Sit upright and comfortably with your back well supported.
Start with the eyes open,
Soft focus,
Aware of the space in front of you but not really looking at anything.
We're going to practice a number of different types of meditation.
But firstly,
What is meditation?
Meditation is the practice of focusing your attention on something.
Mindfulness meditation tends to focus on the body.
And the more traditional types of meditation focus on something more external such as a mantra,
A candle or image.
How do we do it?
We try to keep our mind on our focus and when it inevitably wonders,
We acknowledge and calmly accept the thought that's come into our mind.
And without judging it or getting emotionally involved with it,
We let it go.
You can imagine it floating away from you in a bubble if you like.
And very gently bring our mind back to our focus.
This action is our mental exercise.
And just as with physical exercise,
The more we practice it,
The better we become at it.
Because of the brain's plasticity,
As we practice meditation,
Our brain slowly becomes hard wired so we can accept thoughts,
Let them go and go back to our focus.
And this is carried over into everyday life.
We can let things go.
We become more accepting of events and situations and don't react so strongly.
We become more accepting of ourselves and others and this leads to better relationships.
We also become less anxious since we can let things go and so don't dwell on them.
It also improves our ability to focus and concentrate in everyday life.
And we perform better at work or school.
Now take three big deep breaths.
In through your nose and out through your mouth.
Notice your chest expanding as your lungs fill with air and the body softening as you exhale.
With the next exhalation gently close your eyes and return to your normal breath.
Bring your attention to the physical sensations in your body.
Notice the effect of gravity on your body weighing you down on the chair.
Notice the sensation of the soles of your feet on the floor.
Your hands just resting in your lap on your legs.
Become aware of any sounds around you.
Allow them to come to you rather than actively trying to listen.
Now bring your attention back to your body.
You're going to do a mindfulness body scan.
Starting at the top of the head and scanning down through the body both inside and out.
You are going to notice how your body feels but noticing without judging.
Imagine you are a detached impartial observer of your body.
Become aware of your hair and scalp.
Inside your head is there any pressure?
Notice the muscles in your forehead and around your eyes.
We can hold a lot of tension in our face so notice if your muscles are tense or relaxed.
You're not trying to change anything,
You're simply noticing.
Be aware of the line where your eyelids meet.
Be aware of your nose.
Can you feel the breath in your nostrils?
Be aware of the line where your eyelids meet.
Be aware of your nose.
Can you feel the breath in your nostrils?
And because we are observing all of our senses,
Are you aware of any smell or scent?
Become aware of your throat.
Can you feel your breath moving there?
Are you aware of any smell or scent?
Notice the position of your tongue in your mouth.
Is it against the roof of your mouth?
Against your teeth?
Or resting in the base of your mouth?
Are you aware of any taste?
Notice the muscles around your mouth and jaw.
Are they tense or relaxed?
Bring your attention to the back of your head.
Is it resting against anything?
If it is,
Be aware of the feeling of contact.
Move onto the muscles in the back of your neck.
Again,
Another place we hold tension in the body.
Are your muscles tense or relaxed?
Continue down through your body,
Noticing which areas feel tense or tight,
Which areas are relaxed.
Areas of comfort or discomfort.
You are not trying to change anything.
You are simply training your brain to observe your body.
As soon as you realise your mind has wandered,
Acknowledge the thought that has come into your mind.
Don't judge it or get emotionally involved with it.
Just calmly accept it and let it go.
And gently bring your focus back to the physical sensations in the body as you scan down to the toes.
Now bring your attention to your breath.
The inhale and exhale.
Are you breathing into your abdomen,
Your chest or your shoulders?
Notice and become aware of your breath.
Is it deep or shallow?
Notice the rate of your breath.
Is it fast or slow?
Remember you are not trying to change it.
You are just observing.
Are you aware of your heartbeat in any part of your body?
If so,
Is it fast or slow?
Is it regular or does it change rate slightly as you breathe?
Now notice your mood or the emotional quality of your mind.
We don't usually notice our mood until it's extreme,
But it's very powerful to be aware of what you're feeling as you start to feel it.
Then if our mood is deteriorating,
We can do something about it.
So how are you feeling right now?
Do you feel any frustration,
Anger,
Sadness,
Joy?
Are you calm or agitated?
Anxious or relaxed?
Peaceful,
Happy or indifferent?
What adjectives can you think of that describe your mood right now?
And again you're not judging your moods,
You're just observing.
By practicing watching,
We are hard-wiring the brain to be aware of our emotions and moods,
As well as being slightly detached from them.
So in everyday life they will not have so much control over us.
We can then rein in our emotions before they take over.
Now silently and slowly start to count the breath.
One on the inhale,
Two on the exhale and so on up to ten and then start again.
Now slowly start to count the breath.
When your mind wanders as it inevitably will,
Accept the thought,
Calmly let it go and return to counting the breath from the number you were last on.
Now slowly start to count the breath.
If your mind has wandered,
Gently bring it back.
Gently bring it back to counting.
Now slowly start to count the breath.
Now slowly start to count the breath.
When your mind wanders,
Calmly accept the thought,
Let it go and come back to counting the breath.
Now slowly start to count the breath.
