Guided relaxation for rest and recovery

Withdrawal of awareness

Well. I didn't realise it had been two months! Life certainly got in the way. Here's a simple withdrawal of awareness practice, with a short (4-5 minute) silent meditation, just to get us back into the swing of things.

The flow of the mind - guided meditation

Today's practice helps us understand the movement of our minds - noticing this ceaseless activity, and accepting it for what it is. Movement (emotional and mental) is associated with Swadisthana chakra in yoga. Over the next few episodes I'll draw out a couple of approaches to meditation that touch on each of the chakras in turn.

Guided relaxation for rest and recovery

Something a little different today - a guided relaxation, rather than a meditation. As a relaxation exercise, its best practiced lying down somewhere comfortable and warm. If you have the time, I suggest allowing yourself to stay in a restful position for as long as you need afterwards. Maybe even have a nap...

Grounding Practice - Guided meditation

Today's practice looks at our experience of our bodies and emotions, in order to ground ourselves in the present moment. In traditional yoga this is often associated with muladhara chakra, at the base of the spinal column. This is always a useful practice, and a useful skill to develop, especially when there are so many distractions around us these days. I hope this is an enjoyable and/or useful meditation for you.

Practicing Acceptance - Guided meditation

A common issue in meditation is the feeling that we are not doing it right. This is something that my students say to me a lot, and I also have personal experience - it actually made me bounce off meditation when I first tried it as a teenager! In today's practice I try to address that a little - talking about what we're actually doing when we meditate, what might it feel like, and how we can embrace our experience as it actually is. Acceptance when we sit can also lead to acceptance in our daily lives, so I hope this will be useful.