Deep Rest Meditation For Healing And Revitalization

So find a comfortable position to be able to practice this sleep meditation.

You can either be comfortably sitting somewhere,

Lying on the ground,

Finding a restorative posture that works for you,

Or just lying in a shavasana position on the bed or on the ground.

Make sure that you support your body so that you are lying comfortably.

Cover yourself up to not feel cold.

And just take a real moment to settle in here and find that position that will most serve you during this practice.

And everything that's offered throughout the practice is an invitation.

You have the choice at any moment to follow my invitation or to move with something that feels more appropriate or interesting to you.

If you feel uncomfortable with anything that's offered,

Feel free to go back to the last invitation and wait until you want to move with the following invitation.

And if any of my words don't work for you,

You can replace them with your own words.

Now as you've found your position,

Take a moment to settle into it,

Lying down or seated.

And just scan your body to see if there's anything you can do to be just a little bit more comfortable.

Your eyes can be open or closed.

Now imagine you could make a wish for anything right now.

What might that be?

What might be your intention or best outcome for this practice?

It might be for healing,

For health,

For meditative insight,

Or for inner peace or clarity.

Then just formulate your wish into a one-sentence affirmation in present time.

It may be something like,

I'm radiantly healthy.

I live in peace and have a purpose.

I'm deeply loved.

Whatever serves you the most.

And if you like,

You can also include the wish or intention to stay awake throughout this practice.

And once you have established your wish as a one-sentence affirmation,

Affirm it silently to yourself now three times.

And we will come back to this wish or intention toward the end of the practice.

So you can set it aside for now.

And take a moment now to recall or imagine a place where you feel a sense of calm and ease or safety.

It might be a room in your home,

Somewhere in nature.

It might be by yourself or with someone you love,

An animal or a spiritual being.

You can imagine anything here in your sanctuary that contributes to this sense of ease and well-being,

Safety.

And as you imagine yourself here,

Just notice how you feel.

Perhaps a sense of soothing calm.

A sense of healing.

Peacefulness.

And take some time now to feel these effects of your safe space.

The space that you have created for yourself.

And as you continue this practice,

You may come to sense this peace as something that's always present in your life.

Something that you can always come back to.

And during this practice,

You can also come back to this sanctuary,

The safe space,

At any time.

You might like to bring that feeling of it with you into the practice now.

And now become aware of the sensations of your whole body.

Feel the contact points of your body and the surface underneath it.

Contact points of your skin to the fabric.

And the caress of air to exposed skin.

Feel the support you've created for your body.

And then bring awareness to the sensations in and around your mouth.

Feel your tongue.

The roof of your mouth.

The floor of your mouth.

The left inside cheek.

The right inside cheek.

Feel them as sensation.

Don't think about it.

Just sense what is there.

Feel your lips.

The muscles around your lips.

Feel your jaw.

Feel the whole of your mouth as sensation.

Feel the sensations in and around your nose.

Movement of breath within the nostrils.

Caress of air on the outside of your nose.

Feel the sensations in and around your left eye.

Feel the left eye.

The eyelid.

And the muscles around your left eye.

Feel the whole of your left eye.

Now feel your right eye.

Right eye.

The eyelid.

The muscles around your eye.

Feel both eyes at once now.

Feel the sensations in your left ear.

Earlobe.

Ear canal.

The whole of your left ear.

Feel the sensations in your right ear now.

Earlobe.

Ear canal.

And the whole of your right ear.

Feel both ears at once now.

Feel your forehead.

Feel your whole face as sensation.

Sensing the top of your head.

The back of your head.

Feeling your neck.

And your throat.

Sensing your whole neck,

Head,

And throat and face as a whole as sensation.

Feeling your left shoulder.

The left upper arm.

The left elbow.

Forearm.

The wrist.

Sensing the palm of your hand.

The back of the left hand.

The left thumb.

The index finger.

The middle finger.

The ring finger.

Your pinky finger.

Feeling the sensations.

Your whole left hand and arm now.

Sensing your way to the right shoulder.

Feel your right shoulder.

Right upper arm.

Your right elbow.

Forearm.

Sensing your right wrist.

The palm of your hand.

