Powerful Pause Meditation: Range

This meditation is designed to get you out of your head and into your body, which is one of the key steps to feeling more calm and grounded.

We also take a little bit of time to reflect on the gifts that can come from adversity and how this can expand our range. 

25 minute listen. We recommend listening to this meditation with headphones on.

Listen to meditations in the Powerful Pause series.

Meditation Transcript

Bea Grist, Health and Wellbeing Manager:

Welcome to this meditation which is themed around the idea of ‘range’. What do we mean when we say ‘range’? What we’re speaking to is this idea that in life sometimes we choose to only play certain keys of the piano. What would it be like if we gave ourselves full permission to play that full range? To welcome the full range of who we are. Accepting the highs and lows, maybe the parts of us that we don’t often show the world. So that’s what we’re going to be exploring a bit today. This meditation is slightly longer than our previous meditations and it will help you to get out of your head and into your body which is one of the key steps to feeling more calm and grounded. We’ll also take a little bit of time to reflect on the gifts that can come from adversity and how this can expand our range.

So let’s just move into a comfortable position

Just making any adjustments that you need to make to feel supported and settled for this time

Try to find a position that you can hold for a while

Ideally one that you’re not going to get sleepy in

Take a moment to check in to see what your body needs today

You might like to lie down if that’s more comfortable
Just notice what is going to serve you best
Moving into a position where you can allow yourself to be relaxed but also focused

If you’re sitting ensure that your back is straight
Allowing your spine to follow it’s natural curves
And if you’re wearing shoes
Maybe taking them off
So you can really feel your feet in contact with the floor
Or whatever your lying or sitting on

And just closing the eyes now if that feels ok
Or just softening your gaze, if you prefer

And when you arrive
Just take a moment to acknowledge yourself for being here today
You are choosing to put yourself first
That’s a really empowering thing to do

Let’s take a deep breath in here
Giving yourself permission to let go of your day so far

And maybe also letting go of any thoughts about what might be coming afterwards
Just arriving into this moment

So let’s begin to soften the shoulders down
And away from the ears
Maybe rolling them forwards and backwards a few times
Feeling your shoulders getting heavier and softer

As any tension melts away Just letting your body know that you are safe

And it’s ok to let go and relax

Softening into your face and your jaw
It might feel nice to just gently massage the jaw
Giving it permission to soften letting go of any tension here
Letting your arms and hands fall softly wherever is comfortable
Just making any small movements that are needed now

And trusting that your body will tell you what it needs

And we’re just beginning to create some space now between the morning or day you’ve just had

Whatever went on for you and arriving into this moment

And just checking in with yourself How are you doing?

Allowing the thoughts of the past or worries of the future to just float away

Be in the present moment

Here in the now

Just bringing some awareness to your body now

Feeling the presence of your body in the space

Noticing how the body feels

Maybe any areas that might be calling out for your attention

Areas that may feel tight, sore or unsettled

With gentleness and compassion

Breathe into those areas

Allowing the breath to gently ease them

Just scanning down from the top of your head

To your toes

With a gentle loving awareness

Sensing into the full range of feelings and sensations in the body

Knowing that if emotions come to the surface

That’s a really normal thing

Emotion is just energy moving through the body

Feeling into any parts of the body that might be feeling tense or perhaps tight or rigid

And feeling into any parts that might be feeling more open and relaxed

Noticing the temperature of the body

Can you feel the air around your body?

Let’s take a slow deep breath in

Hold it for a moment

And slowly release it with a long exhale

Let’s do that again

Breathing in deeply through the nose

Holding it

And this time sighing it out Ahhhhhhhh

Feeling your body getting softer and heavier with each breath.

And now direct your attention down your body

Towards your feet

Take another deep breath in

And begin to notice your feet with fresh curiosity

Gently sense into the range of sensations In your feet

Feeling into the ankles

The top of the feet

The soles of the feet

The toes

Let’s take another deep breath in

And a long slow breath out

See if you can sense the temperature of your feet

Take another breath in

Hold it for a moment

And as your exhale

See if you can help your feet to relax a little bit more

Imagine the gentle rocking sensations of your breath

Travelling all the way down to your feet

Feel the breath soothe and caress your feet

Bring another breath into your body

This time clench your toes

And as you breathe out

Relax your toes

Take a moment to give thanks

To your feet

For the range of things that your feet do for you

All day, every day.