Continue to count the breath but also become aware of the sensation of the movement of the breath at the tip of your nose.
Now slowly start to count the breath.
Now slowly start to count the breath.
When your mind has wandered,
Don't feel frustrated,
Just remember this is your exercise,
Acknowledging the thought or distraction and calmly letting it go and gently returning your attention to counting the breath and being aware of the sensation of the breath at the tip of the nose.
The more we practice,
The easier it will become.
Now slowly start to count the breath.
Now slowly start to count the breath.
If your mind has wandered,
Gently bring it back,
Still counting the breath.
Now slowly start to count the breath.
Now slowly start to count the breath.
Now slowly start to count the breath.
Now we're moving into a meditation for loving kindness.
Think of someone you know who needs some extra love and kindness in their life right now.
And each time you exhale,
Send that person the message,
May you be happy,
May you be well.
Now slowly start to count the breath.
Now slowly start to count the breath.
Now slowly start to count the breath.
When your mind wanders,
Gently acknowledge the thought,
Don't judge it or get emotionally involved with it,
Just calmly let it go and return to sending that one person the message,
May you be happy,
May you be well.
Now slowly start to count the breath.
Now expand this meditation and send this message to all those people you are close to.
As you exhale,
May you be happy,
May you be well.
If it helps,
You can cycle through picturing each person in your mind as you send them the message.
Now slowly start to count the breath.
When your mind wanders,
Just gently bring it back to sending this message to all the people you are close to.
Now slowly start to count the breath.
Now think of somebody whom you don't particularly get along with or like.
You're going to send them the message.
This isn't about forgiving them,
You're still acknowledging that they have acted badly or wrongly.
But holding on to anger or resentment is detrimental to our health and wellbeing.
Remember this quote,
Each minute of anger is 60 seconds less peace of mind.
So this meditation is about creating calm and peace in your mind.
So send that person the message,
May you be happy,
May you be well,
Each time you exhale.
Now slowly start to count the breath.
By practicing a meditation for love and kindness,
It is training and shaping the brain to be more empathetic and hence have more emotional intelligence.
It's very important though that we also love and accept ourselves.
So now direct the practice towards yourself.
May I be happy,
May I be well.
Thank you.
If your mind has wondered,
Bring it back to your focus.
Sending yourself the message,
May I be happy,
May I be well.
Now we are going to do a mantra meditation.
A mantra is a word or phrase you repeat silently in your mind.
Use the mantra,
My mind is calm,
My body is relaxed.
My mind is calm,
My body is relaxed.
When your mind wanders,
Acknowledge the thought without judging it and let it go and bring your attention back to your focus.
This is our exercise,
Our mental push up.
And when we keep repeating it,
It hard wires our brains.
So in everyday life we can accept things and let them go.
So bring your mind now back to the mantra,
My mind is calm,
My body is relaxed.
Thank you.
Now time the mantra with your breath.
As you breathe in repeat,
My mind is calm and as you breathe out,
My body is relaxed.
Now time the mantra with your breath.
Now create an image in your mind,
Somewhere you are truly relaxed and calm.
It can be somewhere you've been,
You'd like to go or just an image created in your imagination.
Let that image become your new focus.
Let it go.
Let it go.
When your mind wanders,
Gently bring it back to the image.
By practicing focusing we are training our brain and this translates into having better concentration and focus in our work or study.
Let it go.
Let it go.
Now let go of all focus.
Let the mind be completely free to do whatever it wants to do.
Be busy or quiet.
We're simply going to watch what is arising in our minds.
This is known as open awareness or open monitoring meditation.
Open your mind.
To help keep your awareness of your thoughts,
Name what is happening in your mind.
I am remembering.
I am remembering.
I am remembering.
Allow thoughts to come and simply be aware of them.
They may come slowly or quickly or more than one at a time.
But simply remain aware.
It's a very powerful thing to be aware of what we're thinking when we start thinking it.
Let it go.
Watch your thoughts but be detached from them.
Simply be an observer of what is arising in your mind.
Let it go.
This is a very effective type of meditation for dealing with negative thoughts or emotions.
When you are aware you have a negative thought or emotion,
Simply sit and watch it in your mind and slowly it will dissipate.
Now bring your mind back to sensations of your body,
The feelings of contact again,
Your arms,
Legs,
Your hands,
Feet.
Do another body scan from your head down to your toes.
Are you aware of any differences?
Notice your breath.
Is it deeper and the rate slower?
When we meditate the body reduces its production of adrenaline and cortisol,
The stress hormones,
And our breathing slows.
Can you notice this?
And again,
Are you aware of your heartbeat anywhere in your body?
If so,
Is the rate slower?
Just like the breath,
The heart rate should slow down.
We're going to spend the last minute of this session doing a gratitude practice.
Think of three things in your life that you are truly grateful for and fill your mind with these one after the other.
You may think of one routineplus all good more Lily there.
.
Gratitude is a very powerful way of releasing some of those happy chemicals in your brain So each time you do this practice,
Try and introduce at least one new grateful thought out of the three Now bring your attention back to your surroundings When you're ready,
Gently open your eyes,
Sit back and just take a moment to think about how you're feeling compared with the beginning of the session