The back of the hand.

The right thumb.

The index finger.

Middle finger.

Your ring finger.

And the pinky finger.

Feel the sensations in the whole of the right hand and arm now.

Feeling your chest area.

The area of your diaphragm,

Your lower ribs.

Your belly.

Your upper back.

Shoulder blade area.

Sensing around the diaphragm.

The lower ribs and the front and the back of the body.

Sensing your lower back.

Your belly.

Your pelvic floor.

Sensing your whole torso as sensation.

Inside and outside.

Front and back.

And as you continue to follow these invitations to feel sensations in your body,

You might become aware of a sense of inner calm and peace as your body relaxes deeper and deeper.

Your mind can become quiet,

Captivated by the sensations.

Feeling your left hip now.

Your left thigh.

Feeling your shin.

Your calf.

Feeling the sensations in your left ankle.

Sensing your left foot.

Your heel.

The sole of your foot.

The top of your foot.

The big toe.

Second toe.

The third toe.

The fourth toe.

The fifth toe.

And your little toe.

Feeling your whole left foot and leg as a whole as sensation now.

Feeling your right hip.

The right thigh.

Feeling your right knee.

The shin.

Sensing your calf.

Your ankle.

Sensing your right foot now.

Your right heel.

The sole of your foot.

The top of your foot.

The big toe.

The second toe.

Sensing your third toe.

The fourth toe.

The fifth toe.

And the little toe.

Feeling your whole right foot and leg at once now as sensation.

Feeling both legs now as sensation at the same time.

And just notice how relaxed your body and mind are simply from feeling sensations.

Now bring your attention to your breath.

And slowly,

Gradually,

Slow your breath down.

Counting to three,

Four,

Five.

For each inhale and each exhale for several rounds.

Remaining relaxed as you do this.

So choose a count that works for you in this moment.

Breathing in for one,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Exhaling for one,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Just find a counting that works for you.

Notice if there is a pause between the exhalation and the inhalation.

And the inhalation and the exhalation.

No need to make it happen,

But notice if it's there.

And notice the space that is available in that pause.

Where nothing happens.

And just allow your breath to come back to a natural rhythm without counting.

And maybe you notice that you're even more relaxed as a result of this breathing practice.

What do you notice?

And then take a moment to bring your awareness back to the safe space,

Your sanctuary that you created at the beginning of practice.

Still present as a background feeling.

Just picture and feel yourself in your sanctuary right now.

Being nourished by this feeling.

Now become aware of sensations of contraction in your body.

Noticing areas that are contracted,

Tense.

Sensations of contraction and tension.

And now feeling sensations of expansiveness in your body.

Feeling the expansiveness,

The lightness,

Spaciousness.

Where can you feel that in your body?

Feeling spacious and expansive.

Now feeling contraction again.

Feeling your body as contracted,

As tense.

And then feeling expansiveness again.

Feel that spaciousness.

Lightness.

Where can you feel that?

And now feeling both contracted and expansive at once.

The mind can't do both at the same time.

You cannot think your way into that.

It's a feeling inquiry.

Sensing both contraction and expansion at the same time.

Widening or opening your awareness to feel both contracted,

Tense,

And expansive spaciousness at the same time.

Noticing how that feels.

Now choose two opposites of emotion that you'd like to explore.

Perhaps content and discontent.

Happy or sad,

Angry.

When we work with the opposites of emotions,

We create integration and wholeness.

And we can build inner resilience.

So choose which two emotions you'd like to work with.

And feel the first emotion by recalling a time when you felt it.

And any accompanying images or memories that evoke that emotion.

Picture and feel this emotion.

Notice where you feel it.

And notice what it feels like.

A sensation.

Does it feel tense,

Spacious,

Hard,

Soft,

Warm,

Or cold?

Keeping it simple.

And when you're ready,

You can feel the opposite of this emotion.

Using your imagination and your memory,

Creating images if that's helpful.

And then picture and feel this emotion.

Notice where you feel it.

And what it feels like.

Does this feel contracted,

Expansive,

Warm,

Or cold?

Is it very precisely located?

Does it move?

What does this emotion feel like?

Now go back and forth a few times between the one emotion and the other emotion.

