Description
People practice guided meditations centered on mindfulness for a variety of reasons. Often the reasons involve the desire to feel more peaceful or relaxed, to help reduce the level of stress within their bodies, to feel less reactive, to feel more grounded, or to increase self-awareness or understanding. Mindfulness practices can support people as they cope with life-changing occurrences, health problems, or other sources of stress. Mindfulness meditation can help people learn over time ways to both notice and be present in helpful ways to their inner and outer experiences.
[The body scan]… was very challenging at the beginning because I was trying to use the exercise to relax and defeating the purpose of just being in the moment. However, after practicing regularly, I have found that relaxation comes when I am not forcing myself to relax. By being with myself in whatever mood I am in at the moment I am practising the body scan, I am simply observing – not judging or attempting to make the situation better. This state of observation is the most relaxed state I have ever been in – neutral. —K.S., a mindfulness & self-compassion course participant
The download here includes two tracks: a short introduction (~3 min) and the guided meditation itself (~40 min). The meditation was professionally recorded in a small studio in Kingston, Ontario in 2012. The voice on the recording is of Tracy Riley.