[gentle serene music]
- Hi there, my name's Manoj,
I'm a meditation teacher and co-founder of Open,
and welcome to your 10-minute meditation practice.
Today, we're gonna focus on restfulness.
You can do this practice lying down,
I advise you to do that if you can, or if you're seated,
and you just want to rest for a little while,
go ahead and do that.
Just make sure you're comfortable,
so you're potentially leaning against something.
Your feet are grounded, or you can sit,
and just ask yourself, "Is this the most relaxed
and comfortable I can be?"
So as you go ahead and do that, I'll invite you to join me
in taking a few deep breaths together.
So when you're ready, from your nose,
breathe deeply all the way into your belly and your back.
[Manoj inhales deeply]
And then as you open your mouth and exhale,
let out a gentle sigh. [sighs deeply]
This engages the vagal vagus nerve,
and tells our body that it's okay to rest.
Do that again, and breathe in, both nostrils.
[Manoj inhales deeply]
And then open your mouth, exhale again, sigh it out gently.
[Manoj sighs deeply]
Do that one more time.
Full, deep breath in. [inhales deeply]
Mouth opens, sigh it out, and then relax your shoulders,
relax your jaw. [sighs deeply]
[gentle serene music continues]
As you begin to settle into your body,
you can close your eyes, if you wish to close your eyes.
You can keep them open
if that feels more comfortable for you.
What I'll instruct you to do in this practice
is to gently bring your awareness
to certain parts of your body using your breath.
So begin by bringing your full awareness
to the crown of your head.
As you breathe in, become aware of the crown of your head.
And as you breathe out, gently go of that area,
relax the area.
Do that again, breathing in,
and become aware of the crown of your head.
And breathing out, let that area go.
[gentle serene music continues]
Breathing in, become aware of your forehead.
Breathing out, let that part of your body go.
Breathing in, become aware
of the space underneath your eyes.
And breathing out, let that go.
[gentle serene music continues]
And breathing in, become aware of your jaw.
And as you breathe out, let that go.
Breathing in, become aware of your tongue.
And breathing out, relax the tongue.
Breathing in, become aware of the back of your head.
Breathing out, let that go.
[gentle serene music continues]
Breathing in, awareness of the neck.
Breathing out, and completely soften.
Breathing in to become aware of the shoulders.
And breathing out, let it go.
Breathing in, awareness of your back.
Breathing out, relax the back.
[gentle serene music continues]
And breathing in, awareness of your chest.
Breathing out, release and soften.
Breathing in, awareness of your arms.
And on the out breath, release and relax the arms.
Breathing in, awareness of your hands.
Breathing out, soften, let them go.
[gentle serene music continues]
And breathing in, noticing the belly.
Breathing out, unclench and soften the belly.
Breathing in, become aware of your hips.
Breathing out, unclench and release.
[gentle serene music continues]
Breathing in, become aware of your seat.
Breathing out, completely relax.
Breathing in, become aware of your legs.
And breathing out, release the legs.
Breathing in, become aware of your feet.
And breathing out, let them go.
[gentle serene music continues]
And finally, take a breath in,
becoming aware of the whole body.
Breathing out, unwinding any tension.
Breathing in, awareness of the whole body.
And breathing out, letting it go.
You can stay here in a rested space for as long as you need.
Thank you for joining me today.