Imagining and picturing these emotions,

Feeling them within your body.

And just notice what you feel when you identify with one emotion.

And what you feel when you identify with the other.

Where do you feel it in your body?

And what changes as you shift between these emotions?

And now when you're ready,

Feel both opposite emotions at once.

Feeling your way.

Widening your awareness to feel both of these opposite emotions at the same time.

Sensing them in your body at the same time.

What do you notice as you open up your awareness to that?

And now become aware of any thoughts that are present.

Or the absence of thought.

If you notice thoughts,

You might also notice that they will dissolve and disappear if you don't engage in them.

Just let thoughts come and go.

And then feel and enjoy the peace or the absence of thought.

And then as your next thought arises,

As soon as you sense it or acknowledge it,

It can dissolve again.

And by observing and seeing and acknowledging your thoughts,

You can become free of them.

And now think of a thought or belief that you'd like to work with.

Perhaps one that is very present within you.

That pops up in your mind often and creates some degree of suffering for you.

Perhaps a thought like,

I never have enough time.

And its opposite might be,

Sometimes I do have enough time.

Or I always feel anxious.

And sometimes I do feel at peace.

You choose what thought or belief to work with and its opposite.

And when you're ready,

Recall a time when you had that thought that brings some degree of suffering to you.

And you believed or identified with it.

And notice how you felt at that time when you took it to be true.

And where do you feel it in your body?

Again,

Giving it these qualities.

Hardness,

Softness,

Contraction,

Expansion.

Something that stays in one place or that moves around.

Hard or soft.

Keeping it simple.

And being curious about where you feel this.

And when you're ready,

You can feel the opposite thought.

When you believe that thought to be true.

And notice how you feel as a result of identifying with it.

What do you feel?

And where do you feel it in your body?

What qualities does this thought bring to your body?

Now go back and forth a few times,

Noticing what you feel as you identify with one thought.

And then with the other thought.

What do you feel in your body and where do you feel it?

And now feel both opposites at once.

Feel your way into experiencing both thoughts at once by opening or widening that lens of feeling awareness.

Notice how you feel as you open up to both at once.

You might feel the opposites dissolve or open into a sense of neutrality,

Of expansion,

Of wholeness.

Just notice what you feel with both thoughts present as sensation at once.

You might be aware now of a deepening sense of inner peace or calm.

Sense of openness or expansion,

Safety.

And let your attention rest here for a while.

Experiencing yourself as peaceful,

Open and expansive.

This is deeply soothing and nourishing for your body,

Mind and soul.

You might also notice the inner peace that may have been in the background of this practice since the beginning.

Your safe space,

Relaxed,

Peaceful and calm.

And as you continue to feel this inner peace,

It may blossom into a subtle sense of joy or happiness.

No problem if it doesn't.

You might like to take a moment to recall a time of joy or happiness in your life.

Using memory or imagination to evoke that feeling of joy and happiness.

Feeling peace,

Joy and happiness.

Which may eventually blossom into a feeling of subtle bliss.

Now allow your wish or intention for this practice to come back into your awareness again.

From this place of physical and mental relaxation,

Imagine and feel it as true now.

Imagine your wish is true,

Your intention is true.

And take a moment to imagine your life with it as true.

How does it change the way you live your life?

And what behaviour changes do you notice?

How does it affect the way you relate to yourself and others?

And what else do you notice as you imagine your life with your intention as already true?

And most importantly,

How do you feel with your wish or your intention come true?

Now as you move towards completion of this practice,

Feel your body resting here in this space you're in.

Still aware of your wish coming true to the degree that that's possible?

As a feeling in your heart.

You might like to set an intention to take this feeling with you into the rest of your day.

Along with the feeling of inner peace that pervaded the practice.

Now gradually begin to deepen your breath.

Gentle movement into your fingers,

Your toes.

Slowly opening your eyes.

Perhaps bringing a stretch into your whole body.

Do whatever you feel like doing in this moment that feels right.

And when you're ready,

You can roll to the side to eventually find your way into a seated position that is comfortable for you.

And taking the practice into your life.

This finalizes the deep rest meditation session.

Thank you.

Namaste.