Let’s take another deep breath in

Clenching your toes again

And breathing out

Relaxing your toes

In your next breath in

Bring your awareness to your stomach area

Notice if it expands as you inhale

And sinks back down as you exhale

Just feeling into the range of movement in your belly

As you breathe in

And as you breathe out

Following the movement of the breath

All the way in

And all the way out

Continuing to breathe in this way

Slowly and steadily

Just following the gentle movement of the stomach

As it expands and contracts

You may find it comforting to just put a hand on your stomach

So you can feel the movement of the breath in the body

And if thoughts creep in

Please know that’s normal

It’s the nature of the mind to wander

So when it does just bring your attention gently back

To noticing your stomach rising and falling

There’s no right or wrong way of breathing in this exercise

The idea is to simply be with your breath in grounded awareness

Noticing the range of sensations and feelings in your stomach

Becoming aware of how it feels to connect to this area

Knowing that the body is always in the present moment

The body has so much wisdom for us

And the stomach is the seat of our intuition

We often talk about a ‘gut reaction’ or a ‘gut instinct’

That sense of just knowing

A clarity

See if you can tune into your stomach

Almost like turning the dial on an old radio set

What are you picking up in this area?

What information or knowledge is here for you?

Maybe gives thanks to your intuition

For always trying to look out for you For taking care of you

You may not always sense its presence

But it is always there

Guiding and supporting you

Keep breathing Slowly Deeply

Breathing in through your nose

And breathing out through your mouth

And just feeling the range of sensations

As the breath enters

And as the breath leaves the body

Feeling your stomach rise

And feeling your stomach fall

Now bring your awareness up to your chest

And begin to breathe into the area surrounding your heart

Focusing all your attention here

Feel your chest fill with your incoming breath

Pause for a moment

And release

Feeling your chest sink as the breath leave the body

And let’s repeat this

Feeling your chest filling with your incoming breath

Pausing for a moment

And feeling your chest sink as the breath leaves the body

And if at any time It feels uncomfortable

Then please just allow your breathing to return to normal

Just listen to what you need

Breathing in

Can you hear your breath as it fills your lungs?

Breathing out Can you hear your breath as it leave your chest

Breathing in

Feeling your chest expand

Breathing out

Feeling your chest relax

Letting your shoulders soften and roll back even more

Bring your hands up to cover your chest

Resting one hand over the other

And feel your breath lifting your hands as you breathe in

And your hands lowering back down as you breathe out

As you breathe in imagine your heart area under your hands

Feeling nurtured by your attention

And as you breathe out

Allow yourself to relax a little bit more now

Bringing a gentle awareness to the range of sensations in this area

As you breathe listen deeply and with curiosity, gentleness and compassion to what your heart is trying to tell you

Notice how it feels to connect with your heart

The place where you give and receive love

Noticing the range of sensations in your heart

With a loving awareness

Give it your full attention Let it know you’re listening

Maybe say ‘I’m listening’

Often we look at the pieces of ourselves that need healing as ‘less than’ or broken or not good enough

And by holding these judgements we can hold these parts separate from us

Healing begins when we accept the full range of who we are

It’s when we can look into those difficult places and we see the gift in them

When we hold compassion for all parts of ourselves

Throughout this period of Covid

Each one of us has experienced fear, loss and uncertainty

We’ve had to adapt our everyday lives in considerable ways

And yet here you are You didn’t give up

You made it It’s important to give yourself credit for that

Perhaps this period of time has helped you to discover something

To find a strength to grow and endure

Maybe to become aware of the parts of you

That you never knew were there

This is what range is all about

It’s about owning and loving all parts of ourselves

There is no right or wrong

Everything gets to be

We’re just noticing

Just getting curious

Without judgement

Let’s take a few more deep breaths now

Keeping your attention on your heart area

Breathing in Imagining your heart being nurtured by your attention

Appreciate yourself for taking this time

And breathing out

Allow yourself to relax a little more

Taking your time

Giving yourself time

In loving awareness and self-care

We are slowly and gently going to bring this meditation to a close.

So bringing your hands away from your chest if you haven’t already done so

Let’s very slowly begin to stretch the body now

So begin by stretching your fingers

An into your arms and hands and your shoulders

Very gently stretching into your neck

Feeling into the range of movement in the body

So maybe stretching from side to side

Stretching your legs, your ankles, your feet

Listening to your body

And what it needs

Giving yourself plenty of time and space

Becoming aware of how the body feels

Noticing if anything feels different now

Perhaps noticing the temperature of the room

And the air on your skin

Feeling your body being supported by whatever is underneath you

Noticing any sounds around you

If you’re lying down, rolling on to your side before you sit up

When you’re ready, slowly open your eyes to return to this space.

Thanking yourself for taking this time to look after yourself.

This guided meditation was written for one of our new Powerful Pause meditation sessions, where we come together to meditate every few weeks. If you're a Performer member you can take advantage of these free sessions (please ensure you're opted in to receive our emails). 

Photo by processingly on Unsplash.