Guided Meditation Lying Down
First wear comfortable clothing. You should avoid heavy, spicy food before practice. Its best to remove your jewelry and glasses.
Second lie down on your back on a yoga mat or blanket. If you need to roll a small towel up under your neck, or use a small bolster pillow. If your back hurts you may bend your knees with your feet on the floor, this is called a modification.
Now put your hands to your sides facing up, about six inches from your hips, your fingers curl naturally. Take a big breath in, deep into your lungs, imagine the breath filling your pelvic belly.
Your legs and feet fall open. Imagine a plumb line coming up between your ankles, your knees, then up through your navel, your sternum, your chin, the bridge of your nose, between your eyebrows and out the top of your head.
As you breath in feel your body expand, imagine a hot air balloon. As this balloon fills with warm air it rises, as you exhale let your body begin to soften just like a balloon does when the heat and warm air is turned down. Your body expands on inhalation, and softens on exhalation.
Release the skin of your scalp, soften the corners of your eyes to your temple skin, then release the valley from your cheeks to the bridge of your nose. Release the corners of your mouth and unhinge your jaw. You neck is long and soft, your collar bones are wide. Take a big sigh of relief and allow your shoulders to release to the floor. Feel the expansion of your ribs as you inhale and the contraction as you exhale. Your arms are soft against the floor. Feel the natural pulse in your hands and notice how your fingers curl when you relax the muscles in your hand.
Bring your awareness to your pelvic belly, feel the rise and fall of the belly with each breath. Your back begins to soften, first your back ribs, then your sacrum, and now your tail bone. Release the area where you hips and thighs connect. Soften your front thighs and release your hamstrings to the mat. Your knees feel spacious, your calves are wide, now feel the length in your shins. Your ankles are open and you are aware of the length of the bones running down from your ankles to your toes. Notice the air on the bottoms of your feet.
Take a big breath in and feel your body grow, exhale and feel your body float back down softly to your mat. Let your mind be an observer of your body. Take a few deep breaths, exhaling fully with each breath.
Now wiggle your fingers and toes. Inhale and raise your hands over your head, stretch the length of your body, as if you were on a taffy pull, stretching in opposites. Now as you exhale allow your body to fully release back to the floor, keeping your right arm up and your left arm across your belly. Bend your knees and roll to your right side, just like you were going to nap on your mat. This is called Rescue Position, lie here with your head softly on your arm and breathe deep, as if your breath could fill your hips, now exhale and let your body soften. Your facial muscles release as if they were melting into a pool on the floor.
Press yourself up to sitting. Sit in a cross legged position, in yoga it's called Easy Pose, in the average Americans life we say Indian style. Lift your bottom so you are on your sit bones at the base of your pelvis. Put your hands in the center of your chest like you are praying. Inhale (four counts) and stretch your hands and arms out and up, take up lots of space, just like you are spreading your wings. Now exhale for six counts and take your arms out, in reverse and back into the Prayer Posture. Do this four times. Then on the return of the last pose, holding your hands in Prayer Pose, Say "Namaste" and come forward to bring your head towards the floor. (Namaste means, "The best in me salutes the best in you", even if you are the only one there.)
This concludes your blissed out session of meditation. I hope you enjoyed it. Use this any time you need to recoup, its good to bring energy or relaxation. Mediation brings calm and serenity to your day while giving you healthy energy as if you had taken a four hour nap.
Allow yourself to feel uncomfortable at first. Its normal for the mind to wander about. Keep it up and you will find your life has more clarity and purpose.
Namaste,
Courtney
Second lie down on your back on a yoga mat or blanket. If you need to roll a small towel up under your neck, or use a small bolster pillow. If your back hurts you may bend your knees with your feet on the floor, this is called a modification.
Now put your hands to your sides facing up, about six inches from your hips, your fingers curl naturally. Take a big breath in, deep into your lungs, imagine the breath filling your pelvic belly.
Your legs and feet fall open. Imagine a plumb line coming up between your ankles, your knees, then up through your navel, your sternum, your chin, the bridge of your nose, between your eyebrows and out the top of your head.
As you breath in feel your body expand, imagine a hot air balloon. As this balloon fills with warm air it rises, as you exhale let your body begin to soften just like a balloon does when the heat and warm air is turned down. Your body expands on inhalation, and softens on exhalation.
Release the skin of your scalp, soften the corners of your eyes to your temple skin, then release the valley from your cheeks to the bridge of your nose. Release the corners of your mouth and unhinge your jaw. You neck is long and soft, your collar bones are wide. Take a big sigh of relief and allow your shoulders to release to the floor. Feel the expansion of your ribs as you inhale and the contraction as you exhale. Your arms are soft against the floor. Feel the natural pulse in your hands and notice how your fingers curl when you relax the muscles in your hand.
Bring your awareness to your pelvic belly, feel the rise and fall of the belly with each breath. Your back begins to soften, first your back ribs, then your sacrum, and now your tail bone. Release the area where you hips and thighs connect. Soften your front thighs and release your hamstrings to the mat. Your knees feel spacious, your calves are wide, now feel the length in your shins. Your ankles are open and you are aware of the length of the bones running down from your ankles to your toes. Notice the air on the bottoms of your feet.
Take a big breath in and feel your body grow, exhale and feel your body float back down softly to your mat. Let your mind be an observer of your body. Take a few deep breaths, exhaling fully with each breath.
Now wiggle your fingers and toes. Inhale and raise your hands over your head, stretch the length of your body, as if you were on a taffy pull, stretching in opposites. Now as you exhale allow your body to fully release back to the floor, keeping your right arm up and your left arm across your belly. Bend your knees and roll to your right side, just like you were going to nap on your mat. This is called Rescue Position, lie here with your head softly on your arm and breathe deep, as if your breath could fill your hips, now exhale and let your body soften. Your facial muscles release as if they were melting into a pool on the floor.
Press yourself up to sitting. Sit in a cross legged position, in yoga it's called Easy Pose, in the average Americans life we say Indian style. Lift your bottom so you are on your sit bones at the base of your pelvis. Put your hands in the center of your chest like you are praying. Inhale (four counts) and stretch your hands and arms out and up, take up lots of space, just like you are spreading your wings. Now exhale for six counts and take your arms out, in reverse and back into the Prayer Posture. Do this four times. Then on the return of the last pose, holding your hands in Prayer Pose, Say "Namaste" and come forward to bring your head towards the floor. (Namaste means, "The best in me salutes the best in you", even if you are the only one there.)
This concludes your blissed out session of meditation. I hope you enjoyed it. Use this any time you need to recoup, its good to bring energy or relaxation. Mediation brings calm and serenity to your day while giving you healthy energy as if you had taken a four hour nap.
Allow yourself to feel uncomfortable at first. Its normal for the mind to wander about. Keep it up and you will find your life has more clarity and purpose.
Namaste,
Courtney
1 comment:
Hey Courtney, this is a great article laying out the basics of meditation. Thanks. One of my favorite meditations is to take one sense and pay attention to it and then layer in my others, until I am paying attention to all of them. Then I try to just hold attention to my senses. It's a great way of practicing just being. A friend has a great saying, "We need to loose our minds and come to our senses." Well, once again, thanks.
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