Relaxation Group Meditation 1

This meditation is not about becoming good at meditation, but about improving your life. The goal is not to clear your mind, but to use it to its full potential and help you in every moment. Start with deep belly breaths, then relax your body from head to toe. Imagine yourself at your favorite beach, writing your name in the sand as the tide comes in and brings calm. Emphasize self-compassion and care, taking time for yourself every day. This will lead to a calmer and more content mind, better able to handle stress and focus. See yourself as the ocean, with a strong core and positive energy. Challenges won't affect you deeply, and you'll approach them calmly and solution-oriented. Visualize a future you who takes care of their mind and body, feeling calm and content. You already have the resources and knowledge to make positive changes. When I count to five, you'll return to full consciousness, refreshed and ready to continue. This meditation is not to get good at meditation, it is to get good at life. The goal is not to clear the mind, but to use the mind to its full potential, to help you in every moment of every day. So I'd like you just to put one hand on your chest and one hand on your stomach. We're going to take a few deep belly breaths here. Your top hand should stay still during the inhale and exhale. Your lower hand should be going in and out. So close your eyes, take a deep breath in and your lower hand should go out. Hold the breath and now exhale. Your lower hand should go in. Again, breathe in and your lower hand should go out and hold. Exhale, your lower hand should go in. Again, breathe in, your lower hand should go out and hold. Exhale, your lower hand should go in. Now you can relax your arms and get into a super comfortable position to start meditation. You should already be feeling more relaxed and focused, calm and centered. So if you haven't already done so, please close your eyes down and noticing your breath. And now we're just going to take a moment to call all your energy back to you. Just call it back from all the times, places and people that you've been dealing with today. Take a moment and allow a sense of peace and calm to wash over you now. I want you to now take your attention to the top of your head. Just relax your scalp, noticing any tension there and deciding to relax it and let the tension wash away. Now allow that relaxation feeling to flow down your face, relaxing your cheeks, your jaw, the tongue in your mouth, your lips, relaxation melting down your neck and relaxing your throat. Notice your shoulders and allow that relaxation feeling to melt down your shoulders and your collarbone and deciding to let any tension melt away now. Moving your attention down your arms, allow the relaxation of the muscles in your arms melting down the elbows, down into your wrists and out of your hands and fingers, just relaxing and continuing to breathe gently. Now take your attention to your heart space. You're just going to stay here for a moment, relaxing and slowing down and taking a moment for you. You may notice your own heart beating and that pulse being sent around your body as you're relaxing and noticing how you feel. Now continuing to send that feeling of relaxation down into your lungs, noticing the air from your breath calming you and making you feel really good and relaxed. Continue to send that relaxing feeling down into your stomach where you can even feel that any tension is leaving your body and you're going into rest and digest and relax mode. Continue allowing that relaxing feeling down into your hips, into your legs and relaxing all the muscles in your legs. Deciding that your knees are relaxing, allowing your calves to relax and that melting feeling going down your ankles and your heels and down all the way to the tips of your toes. Now I'd like you to take your attention to your eyelids and you're going to test how relaxed you are by imagining that you have little weight attached to your eyelids. That's making them so heavy that you can't open them. They're so heavy you're deciding they can't open, you're so relaxed and yet you're in total control of your inner world now. Now I want you to take your attention to the space behind your closed eyes, the space we might call your mind's eye. I want you to see the number three in your mind and you're going to slowly trace around that number three, three times, three, trace it slowly, trace it slowly, three, trace it slowly, three. Feel and decide your body is relaxed. Now I want you to see the number two in your mind and you're slowly going to trace around that number two, three times, two, trace around it, two, trace it, two. Feel and decide that your mind is relaxed. Now I want you to see the number one in your mind and you're slowly going to trace around that number one, three times, one, trace it, one, trace, one. You're now at an alpha level of mind and I'd like you now to imagine yourself at your favourite beach and the only thing I ask is that you make sure there is some sand at the edge of the water and that the tide is gently coming in. Now I'd like you to write your name or a symbol in the sand at the edge of the water and as the tide comes in it drifts and flows and as it comes in it brings in calm and as it recedes it takes out any of the last tensions, in bringing calm and out, and out, in more calm and out going deeper. The tide slowly moves up the beach and soon covers your name or symbol and this is not just any beach but this beach is your beach. So while you are at this alpha level of mind know that