The purpose of this meditation is to allow you to let go of all stress and all tension.
For this practice,
Come to lay on your back.
Make sure your body is comfortable and supported by any pillows,
Blankets or other props that you need.
Close down the eyes and begin by taking three breaths,
A little deeper,
A little fuller than you'd normally breathe.
As you inhale,
Fill the breath through the nose,
Right down into the belly.
And as you exhale,
Sigh out through the mouth.
Inhale through the nose.
Exhale,
Sigh it out.
Feel a wave of relaxation sweep through you each time you exhale.
Invite stillness into the body and know that as we move through this practice,
There may be longer periods of space,
An invitation for you to do absolutely nothing,
A moment just to be.
Know that when you rest in these spaces,
You are held and you are safe.
Take a moment now to become aware of your body in space,
Aware of the space your body is occupying.
See if you can become so still,
So quiet that you can feel and hear your breath.
Sense the cool air on your top lip as you breathe in and the warm air as you breathe out.
Watch as the breath travels in through the nostrils and into the body,
Somewhere where it dissolves.
And then as it travels back out the body,
Dissolving again somewhere outside of you,
Just watching the breath.
No need to change or control it,
Allowing the breath to be exactly as it is.
As it is,
Allowing the body to breathe itself.
You the witness of the breath,
Feel yourself lying on the earth.
Slowly allow your awareness to travel from head to toe.
Become aware of any contraction or holding and take a moment to invite a little more comfort and ease into the body now.
Let go of all contraction and all holding.
Body relaxed.
Now become aware of sound.
Watch your attention shift from sound to sound to sound and then hear all sounds at once.
Slowly the sounds become more distant as you shift from an external focus to an internal focus.
Notice the parts of your body that are touching the floor.
Back of the heels on the floor.
Back of the thighs,
Hips,
Hands.
Parts of your spine touching the floor or the surface beneath you.
Back of your shoulders and back of your head.
Feel all the parts of the body that touch the floor or the surface beneath and all the parts of the body that don't.
Where there is space,
Feel your body held by that support.
Each time you inhale,
Allow the support beneath to rise up and cradle the body.
Each time you exhale,
An invitation to surrender into that support even deeper.
Each inhale the earth rises up,
Supporting you more fully.
Each time you exhale,
Soften and let go.
Feel the body fully supported.
Know that in this moment you are safe and you are held.
Aware of those contact points.
Each time you breathe in,
Gather all tension from body and mind.
Each time you breathe out,
Allow all that tension to empty through those contact points down into the support below.
Each inhale,
A gathering of tension.
Each exhale,
An emptying and releasing.
Almost as if the body is a vessel,
A bucket with holes in it.
On each exhale,
All tension is emptied through these holes,
Through the contact points between your body and the surface beneath.
Each time you exhale,
The body drops through down into another layer of comfort and ease until all that's left is emptiness.
Pure,
Open space.
Allow yourself permission to rest in this space,
To just be.
Just be.
Just be.
Consciously begin to deepen your breath once again.
You have the option now to roll onto your side and take sleep or to slowly begin to bring yourself back around.
Know that you move forward,
Rested and fully rejuvenated.
Namaste.
