leg,

Offering gratitude to elements in the right leg,

Whether it's the sturdy bone,

Or the calf muscle,

The shin muscle,

The skin encircling it all,

And inviting this part of the body to release out any tension,

To rest,

And then continuing now up into the right knee,

Which can be a place of injury,

And just even noticing what's present here in the right knee,

Tension,

Relaxation,

Pain,

Lack of pain,

Even noticing if we wish the right knee was different than how it is,

Or as we move through the body,

Ever noticing if we wish parts of the body were different than how they are,

And in this moment,

Just inviting us to let go of any kind of wishing things were different than how they are,

And just simply being with this part of the body and how it is in this moment,

This right knee,

Appreciating it for the function that it has,

And giving it permission to rest,

Drawing awareness up into the upper part of the right leg,

With similar offerings of contemplations of awareness,

Appreciation,

And allowing for rest,

Relaxation,

Release.

Drawing up into that right hip similarly,

Seeing what messages are there,

Offering gratitude for all the functions that right hip does,

All the different angles that it can move to propel us throughout our day,

And also seeing if we can allow any tension in the right hip to release,

And then shifting over as you're ready,

Down into the left leg,

Left foot,

Left toes,

Seeing what's here in the left toes sensation-wise,

Acknowledging all the important functions that those left toes do to allow us to move,

And allowing them to release out,

Followed by the left foot,

Followed by the left ankle,

And then continuing up into the lower left leg,

Awareness of this part of the body,

Appreciation,

And allowance for release,

Rest.

Continuing up into that left knee,

Circling it in awareness,

The kneecap,

Soft skin of the back of the knee,

The tendons,

The joint within,

Offering gratitude for the function that the knee has,

And allowing it to release any tension that's there.

Continuing up into the upper part of the left leg,

And into the left hip,

Noticing the sensations,

Appreciating these parts of the body for what they do,

And allowing them to relax.

Continuing up now into the abdomen,

The abdominal muscles,

All the important functions that they serve to stabilize our torso,

To allow us to bend and move,

Allowing the stomach muscles to relax.

Shifting awareness to the muscles on the back,

Along the lower back and mid-back,

Recognizing them for the important roles that they also play in allowing us to bend and move,

Carry,

Hold,

And allowing them to release any tension,

Allowing them to be just as they are in this moment.

Drawing awareness into the abdomen,

Maybe some of the organs that we don't have much sensation in,

Such as the liver,

The kidneys that are there,

Cleansing the blood,

Cleansing the body,

Aware of the stomach and the intestine,

Taking into the body everything that we offer it through food and drink and converting it into energy,

Allowing these organs to feel the gratitude for the functions that they provide and to feel the permission for them to rest,

Be cared for.

Continuing to draw awareness up into the chest,

The lungs within,

Just feeling those lungs expanding,

Releasing,

As they bring oxygen into the body and allow it to get to every cell in the body and as we breathe out we release the carbon dioxide that's no longer needed,

Caring for those lungs and allowing them to relax in this moment as best we can allow.

Continuing in to bring awareness to the heart that's beating within the chest,

Knowing that most of us can't feel it,

Though some can,

But knowing that it's there beating away,

Circulating the blood through the body,

Bringing the nutrients to every cell that needs it,

Circling back what's released that is no longer needed by the body.

And there within the chest is the heart beating away,

Offering gratitude towards it.

Shifting up now to the muscles in the upper back,

Even the shoulders,

Feeling how important they are to allow us to hold our body up and to move and twist,

Hold,

Carry,

Appreciating them for what they do and also inviting them to release out to just melt into the surface that we're resting on.

Continuing over,

If you like,

To the left shoulder,

Aware of all the different range of movement that that left shoulder allows and what that enables us to do in our lives,

Appreciating it for that and also giving it permission to rest.

And taking a moment to notice where the mind is now,

Is it wandered off or is it right here with this part of the body,

With this shoulder?

Whenever the answer is fine,

Just noticing it's good information and inviting it to be right here,

Right now with this left shoulder,

Allowing it to rest.

Then continuing to draw awareness now through the upper part of the left arm,

Muscles like the biceps and triceps and the tendons,

Connecting them all in the bone within,

Appreciating this part of the body for all that it does and allowing it to rest.

Continuing through the elbow on the forearm and the left arm and even into the hand,

That left hand noticing all the sensations there,

Offering gratitude for all that left hand does to allow us to care for ourselves and our communities,

To prepare food,

To perform chores,

To hold the hand of the person we love,

If we have someone like that in our lives.

And allowing that hand to release any tension that's there.

As we connect now over to the right side of the body,

Particularly the right shoulder,

Similarly offering gratitude and awareness to the right shoulder and all that it does.

Similarly tracking down that right arm,

The upper arm,

Into the elbow,

Forearm,

Bringing awareness and appreciation and allowance to rest and release out.

Continuing into that right hand,

Aware of the sensations in the hand,

Offering gratitude for everything that that hand does to support ourselves and others,

And caring for that hand and giving it permission to rest.

And then continuing to allow awareness to flow up now through the shoulders and into the neck,

And allowing awareness to rest in the neck,

Comfort,

Discomfort,

Any sensations there,

Such as noticing the air moving in and out of the air passage.

Offering gratitude for all the functions that the neck serves,

Whether it's connecting the mind to the body or the head to the body,

The passageways of the body,

The airways of the body,

The passageways of food and drink and air,

Blood,

The muscles,

The bones supporting it all,

And allowing that neck to rest.

And drawing awareness into the head,

Particularly the jaw,

Aware of sensations of tension in the jaw,

For example,

If they're there and if they are,

Inviting them to relax as we appreciate the jaw and the mouth for all that it does to chew and to speak,

Sing,

Bring nourishment into the body,

Allowing it some time to rest.

Continuing up into the nose,

Aware of the sensations in the nose,

Appreciating it for what it brings to allow us to enjoy,

Say,

The smells and flavors of food or flowers.

And then continuing up into the eyes,

Aware of the sensations in the eyes,

Appreciating them for all that they do,

And allowing the eyes to rest,

Perhaps with the eyes closed,

If we're comfortable with that.

As we shift to the ears,

Aware of the sensations or lack of sensations in the ears.

Offering gratitude for all that the ears provide us in our lives and also letting them rest.

And continuing up to the skull and the brain within the skull,

Seeing what is going on in the brain now.

And if you like,

Offering gratitude for all that the brain does to allow us to navigate our lives,

To enrich our lives and those of others,

And allowing the brain to rest.

In this moment,

Allowing it to be just as it is,

Allowing us to be just as we are,

And offering appreciation and rest for the brain and the mind.

And then beginning to encompass the entire body in awareness,

Including the head and neck and shoulders and arms and hands and chest and abdomen,

Hips,

Upper legs,

Lower legs,

Feet.

Just seeing what's here in the entire body,

What messages are here.

And offering care and kindness,

Appreciation,

For the body,

Knowing that if we're alive that there's more working well within us than not working well,

And offering appreciation for what's there.

And giving the body permission to release out and to rest.

And if you're moving towards sleep,

And it's the time of day to allow for that,

You're welcome to continue on into sleep.

Or if you are taking a pause in your day and you're ready to move on to the next part of the day,

Just starting to introduce a bit of movement into the body,

Such as circling the hands around the wrists or the feet around the ankles.

Inviting you to bring this awareness of the body and the mind into this next part of your day,

Along with the appreciation and the kindness towards the body and the mind as you continue on with your next steps.

Towards the body and the mind as you continue on with your next steps.