This meditation is designed to get you out of your head and into your body, which is one of the key steps to feeling more calm and grounded.
We also take a little bit of time to reflect on the gifts that can come from adversity and how this can expand our range.
25 minute listen. We recommend listening to this meditation with headphones on.
Listen to meditations in the Powerful Pause series.
Meditation Transcript
Bea Grist, Health and Wellbeing Manager:
Welcome to this meditation which is themed around the idea of ‘range’. What do we mean when we say ‘range’? What we’re speaking to is this idea that in life sometimes we choose to only play certain keys of the piano. What would it be like if we gave ourselves full permission to play that full range? To welcome the full range of who we are. Accepting the highs and lows, maybe the parts of us that we don’t often show the world. So that’s what we’re going to be exploring a bit today. This meditation is slightly longer than our previous meditations and it will help you to get out of your head and into your body which is one of the key steps to feeling more calm and grounded. We’ll also take a little bit of time to reflect on the gifts that can come from adversity and how this can expand our range.
So let’s just move into a comfortable position
Just making any adjustments that you need to make to feel supported and settled for this time
Try to find a position that you can hold for a while
Ideally one that you’re not going to get sleepy in
Take a moment to check in to see what your body needs today
You might like to lie down if that’s more comfortable
Just notice what is going to serve you best
Moving into a position where you can allow yourself to be relaxed but also focused
If you’re sitting ensure that your back is straight
Allowing your spine to follow it’s natural curves
And if you’re wearing shoes
Maybe taking them off
So you can really feel your feet in contact with the floor
Or whatever your lying or sitting on
And just closing the eyes now if that feels ok
Or just softening your gaze, if you prefer
And when you arrive
Just take a moment to acknowledge yourself for being here today
You are choosing to put yourself first
That’s a really empowering thing to do
Let’s take a deep breath in here
Giving yourself permission to let go of your day so far
And maybe also letting go of any thoughts about what might be coming afterwards
Just arriving into this moment
So let’s begin to soften the shoulders down
And away from the ears
Maybe rolling them forwards and backwards a few times
Feeling your shoulders getting heavier and softer
As any tension melts away Just letting your body know that you are safe
And it’s ok to let go and relax
Softening into your face and your jaw
It might feel nice to just gently massage the jaw
Giving it permission to soften letting go of any tension here
Letting your arms and hands fall softly wherever is comfortable
Just making any small movements that are needed now
And trusting that your body will tell you what it needs
And we’re just beginning to create some space now between the morning or day you’ve just had
Whatever went on for you and arriving into this moment
And just checking in with yourself How are you doing?
Allowing the thoughts of the past or worries of the future to just float away
Be in the present moment
Here in the now
Just bringing some awareness to your body now
Feeling the presence of your body in the space
Noticing how the body feels
Maybe any areas that might be calling out for your attention
Areas that may feel tight, sore or unsettled
With gentleness and compassion
Breathe into those areas
Allowing the breath to gently ease them
Just scanning down from the top of your head
To your toes
With a gentle loving awareness
Sensing into the full range of feelings and sensations in the body
Knowing that if emotions come to the surface
That’s a really normal thing
Emotion is just energy moving through the body
Feeling into any parts of the body that might be feeling tense or perhaps tight or rigid
And feeling into any parts that might be feeling more open and relaxed
Noticing the temperature of the body
Can you feel the air around your body?
Let’s take a slow deep breath in
Hold it for a moment
And slowly release it with a long exhale
Let’s do that again
Breathing in deeply through the nose
Holding it
And this time sighing it out Ahhhhhhhh
Feeling your body getting softer and heavier with each breath.
And now direct your attention down your body
Towards your feet
Take another deep breath in
And begin to notice your feet with fresh curiosity
Gently sense into the range of sensations In your feet
Feeling into the ankles
The top of the feet
The soles of the feet
The toes
Let’s take another deep breath in
And a long slow breath out
See if you can sense the temperature of your feet
Take another breath in
Hold it for a moment
And as your exhale
See if you can help your feet to relax a little bit more
Imagine the gentle rocking sensations of your breath
Travelling all the way down to your feet
Feel the breath soothe and caress your feet
Bring another breath into your body
This time clench your toes
And as you breathe out
Relax your toes
Take a moment to give thanks
To your feet
For the range of things that your feet do for you
All day, every day.
