If you’re here, you’re probably tired – soul-tired. Burnt out. Spent. Stretched thin. You might feel numb. You’ve been carrying a lot. Showing up. Holding the line. Maybe fighting battles no one even sees. This time is for you. You don’t have to do anything right now. You don’t have to fix anything. All you have to do is be…and breathe. This meditation is a space to lay it all down, just for a while. To refill your cup. Let this be a moment where your only job is to rest.
For when you've had enough
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Transcript
This meditation is for days when you feel like you’ve absolutely had it. When you’re completely wrung out. Exhausted. Fed up. And you just want to lie down and pull the duvet over your head.
Find a comfortable position either sitting or lying down and close your eyes.
When you’re ready, and in your own time, take a great big breath through your nose and down into your belly – make it nice and round – and blow it all out through your mouth.
And again – in your own time – take two more deep breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth. Try not to raise your shoulders. Send it down into your belly.
Let your breath settle into its own rhythm now. And see if you can feel any parts of you that are tight, tense or painful. We’re not doing anything about it, we’re not judging it or trying to change it. We’re just noticing.
Start to scan your body slowly from the top of your head to the tips of your toes, and see if you can feel any place where you’re holding tension. Keep breathing gently in and out. We’re just noticing. Maybe you’re frowning, clenching your teeth, your shoulders might be up by your ears, perhaps your throat feels tight, or your belly’s tense. Maybe you’re clenching your bum or your thighs or there’s tension in your calves or your feet. We’re just noticing where that tightness is, where you might be holding stress.
See if you can breathe into where the tension is. Imagine your breath filling that part of your body and creating a bit of space. Breathe in space, breathe out tension. If there’s nowhere physical you can pinpoint, just think about breathing in peace and breathing out stress. Try as much as you can to fill your belly up with your breath and not raise your shoulders.
Now we’re going to deliberately tense everything, so take a big, deep breath in and hold it while you smush your face up tight, squeeze your shoulders to your ears, ball your hands into fists, clench your stomach, squeeze your butt, your legs, your feet, your toes HOLD IT HOLD IT HOLD IT! And blow all the air out and relax.
Take a few regular breaths – we’re going to do that again in a second.
Ready?
Take a big, deep breath through your nose and into your belly and CLENCH EVERYTHING REALLY TIGHT for 5…4…3…2…1…and……relax.
Once again let your breathing recover a bit. We’re going to do this one more time.
Here we go – take a slow breath deep into the bottom of your lungs and SCRUNCH EVERYTHING UP! FACE! ARMS! BODY! LEGS! Hold it, hold it, hold it, squeeze it even tighter and……let it all go.
You might want to reposition yourself, have a bit of a stretch and then fully relax and let your body sink into whatever you’re sitting or lying on. Let your breathing find its own rhythm again. Feel the weight of your body. Let your face, shoulders, arms, torso, butt, legs, feet and hands all relax as you let your breath do its thing.
I know everything feels like a lot right now and you’ve had enough. Everything feels heavy, like it’s too much, and you’re properly fed up. But just remember this: there’s only one you in the world. And you are very much needed and loved. Please don’t forget that.
You’ve given yourself this time to release and reset so that you can rise again on your terms. Does a bit of meditation fix everything? Not really. But it does give you a break and a chance to take a breath. Literally. And allow your body to relax. And this little practice is here for you any time you need it. I’m glad you’re here.
Rest for as long as you need to and just practice breathing in peace and breathing out tension. When thoughts come up, and they will, focus on the music and blow them away on your out breath. Take the rest of these remaining minutes of music for you. You deserve it.