Guided meditation for letting go of everything at the end of the day

Have you ever felt like you weigh ten pounds more by the end of the day?  Like you’re carrying around the weight of all the stresses from the day on your shoulders?  This guided meditation for letting go of everything is designed to help you release those tensions.  Both through visualization and body positioning, you’re guided to release and relax.

Child’s Pose – Balasana or Garbhasana

I encourage you to receive this guided meditation in Child’s Pose (Balasana or Garbhasana in Sanskrit).  If you’re not familiar with yoga asanas (poses), I’ve included directions and photos – or watch this video (the end result is the same but the entrance to the pose is a little different).

Table Top Pose (Lada the NourishNestBreath cat is ready to help!)

Come to hands and knees (like you were crawling) with your hands under your shoulders and your knees under your hips (and spread hip width apart).  

Moving the toes together and the knees apart.

Slide your big toes to touch while keeping your knees spread to hip distance.  If you would like a deeper stretch, you can widen your knees, but you should be comfortable, do not push this pose to your edge.  

Sinking the hips back into Child’s Pose

Keeping your hands where they are, slowly sink your hips back toward your heels.  If it is accessible for you, allow your hips to rest on your heels, your chest to rest on your thighs, and your forehead to rest on the mat. 

Supported Child’s Pose, blanket between calves and thighs and a bolster under the chest.

If this is too much of a stretch for you today, use props to support your body – a block or pillow under your forehead, a blanket between your calves and thighs, and/or a bolster (or pillows/sofa cushions) under your chest.

Child’s Pose with a yoga block supporting the head.

If you are pregnant, make sure you widen your knees enough to allow room for your belly and ensure you utilize props as needed to to fully support your body.  Alternatively, if Child’s Pose is uncomfortable, see Puppy Pose below.

You will be in this pose for several minutes, be sure to gather the props you need to get supremely comfortable.

Benefits of Child’s Pose

Like all forward folds, Child’s Pose is a calming and restorative pose.  By bringing your forehead to the floor, it helps bring your attention inward, tuning out the world around you.  Child’s Pose also balances all bodily systems with a special focus on the Nervous, Digestive, Reproductive, Eliminatory, and Urinary systems.

This is a calming pose and combined with the following guided meditation, it is ideal to use at the beginning (or end) of a yoga practice.

Alternative to Child’s Pose

Puppy Pose

If Child’s Pose is not accessible for you today, Puppy Pose is a good alternative.  Puppy pose is similar to Child’s Pose except you walk your hands out in front of you, lowering your chest toward the ground while keeping your hips up and aligned over your knees.  Do not bring your toes together or widen you knees in puppy pose.

Again, if you are in Puppy Pose, please make sure you are comfortable, using props where needed.  It’s also important that your forehead is touching the ground, and as in Child’s Pose, you can use a yoga block or a pillow to help bring the ground up to you.

Utilizing this guided meditation

I suggest using this guided meditation at the beginning of your yoga practice to help you transition into a meditative state as you prepare for your asana.  It can also be used at the end of your asana practice to release any energy you have gotten moving during your practice.

This is also a great meditation to use before bed.  I would suggest actually being in bed for the practice.  You can use the pillows and blankets already on your bed to help prop your body and once the meditation is complete, you can settle right down to sleep.

Ready to release everything from today?

Here is the guided meditation. 

Make sure you have all your props ready before you press play.  You can even move into Child’s Pose before starting the audio although the meditation does guide you to move into the pose and utilize props as needed.

I hope this guided meditation helps as you release the weight from your day and leaves you feeling lighter and more relaxed, ready to transition into your yoga practice or restful sleep.

Wishing you the lightness that comes from releasing the energy you no longer need into Mother Earth.