Find a comfortable position either sitting or lying down.
If you're sitting just make sure your spine is straight but not stiff or tensed up.
Your hands relaxed in whatever position is comfortable for you.
And we're going to start with the 4-8 breathing exercise.
Breathing in for a count of 4 and out for a count of 8.
If possible always breathing in and out through the nose and practising diaphragmatic breathing.
So if you want to you can place one hand on your chest area and one hand on your abdomen and notice the rise of the abdomen on the inhale and the fall of the abdomen on the exhale.
So let's begin.
Inhale 1,
2,
3,
4.
Exhale 8,
7,
6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Inhale 1,
2,
3,
4.
Exhale 8,
7,
6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Inhale 1,
2,
3,
4.
Exhale 8,
7,
6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Inhale 1,
2,
3,
4.
Exhale 8,
7,
6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Inhale 1,
2,
3,
4.
Exhale 8,
7,
6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Inhale 1,
2,
3,
4.
Exhale 8,
7,
6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Inhale 1,
2,
3,
4.
Exhale 8,
7,
6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Inhale 1,
2,
3,
4.
Exhale 8,
7,
6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Inhale 1,
2,
3,
4.
Exhale 8,
7,
6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Inhale 1,
2,
3,
4.
Exhale 8,
7,
6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Inhale 1,
2,
3,
4.
Exhale 8,
7,
6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Last round.
Inhale 1,
2,
3,
4.
Exhale 8,
7,
6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Eyes remain closed.
Let your breathing return to its natural rhythm.
Just notice how the body feels,
How the mind feels.
Just letting everything settle.
I invite you now to bring your attention to your breathing without changing your breath in any way.
Just allowing it to breathe in its natural rhythm.
Noticing the sensations of the breath as it enters and leaves the body.
We're just being curious about the breath.
What does it feel like?
What are the sensations like?
Notice the quality of the breath,
The depth of the breath,
The length of the breath.
Just passively observing without judgement this effortless act that happens all by itself without us having to do anything to make it happen.
And our breath is our direct link to the present moment.
We can't take a breath for yesterday or tomorrow.
We can only take this breath right now.
And each breath is unique.
So whenever we're feeling like our minds are scattered or dispersed,
We can come back to the breath,
Back to the present moment.
I'm taking your awareness to the tip of the nose and the nostrils and just noticing the sensations here of the breath as it enters and leaves the body.
Maybe it feels cool on the inhale and warm on the exhale.
Just simply noticing.
And sooner or later you'll find your mind wanders away from the breath to thinking of other things.
And when you notice this has happened,
Just simply bring it back to the breath without judgement.
Back to the nostrils,
Back to those sensations.
And if distractions arise in the form of thoughts or sounds,
There's no need to push them away or resist them.
Just simply accept them as part of your experience in this moment and gently steer your attention back to the breath.
And I invite you now,
If you're not already lying down,
To lie down if you wish to do so.
Take a moment to adjust your position so that you're comfortable in stillness.
And when you're ready,
Take your attention down to your toes.
Noticing any and all sensations in the toes.
Maybe there's some coolness,
Some tingling.
Maybe there are no sensations and you can notice that too.
And move your awareness to the tops of the feet,
The soles of the feet,
The heels,
The ankles.
Just noticing whatever you find with curiosity and without judgement.
So holding both feet in your awareness now.
On your next inhalation,
I invite you to visualise sending that breath all the way down to your feet.
And on the exhale,
Just allow the feet to soften and the muscles to relax.
And moving your awareness now to the lower legs,
The shins and the calves and the knees.
Paying attention to the sensations here.
And on your next inhalation,
Visualise sending that breath all the way down to the lower legs.
And on the exhale,
Just let the muscles soften.
Let the shins and the calves and the knees be soft and relaxed.
Now moving your awareness up to your thighs,
Your buttocks,
Your hips.
And just noticing any and all sensations here.
And on your next inhalation,
Visualise sending that breath all the way down to the thighs and the buttocks and the hips.
And on the exhale,
Relaxing the muscles.
Letting the legs be heavy and soft.
And moving your awareness to the front of your body,
Your belly,
Your abdomen,
Your chest,
Your collar.
Just noticing.
Maybe there's some heat.
Maybe some tension.
Some holding.
That's okay.
No need to judge what you find.
And on your next inhalation,
Sending that breath all the way through the front of the body.
Feeling the ribs and the lungs expand and the abdomen expand on the inhale.
And on the exhale,
Just letting everything fall back.
The belly be soft.
And moving your awareness to the base of your spine.
And up to your lower back.
The middle of your back.
Your upper back and shoulders.
Just seeing what's going on there for you.
Any tension,
Discomfort.
Maybe the sensations of where the back of your body meets the bed or the floor,
Whatever you're lying on.
And on your next inhalation,
Breathing into the back.
Sending that breath all the way down to the base of the spine.
And on the exhale,
Just letting go.
Letting any tension roll away and dissolve.
Let the back be soft.
And taking your awareness now down through the arms,
Past the elbows and the wrists,
Into the hands and the fingers.
Noticing what you find.
And on your next inhalation,
Sending that breath all the way down the arms.
And on the exhale,
Just let the arms be heavy and soft.
Moving your awareness up through the back of the neck,
To the back of the head,
The crown.
Seeing if you can allow your scalp to soften.
Softening the brow.
Space between the eyebrows.
All the little muscles around the eyes.
Just let them be soft.
Let the cheeks be soft.
And the jaw.
And the tongue.
And the mouth.
Feeling the whole head just relaxed.
And holding your whole body in your awareness now,
From the crown of your head to the tips of your toes.
Feeling the ground,
Or the bed,
Or whatever you're lying on,
Rising up to support and hold you in this space.
And know that you are safe.
And you can fully let go.
Allow your body to be heavy,
Soft,
Sinking a little bit deeper.
Just letting go.
And you can spend as long as you need to in this state of deep relaxation.
If you are using this meditation for sleep,
You can just stay here for as long as you need to.
And if not,
When you're ready,
Just start to bring some movement back to the ankles and the wrists.
And gently coming round,
Having a stretch,
And opening your eyes.
