Start by finding a comfortable position,
Lying down or sitting,
And take a few moments to settle,
Feeling your body where it meets the floor or chair.
And now find your breath and breathe in slowly through your nose,
Deeply into your belly,
And exhale gently and completely through your nose with your mouth closed.
Breathing in,
Belly rising,
And breathing out completely.
As you breathe in,
Follow the course of your breath from where it starts at the tip of your nose through your throat,
Expanding your lungs and abdomen,
And then following your breath back out on the exhale.
Over the next few breaths,
Explore how the air feels and sounds in your body as it moves through.
And now scan your body for areas of tension,
Places where you're contracting and holding,
And release any holding on the out breath.
Breathing in,
Belly rising,
And breathing out,
Releasing any tension in your body,
Giving yourself permission to let go in this moment.
Breathing in and letting go as you breathe out.
Do this gently for a few breaths,
Relaxing your entire body.
Let a wave of relaxation wash over you,
Feeling the top of your head relax,
The softness in your forehead and around your eyes,
The looseness in your jaw,
And the softness of your mouth and lips,
Noticing the muscles in the back of your neck becoming pliant as you sink even deeper into relaxation,
Moving your attention to your arms and shoulders,
Feeling the pleasurable heaviness,
Noticing the placement of your hands,
And feeling the looseness in your fingers,
Bringing that feeling of relaxation to your back and belly now,
Sinking into the floor or chair,
Bringing the relaxation to your hips,
Your legs,
Your feet,
Allowing them to sink into the support of the earth.
Now,
Doubling the relaxation,
Going even deeper with each breath,
Allowing your body to completely relax with each sound taking you deeper.
Feeling the stillness in your body and allowing your thoughts to flow through your awareness without engaging in them,
Just witnessing them as they arise from nowhere and disappear back into nothingness,
Relaxing your mind on the waves of sound,
Watching from a place of silence and stillness within,
Take a few moments to be fully present in that stillness and space.
Now,
Bring your attention to your heart chakra in the middle of your chest,
Powerful energy center at your heart,
And imagine it's as big as the clear blue sky,
Limitless in scope.
Imagine you are breathing in and out directly through your heart.
With each breath,
Your heart opens further.
With each sound,
Your awareness expands even more,
Opening further to the spaciousness,
Feeling your heart getting bigger and bigger,
Extending beyond the sky into the infinite universe.
Energy is flowing freely now that tension is released,
Making an amazing amount of space available to you.
This expanded awareness gives you more access to who you truly are,
Your complete self.
Relax into that,
Allowing yourself to open and expand even further.
In this state of greater understanding,
You are accessing your higher consciousness,
Your greater self.
It's a state of great potential.
You may find new insights arising,
Or maybe you will feel called to send healing energy to your body so that anything that needs to be rebalanced can experience that.
Take a few moments now to enjoy this expanded space and explore it.
Now bring your attention back to your heart center,
Feeling the spaciousness,
As big as the clear blue sky,
And feeling the wide expanse of your heart,
Filling the sky unbounded.
And now,
Feeling the warmth of the sun in the sky,
Bringing golden light into the spaciousness,
Feeling it melt your heart into genuine warmth,
Noticing how that warmth feels.
Some people may feel a sense of joy,
Others may feel a sense of loving kindness,
A sense of well-being and openness to others.
Some may feel compassion for those who are suffering.
And some people may not feel anything.
In that case,
Just imagine a sense of warmth in the area of the heart chakra.
Trust that energy follows where you place your attention,
And that just imagining a sense of warmth will help clear and open the heart center and manifest love and openness in your life.
Take a few moments to allow yourself to feel into the warmth,
Joy,
Loving kindness and or compassion that arises.
Be the warmth of this space and openness.
As we near the end of the meditation,
Take a few moments to reflect on at least three things you have gratitude for in your life right now.
Research shows that reflecting on gratitude every day makes people happier.
You may have some major successes or supports in your life to be thankful for.
Or if things are not going so well right now,
You can remember to be thankful for the small things,
The flower you saw today,
Or simply that you are able to take this time to meditate for the sake of your well-being.
Now very slowly bring your awareness back to your body,
Making small movements,
Wiggling your fingers and your toes,
Turning your head from side to side,
Rotating your arms and legs,
And raising your arms above your head,
Stretching as far as you can,
Pointing your toes,
Extending your legs as far as they go,
Making yourself as long as possible.
Stretch.
Enjoy how good it feels.
Open your eyes now,
Taking in the sights and sounds around you.
And when you're ready,
If you're lying down,
Come up to a sitting position,
Feeling energized and relaxed at the same time,
Knowing that the place of stillness and spaciousness is still there,
Always accessible by closing your eyes and taking a few deep breaths during the day,
Knowing that you can find that place of stillness and openness when you need it the most.
