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How to Meditate: Meditation 101 for Beginners

10 Science-Backed Benefits of Meditation

What is Meditation?

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Release Tension

Cory Muscara

00:00

00:00

Meditation

4.5

Duration

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Release Tension

In this meditation, we'll practice a deep breathing exercise that will help release tension in the body and prepare us for sleep.

Welcome.

As you prepare for this sleep

meditation, just make sure you're

in a comfortable sleeping posture

so you can drift off during the

meditation or shortly after it ends.

As you get cozy in your bed or under your

covers, you can allow your eyes to close.

And let's take one deep breath together.

In through the nose.

And slowly out through the mouth.

Letting your body relax and let go.

You've done your work for today.

So see if you can give yourself the

permission to trust that the day

unfolded, however it needed to unfold,

and that tomorrow will be a new day.

But for right now, you're here.

There's no place else you need to be,

no more problems you need to solve.

Giving yourself permission

to surrender into sleep.

With every exhale, releasing a

little more tension in the body.

Relaxing into a state

of calm, easeful rest.

Feeling the goodness and the

coziness of just being with

yourself right now in stillness.

Not needing to do

anything else for the day.

Maybe feeling the warmth or the

coolness of the covers on your skin.

Perhaps even connecting to the sense of

safety that your sleep space provides.

Your bed, your room, the covers, your

pillow, the stillness and the quiet.

You're safe now.

Your mind and body can relax.

With each exhale, releasing

a little more deeply.

Letting go of thoughts and worries.

And drifting off into a

place of ease and peace.

To help calm our bodies even

more, we're going to practice

some full, deep body breathing.

And with every exhale, we'll

practice, feeling the body letting go.

Specifically, feeling like the breath

is moving into all those areas of

the body that are still holding

some tension, that might still be

caught in the momentum of the day.

We breathe into them.

Give them some comfort,

some love, some kindness.

And we invite those areas to be at ease.

Letting them know there's nothing

else they need to do today.

It's okay to let go.

We're safe now.

So start by taking one deep breath.

In through the nose, filling

up the lungs, the whole body.

And then on an exhale through

the nose or the mouth,

releasing any lingering tension.

And you can take a few breaths like that.

Full body breaths, expanding

and then releasing.

Just feeling this one breath.

Letting it soothe your nervous system.

Let it envelop you with goodness and love.

And with each exhale, let it

take you deeper into surrender.

Feeling every part of the

body relax with an exhale.

The head, the face, shoulders, chest,

the hands, the belly, whole lower body.

Just continuing to take

these deep full body breaths.

If the mind wanders into thoughts, you

just smile at them with soft awareness.

Just letting them exist in

the spacious sky of your mind.

They're just thoughts.

Little mental flickers.

Watch them from this jury me space.

Your whole body can be relaxed

even while the mind is thinking.

And when you find yourself caught in these

thoughts, just bringing that attention

back to this breath, this moment.

Each exhale sinking you more deeply

into a state of relaxation, into a

state of ease and into total letting go.

Continue to tune into your body.

You may notice that there are areas of the

body that still feel tense or agitated.

Just take a moment to feel where

those areas might be, the parts

of you that haven't fully let go.

We're going to practice breathing

specifically into those areas.

So as the breath comes into the

body, just feel it moving into those

areas, enveloping them like a warm

blanket or a soft touch, whispering,

it's okay, it's okay to let go.

And with that exhale, inviting

attention to soften just a

bit, as much as it's willing.

We're just meeting it with

kindness, love and soft awareness.

No forcing.

No judgment.

Breathing kindness and goodness

into all these areas of tension

and with each exhale and inviting

them to soften just a little more.

Feeling that goodness that comes

with taking care of yourself in

this way, of holding yourself

with kindness, compassion.

Life often comes with so many struggles,

things we need to think about and

worry about throughout the day.

But right now, you're here.

This is your chance to rejuvenate,

to let all of it go, to remind

yourself that you're doing great.

Tomorrow will be another day.

Another opportunity to start fresh.

You can continue to breathe into those

areas of tension if they're there.

Or if you'd prefer, it's okay to let the

breath come back to its natural rhythm.

Feeling the heaviness of the body

sinking into the surface beneath you.

Feeling the coziness of your sleep space.

The goodness of having

this time for yourself.

And the wonder of drifting off into

another world of sleep, of dreams,

of total release and letting go.

If any thoughts move through your

mind, give them a loving wave.

And just return your

presence back into your body.

Feeling the sense of ease

that comes with each exhale.

And following that exhale over and over,

until eventually you drift off to sleep.

As we come to the end of our sleep

meditation, know that you can come

back to this at any point, listen

to it as many times as you'd like.

You can always just resy in

your own stillness in silence.

Letting each breath relaxing more deeply.

You're doing great.

I wish you a pleasant

evening and deep sleep.

Thank you for your practice and take care.

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