This is a simple exercise to both relax and energise yourself. It’s a great meditation for re-energising when you feel a little flat or tired.
Pause. Take a breath. Take 5 or 6 more breaths. Each one a slightly slower and deeper breath.
Let yourself breath out slowly and comfortably until your lungs feel empty enough — and then allow them to refill by themselves.
Notice the sensations of your lungs emptying.
Notice them refilling.
Notice your rib cage rising and falling; expanding and releasing.
Notice the gentle rise and fall of your shoulders.
Notice the rise and fall of your belly.
Allow your thoughts to come and go as if they’re bubbles rising gently and disappearing. Here and gone. Here and gone.
Expand your awareness, now, to simultaneously notice your breathing and your body. Your might feel the weight of your body or the contact its making with whatever you are sitting on. You might notice sensations.
Notice your left hand. Your right hand. Notice any sensations. Simply notice. There’s no need to do anything.
Your left leg and your right leg. Notice any sensations. Again simply notice. There’s no need to do anything.
Your left foot and your right foot. Notice any sensations.
Now bring your awareness to your hands, arms, legs and feet altogether. Its like you widen your awareness and take them all in. At first you might notice one part then another then there’s all of them there together.
Now imagine breathing your whole body. Your body is expanding and relaxing with each in and out breath – almost imperceptibly. Breathing with your whole body.
Feeling your skin. Feeling the sensations of your skin.
Now imagine your whole body filling with bubbles of oxygenating breath. Taking a moment to notice the quality, texture, colour and sensations of your oxygenating breath. What kind of oxygen is that oxygen? What kind of bubbles are those bubbles? Give yourself time to let the quality of the bubbles of oxygen float into your awareness.
Filling your shoulders.
Filling your throat, neck, jaw, face and scalp.
Filling your whole head.
Feel bubbles of oxygen filling your arms, filling your hands, and your fingers.
Filling your whole torso between your throat and your belly, your upper back, your middle back and your lower back.
Filling your hips and buttocks, your thighs, your lower legs and your feet.
Filling your whole body…bubbles of oxygen lightly filtering through your whole body as you feel your in breath expand your body and on your out breath release and let go whatever needs letting go. Taking your own time to allow these oxygenating bubbles to relax, regenerate, refresh and renew. Letting them oxygenate your body, your feelings and your thoughts. Bubbling through all of you now….
And…when you feel more relaxed and oxygenated begin to bring your awareness to back to the room. You might like to look around the room and notice what you can see, hear, smell, touch, and feel.You might like to gently pat your upper arms for a few moments or just rub the front of your legs. You might like to notice your feet making contact with the floor or your body making contact with whatever you are sitting on.
And when you are feeling completely back in the present moment take a deep breath in and out. Gently shake your hands then rub them together to bring earth energy back into your system.
That’s it. Relaxed, regenerated, refreshed and renewed.