I’ve lost count of where we are in this lockdown. Week 5 or 6 maybe. Anyway, I hope you are all coping alright, taking care and looking after your mental health. If you need any help please reach out and speak with your friends and family. Don’t be alone or feel lonely. We are in this together and will get through it together.
Today I’m going to do the third guided meditation. I have recorded it for you if you prefer to listen to it. So get comfy, relax and here we go.
I’m going to take you on a relaxing journey, to help you let go of your stresses and wind down. You might want to read it a couple of times or you could just listen to my audio recording below. I’ll start by getting you to a relaxing place before your journey begins.
Get yourself comfortable, it could be on a seat, with your feet touching the floor or you could lie down on a mat or your bed. Whichever you prefer, make sure you’re wearing something loose fitting so nothing digs in or pulls as you sit or lie down.
Close your eyes, and take a slow and steady breath in through your nose and let it out through your mouth, now breathe in through your nose again to the count of four, hold for two seconds and then breathe out through your mouth to the count of four. For your third breath in, count to four, hold for two and then release through your nose. Throughout this meditation, try to breathe in and out through your nose, but if this isn’t something you are comfortable with then please do just breathe through your mouth. This is all about relaxing, so I don’t want you to worry or struggle as you won’t get the benefit.
Now you are comfortable, start with your feet and let them do their thing, if you are sitting, make sure there is no tension in them, if you are lying down, let them flop out. Moving up to your legs, tense them up and then relax them, you shouldn’t be holding the tension, so let it go. Feel your knees and legs relax and let them be.
You might carry a lot of tension in your hips, take a breath in and as you are relasing it, send it out to your hips to relax, picture them loosening and letting go of any tension.
Let any thoughts you have come and go, let them flow in and out again, no need to get involved with them, just let them pass.
As you continue to relax and breathe, move up to your abdomen and feel your breath inflate your lungs and feel your belly rise and fall. Relax.
Shoulders are a big source of tension, if it helps, tense them up and then let go and relax, if you are lying down then try to feel the mat underneath them, try not to hug them in, you may need to take a few breaths here to do this. (I know I do) Relax your neck too, you shouldn’t feel any pain and if you do, you may need to adjust your head forward to take away the strain. Let the tension go.
Now moving down your arms, how are they placed? Some people don’t like to have them straight down by their side but prefer to rest them on their belly, please do what you find comfortable.
Take a long and steady breath in and slowly release through your nose. Continue to breathe steadily and calmly. Just keep breathing steady and calm.
You are standing in a square room, this room is a gateway to your calm place. As you look around the room, you see four glass doors, one on each side. You select one.
As you open the door and step out, the cool air brushes across your face and the snow beneath your feet crunches. You look around and see you are at the start of a snow covered footpath. The branches of the trees around you are weighed down with snow and you notice deer prints in the snow, with small patches of grass showing through where it has been nibbled.
The air is fresh and as you start to walk, your breath appears, despite the cold, your clothes keep you warm and the hat on your head has a pompom that bobbles with each step. There is a calmness that settles around you as you observe a rabbit with its head out of its burrow. It stops and stares at you and then quickly hops over the snow ahead.
The footpath spirals upwards, the snow is mainly untouched and the clouds are sparse in the sky, leaving beautiful blueness above and around you. The stillness is incredible and the silence gives you the space to let go of any negative thoughts you had. You remember snow being fun from when you were a child. You decide to stop and lie in the snow to make a snow angel. As you move your arms and your legs, you laugh and giggle at your memories of being a child in a big puffy snow suit doing the same. You think about when you last did something fun like this to bring out your inner child. It’s been a while, as adults we can forget how to be silly. As you stand up to admire your work, you vow to do something childlike to make your inner child play often.
Brushing the snow off your legs, you continue up the snowy path. You come to a steep part with a few snow covered jagged rocks, taking your time and easing yourself up, you stand on the top rock and weave your way through the footpath which due to snow has narrowed. All of a sudden the path clears and you find yourself at the top of a mountain. You look around and the view is incredible. There is a village below which looks tiny, there is a large lake, partly frozen and you see a castle sitting on a hill in the middle, it looks like something out of a fairytale, it’s beautiful.
Everything is still and calm. Your heart fills with awe at the beauty of the scene in front of you and all around you. You can see for miles.
The air is crisp, the sky is clear and the snow twinkles in the sun. Standing up straight with your arms down by your side, you close your eyes and take in a slow deep breath. Your exhale is slow as you want to savour the purity of the air. You breathe like this for a few more breaths. You open your eyes and feel relaxed and happy. The heat of the sun on your face fills you with warmth and love. You sit on the snow and cross your legs, with your eyes closed, hands in your lap, you continue to breathe slowly and deeply. Being still doesn’t always come naturally to you, however the mountain top has given you a sense of peace and quiet. You continue to focus on your breathing.
After several minutes, you are brought back into the moment as snow gently grazes your face. You open your eyes and snow is falling all around you, the sky is now white and as much as you want to stay and build a snowman, you vow to do it the next time is snows at home. Standing up you see a small yellow flower poking through the snow, you walk over to it and see a new footpath that goes down the hill, it’s not been walked on so you set off crunching with each step and after a short time you end up in a doorway. You turn around, take one final deep breath in of the cool air and as you exhale you open the door and find yourself back in the room. You smile to yourself and know that the next time there is a lot of snow, you will make that snowman. Now slowly open your eyes.
Thank you for reading and/or listening. Try to take how you feel after the meditation into your day and throughout your week. Have a delightful week, be kind to others and look after you.
Love Emma xx 😀
Wellbeing with Relaxing Lavender 