Let's close down our eyes,
Or if you prefer,
Leave them open in a soft gaze.
Let your body breathe at its own comfortable rate as you begin to rest.
Scan your body and see if you can relax any muscle just a little more.
Maybe you are holding your hands tight in fists and can relax your hands,
Relax your feet,
Your arms and your legs.
Relax your shoulders,
Relax them again.
Focus on your face,
The muscles around the eyes.
Let them rest.
Your jaw,
Are you holding it tight?
Just relax all those facial muscles,
Your chest,
Your stomach.
Let your whole body just relax.
Tell yourself you're here and give yourself permission to rest.
Take a long cleansing breath in through your nose and out through your mouth.
Let's take two more of those in your own time.
In and out.
Breathing and relaxing your whole body just a little bit more.
Letting your body breathe.
Now let's imagine the most beautiful white sandy beach.
You may have been there before,
Somewhere that evokes a feeling of peace,
Light,
Safety,
Calm.
Or it may be a picture in your imagination.
You may not be able to see it in your mind's eye but instead sense it.
You may hear the waves crashing in and out on the beach or there may be birds singing that you can hear.
Perhaps it's the warmth of the sun that you can feel in your back or the white sand.
Maybe you can taste the salt of the sea water or the wind.
Are you able to smell the ocean?
And slowly we start to breathe in time with the waves.
Breathing in as they come into shore and breathing out as they go back out to sea.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
I will leave you with the waves however you are sensing them.
Smell them,
See them,
Hear them.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
Feeling peace,
Light,
Safety,
Calm.
I will come back to you.
I will come back to you.
I will come back to you.
I will come back to you.
Slowly you turn around and notice a beautiful white house.
It looks like a castle from a fairy tale shimmering in the sunlight with a very long staircase leading up to its front door.
It has a calm inviting feel about it.
You begin to walk toward the steps along the white soft sand.
You realise that your shoulders are stiff and your back is tight.
You are carrying a heavy backpack.
You stop at the bottom of the stairs and remove the backpack off your shoulders.
You can physically feel the release of energy as you breathe out and release any remaining tension left in your muscles.
In the backpack are your plans and goals and worries.
You can leave them here for the night and come back to them tomorrow.
Right now you are letting go,
Letting be,
Surrendering,
Letting your body and mind rest and recharge.
And you begin to walk up the stairs.
Breathe in and out as you count each step.
Breathe in and count the steps.
Breathe in,
One,
Breathe out,
Two,
Breathe in,
Three,
Breathe out,
Four,
Keep counting,
Keep stepping,
Counting in tens,
Focusing on those steps and your count,
Just walking.
And as you walk and breathe you feel like you are coming to a place of comfort,
Clarity,
Safety and calm.
Breathing in,
Breathing out,
Counting.
Breathing out,
Counting.
Breathing out,
Counting.
Breathing out,
Counting.
Breathing out,
Counting.
You come to a room at the top of the stairs and you are feeling peaceful so you lay down to rest.
Pull up a soft warm blanket.
This feels comforting and soothing on your skin.
From the bed you can see the sun setting on the beach and the waves coming in and out and you begin to breathe with the waves in and out,
In and out.
Breathing out,
Counting.
Breathing out,
Counting.
Breathing out,
Counting.
Breathing out,
Counting.
Breathing out,
Counting.
Breathing out,
Counting.
Breathing out,
Counting.
Breathing out,
Counting.
Breathing out,
Counting.
Breathing out,
Counting.
Breathing out,
Counting.
Breathing out,
Counting.
Breathing out,
Counting.
Breathing out,
Counting.
Breathing out,
Counting.
Breathing out,
Counting.