Let’s take another deep breath in
Clenching your toes again
And breathing out
Relaxing your toes
In your next breath in
Bring your awareness to your stomach area
Notice if it expands as you inhale
And sinks back down as you exhale
Just feeling into the range of movement in your belly
As you breathe in
And as you breathe out
Following the movement of the breath
All the way in
And all the way out
Continuing to breathe in this way
Slowly and steadily
Just following the gentle movement of the stomach
As it expands and contracts
You may find it comforting to just put a hand on your stomach
So you can feel the movement of the breath in the body
And if thoughts creep in
Please know that’s normal
It’s the nature of the mind to wander
So when it does just bring your attention gently back
To noticing your stomach rising and falling
There’s no right or wrong way of breathing in this exercise
The idea is to simply be with your breath in grounded awareness
Noticing the range of sensations and feelings in your stomach
Becoming aware of how it feels to connect to this area
Knowing that the body is always in the present moment
The body has so much wisdom for us
And the stomach is the seat of our intuition
We often talk about a ‘gut reaction’ or a ‘gut instinct’
That sense of just knowing
A clarity
See if you can tune into your stomach
Almost like turning the dial on an old radio set
What are you picking up in this area?
What information or knowledge is here for you?
Maybe gives thanks to your intuition
For always trying to look out for you For taking care of you
You may not always sense its presence
But it is always there
Guiding and supporting you
Keep breathing Slowly Deeply
Breathing in through your nose
And breathing out through your mouth
And just feeling the range of sensations
As the breath enters
And as the breath leaves the body
Feeling your stomach rise
And feeling your stomach fall
Now bring your awareness up to your chest
And begin to breathe into the area surrounding your heart
Focusing all your attention here
Feel your chest fill with your incoming breath
Pause for a moment
And release
Feeling your chest sink as the breath leave the body
And let’s repeat this
Feeling your chest filling with your incoming breath
Pausing for a moment
And feeling your chest sink as the breath leaves the body
And if at any time It feels uncomfortable
Then please just allow your breathing to return to normal
Just listen to what you need
Breathing in
Can you hear your breath as it fills your lungs?
Breathing out Can you hear your breath as it leave your chest
Breathing in
Feeling your chest expand
Breathing out
Feeling your chest relax
Letting your shoulders soften and roll back even more
Bring your hands up to cover your chest
Resting one hand over the other
And feel your breath lifting your hands as you breathe in
And your hands lowering back down as you breathe out
As you breathe in imagine your heart area under your hands
Feeling nurtured by your attention
And as you breathe out
Allow yourself to relax a little bit more now
Bringing a gentle awareness to the range of sensations in this area
As you breathe listen deeply and with curiosity, gentleness and compassion to what your heart is trying to tell you
Notice how it feels to connect with your heart
The place where you give and receive love
Noticing the range of sensations in your heart
With a loving awareness
Give it your full attention Let it know you’re listening
Maybe say ‘I’m listening’
Often we look at the pieces of ourselves that need healing as ‘less than’ or broken or not good enough
And by holding these judgements we can hold these parts separate from us
Healing begins when we accept the full range of who we are
It’s when we can look into those difficult places and we see the gift in them
When we hold compassion for all parts of ourselves
Throughout this period of Covid
Each one of us has experienced fear, loss and uncertainty
We’ve had to adapt our everyday lives in considerable ways
And yet here you are You didn’t give up
You made it It’s important to give yourself credit for that
Perhaps this period of time has helped you to discover something
To find a strength to grow and endure
Maybe to become aware of the parts of you
That you never knew were there
This is what range is all about
It’s about owning and loving all parts of ourselves
There is no right or wrong
Everything gets to be
We’re just noticing
Just getting curious
Without judgement
Let’s take a few more deep breaths now
Keeping your attention on your heart area
Breathing in Imagining your heart being nurtured by your attention
Appreciate yourself for taking this time
And breathing out
Allow yourself to relax a little more
Taking your time
Giving yourself time
In loving awareness and self-care
We are slowly and gently going to bring this meditation to a close.
So bringing your hands away from your chest if you haven’t already done so
Let’s very slowly begin to stretch the body now
So begin by stretching your fingers
An into your arms and hands and your shoulders
Very gently stretching into your neck
Feeling into the range of movement in the body
So maybe stretching from side to side
Stretching your legs, your ankles, your feet
Listening to your body
And what it needs
Giving yourself plenty of time and space
Becoming aware of how the body feels
Noticing if anything feels different now
Perhaps noticing the temperature of the room
And the air on your skin
Feeling your body being supported by whatever is underneath you
Noticing any sounds around you
If you’re lying down, rolling on to your side before you sit up
When you’re ready, slowly open your eyes to return to this space.
Thanking yourself for taking this time to look after yourself.
This guided meditation was written for one of our new Powerful Pause meditation sessions, where we come together to meditate every few weeks. If you’re a Performer member you can take advantage of these free sessions (please ensure you’re opted in to receive our emails).
Photo by processingly on Unsplash.