A Meditation For A New Year

After all the work and excitement of the Christmas Season, it is nice to take some time to meditate and allow your body and mind to settle down and rest for a while. Meditation allows you to get in touch with your deeper self and notice thoughts and inspiration that you may not usually be aware of.

Below is a short guided meditation script to allow you to achieve a relaxed state of body and mind so that you can focus your thoughts on the coming year, and what you want to achieve.

Settle down in a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed for about twenty minutes. This can be inside or outside in nature.

Begin by becoming aware of your body, starting with your feet, locating each toe, and just noticing how it feels, thinking about your feet, and moving your attention up your legs, into your hips, noticing your stomach and perhaps testing to see if your stomach muscles are relaxed. Notice your back, and perhaps think about your spine. Think about your chest and become aware of your breathing, and then think about your shoulders and neck, and you might be able to relax them a little more.

Think about the muscles of your face, and feel how easy it is to let them all relax.

And then take your attention back to your breathing, noticing how your breathing can slow down, and as your breathing slows down you feel more relaxed.

Concentrate on your breath for a few moments, following the breath as it comes in through your nose (or mouth) and imagine that you can travel with it as it flows into your body, noticing how it affects your body, perhaps expanding your chest, or causing your stomach to rise.

Follow the breath out again as it comes back up the body and out through the mouth with a sigh.

And allow your thoughts to become quiet as you focus on your breathing.

Just notice the thoughts that come into your mind, without thinking in to them or pushing them away.

Use this quiet time to let thoughts come to you, so that you can be aware of them without having to do anything with them.

When you feel that wish to be active again, gently bring yourself back to the awareness of your body, and then the awareness of the room, until you feel fully awake.