your imagination is considered to be the language of the subconscious mind, so the more you are using all your senses to really be here on the beach the deeper you'll be able to relax. You've taken this moment for yourself and the energy you're taking from it will stay with you even beyond being on these moments at the beach. It's not an external feeling, this feeling is taking root deep within you on a level that is harder to access at first but now that you're in a state of deep relaxation and focus which we call hypnosis it has become so much easier. Humans are a little like the ocean, we have the surface that can be seen as perhaps gentle rhythmic waves or sometimes they can be stronger erratic waves depending on external factors like wind but those external factors only affect the surface. We can watch those waves bearing in mind they won't always be this strong and mighty and we can let them wash over us without penetrating any deeper than the surface. Then you have the shores that could be soft golden sand or perhaps pebbles or cliffs and this is the beauty of diversity. We can all be so different yet we're all perfect in our own way and an important part of this ecosystem and then there is a part deep down inside of us not visible to the outside world although it can shine through and this is the most important part. This part represents our core values and beliefs, our feelings, thoughts and the essence of who we are. This is the part that some say represents the coral reef, this is where the life and the colour are that bring the ocean to life, without it would just be plain lifeless water. We aren't striving for a fulfilling and meaningful life for others to see but rather for ourselves to experience because that is all we can ever do, anything else doesn't make sense that is all that matters. Happiness cannot be seen only felt on the inside and if we are lucky it will rub off on those around us and have a ripple effect. Self-compassion and care are the only love and care that can ever be guaranteed so looking after yourself is essential to unlocking your full potential. A contented and well-nourished mind is one that has the potential to grow whereas a mind that is overstimulated and stressed has little room to see opportunities when they arise and little room for creativity and growth. Self-compassion starts by taking time out of each day just for you to do whatever it is you love to do without distractions. This needn't be forced, you may want to read a book, have a cup of tea, listen to a song, have a bath, do some yoga, listen to a guided meditation or simply sit and do nothing at all. If you aren't used to making time for yourself it may take a few weeks until you don't have to think about it anymore and self-indulgence comes naturally but it'll be worth it and you will discover the benefits of a calmer more contented mind more and more with every week that passes. So allow yourself to take at least five minutes a day without any distractions and as you do so allow your breaths to unfold naturally like the waves. Do something you like just for yourself or do nothing at all if this is what you want. Very soon you'll notice the feelings of calm and contentment becoming present not just through those times of self-care but spreading throughout your day and night. You're able to manage stressful situations much easier and feel more focused and alert. So think of yourself like the ocean, your core strength and positive energy shines within like the coral reefs on the seabeds. No one and nothing can take that away from you. Even the stormiest of days don't affect you as you see the beauty of life all around you. Your core energy is bright and consistent and shine through for others to see and when the storms come as they inevitably will from time to time they may touch your surface a little but they will not get to you on a deeper level. Problems aren't solved when we let them upset and penetrate us to our core. So from now on when a challenge arises you find it easy to be solution oriented and deal with the situation in a calm and focused manner. I want you now to project your mind to a future you. Could be a future you from next week, a month away or a few months from now. This future you treats your body and your mind like a temple. Future you nurtures your soul with me time. Future you takes your me time every day without even thinking about it and you're doing this right now. Future you feels calm even on stormy days. Future you feels content with an emotionally strengthened sense of self. Knowing that your own coral reef deep down is vibrant with colors and expanding and growing without restrictions. Your confidence is growing, your resilience is growing, you have more energy. You are taking care of yourself because you love yourself and even though you are still growing and learning you accept and respect yourself completely and unconditionally always. You already have all the resources and all the knowledge that is needed to affect positive change and now it's time to return to normal conscious awareness. I'm going to count from one to five and each number will gradually bring you back to fully awakened consciousness and when I reach the number five you'll be fully alert, refreshed and calm and ready to continue your day feeling wonderful in every way. One, two, coming back now, three, wiggling your fingers and toes, four, moving and even maybe doing some stretches with your eyelids starting to flicker, five, eyes open, feeling good, you're wide awake, refreshed and alert and ready to have a great day. Thank you. you