Relaxing Meditation - Field of Peace

Let's start by getting comfortable in your chair,

Sitting with your feet flat on the floor and your hands gently in your lap with your palms facing upward.

And now gently close your eyes and become aware of your body.

Bring your attention to any places where you feel tension or discomfort,

But at this time simply become aware of the feelings.

There's no need to change anything.

Simply observe.

And now take a nice deep breath in through your nose,

Expanding your belly and then your chest.

Hold that breath briefly at the top and then slowly let it out through your mouth.

Feel your shoulders begin to drop and your muscles becoming looser.

And with each breath,

You're going to inhale through your nose,

Expanding that belly and then followed by your chest.

You're going to hold it for a moment and then slowly let it out through your mouth.

Let's take another deep breath.

Hold it and slowly let it out.

Let's take one last deep breath,

The biggest breath yet,

Slowly in through your nose,

Feeling your belly fully expand.

Hold it and then slowly let it out.

Now just simply breathe as you normally would naturally,

Making no attempt to alter your breath in any way.

Just focus on the rhythm of your breath.

Feel it entering your body and then leaving.

With every new breath,

You're filling your body with fresh new air.

Feel the oxygen filling your body and with it,

A sense of calm and vitality.

With every exhale,

Feel the stress leaving.

With every exhale,

You sink deeper into your chair,

Your muscles slowly relaxing.

As you feel this fresh new air filling your lungs,

I want you to picture it swirling around your body,

Swirling around your organs,

Bringing with it a sense of warmth throughout your entire being.

Imagine the oxygen gently moving,

Starting to collect in your legs,

Starting with your feet.

Feel the warmth in your toes and in your feet.

Feel that same sensation with each new breath as it begins to fill up your shins and your calves,

Your knees and your upper legs.

Each breath brings with it rejuvenation and a subtle warmth.

With every exhale,

You feel yourself releasing any worry,

Stress or concern.

Feel your breath filling your chest and lungs,

Bringing with it a sense of calm and relaxation.

See the oxygen making its way around all your organs and draw your attention to any areas that seem particularly tense or stressful.

See the air you're breathing.

See it wrapping itself around those tense areas of your body.

And as you exhale,

You're ridding your body of older air,

Ridding your body of any discomfort or worry.

With each breath,

You're replacing stale,

Stagnant air in your body with rejuvenating oxygen.

Your new breaths are now making their way down your arms and to your hands,

Warming your fingers and relieving any tension.

With every breath,

You're breathing in calm and relaxation.

And with every exhale,

You're freeing yourself of tension and worry.

You can feel yourself sinking deeper into your chair.

You can feel your muscles loosening,

Freeing their tension.

Feel the calm washing over your entire body.

Feel it entering every cell,

Bringing with it a sense of peace and healing.

Revel in this moment.

Take in this moment and make sure to thank yourself for taking time to be at peace.

You may find stray thoughts entering your mind.

That's okay.

It's to be expected.

When you're in your day,

You keep yourself busy and those thoughts are silent.

But now you are silent and quite possibly thoughts will arise.

That's perfectly okay.

Simply bring your attention back to your breath.

Literally feel it entering your nose,

Cooling.

And when you exhale,

Feel the warm air pass over your lips.

Imagine now that you're standing in a large grassy field on a beautiful summer day.

All you can see is this field.

There are no houses,

No buildings,

Just an expanse of grass.

And surrounding that field off in the distance is a forest.

You're completely surrounded by nature.

You look up and the sky is so blue and you see clouds gently passing by slowly.

You're mesmerized by the clouds,

Watching them flow from one end of the sky to the other.

So gentle,

So peaceful.

And the warmth of the sun feels so soothing on your face.

In this space,

You are totally relaxed.

You sit down for a moment and you look out to see the clouds again.

There are fewer of them now,

But they're just as calming,

Simply floating by.

Now imagine one of those clouds.

See it against that blue,

Blue sky.

Now imagine blowing that cloud further into the atmosphere with your breath.

As you gently blow it skyward,

It becomes smaller and smaller,

Breaking up into smaller,

Wispier pieces.

With every breath,

You're pushing it further and further away.

And as it floats higher and higher,

It becomes smaller and smaller,

Disappearing into the blue sky.

With one last breath,

The littlest traces of that cloud disappear,

Leaving nothing but sky.

Having done that,

You look around and you see that all the clouds have gone.

The sky holds nothing but blue and the radiance of the sun.

Bring your attention back to the space you're currently in now.

Feel the chair and become aware of your surroundings.

And now bring your focus back to your breath.

Once again,

Feel it coolly entering your nose and warming your mouth as it leaves.

If thoughts arise,

As they will,

Gently allow them to pass through your mind,

Returning your mind to the presence of your breath.

You have the ability to calm your mind at any time.

All you need to do is connect with your breath.

With a simple inhale,

You can connect to a feeling of peace.

Thoughts will always be present,

Yet you can decide to simply watch them,

Observe them,

All the while remaining calm,

All the while staying focused on your breath.

If thoughts seem persistent,

Then remember the clouds in the field.

You have the ability to disperse them with your breath.

With every exhale,

They floated higher and higher into the sky until they were gone.

With every breath now,

You have the ability to do the same thing with your thoughts.

As you feel the air entering your body,

As you bring your focus to that breath,

You can feel those thoughts losing their grasp.

With every exhale,

They become weaker and smaller,

Just like those clouds.

You have the ability to bring yourself to a sense of calm whenever you choose.

It happens as simply as deciding to take a simple,

Deep breath in through your nose.

Let's feel it one more time.

Make this your fullest breath yet.

Inhale through your nose,

Extending your belly fully,

And then pulling that air into your chest.

Feel that full expanse,

And then hold that breath for a moment,

And then slowly let it out through your mouth.

Take a moment now and reconnect with your body.

Feel how relaxed you are sitting in your chair.

Feel the peace as it washes over every cell in your body.

Feel the warmth and relaxation.

Feel it in your feet,

Making its way up into your calves and shins.

Feel the warmth as it flows up your legs and into your torso.

With each new breath,

It's flowing further and further into your body,

Bringing relaxation to your hands and your arms.

And lastly,

Feel the calm as it makes its way into your head.

With each breath,

You're becoming calmer.

If thoughts arise,

Simply use that breath and allow them to pass.

Sit with this feeling of calm for just a moment,

Knowing that you can come back to it at any point in your day.

And now,

You are ready to return to your day.

Simply open your eyes and become reacquainted with the space you're in.

There's no need to get up right away.

Simply sit and feel this moment.

Be in this moment.

Thank yourself once again for taking the time to find a place of calm.

Namaste.