How to Practice Lying Down Meditation

We, humans, have lost the wisdom of genuinely resting and relaxing. We worry too much. We don’t allow our bodies to heal, and we don’t allow our minds and hearts to heal.

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Thich Nhat Hanh

If you’ve ever practiced yoga then you can relate to the wonderful feeling of allowing your body to sink into the mat.  

When you give yourself permission to let go you can actually feel your muscles releasing one by one and the tension and stress exiting your body. Lying down meditation can offer these same benefits with the ease of being able to practice in the comfort of your own home.

It’s a practice that can be a little tricky to master, after all, if you are exhausted (and many of us are running on fumes) then it’s easy to slip into unconsciousness.

Before we get started with some tips on lying down meditation, perhaps you are asking yourself:

Why should I practice lying down mediation? How will this benefit me?

Most of us can’t relax, our heads are lost up in the clouds. We’re constantly thinking, planning and obsessing, but the problem with living in our heads is that we push all our energy upward and like a balloon that’s been released, we run the risk of losing our connection with the earth.

When we lose our connection with the Earth, it’s impossible to relax our bodies and we’re left charged with anxiety and stress, which can have devastating effects on our physical vitality, endurance, and mental perseverance.

We hold stress in different parts of our bodies, and stress is the silent killer that manifests into all kinds of diseases, so it’s really important that we try to release this stress.

How Stress Affects Your Body

Stress symptoms can affect your body, your thoughts and feelings, and your behavior. Being able to recognize common stress symptoms can give you a jump on managing them. Stress that’s left unchecked can contribute to many health problems such as:

• high blood pressure
• heart disease
• obesity
• diabetes
• sleep problems
• anxiety, irritability or anger
• addictions

The process of meditation (in any form) can teach us to release not only our muscles but many of the heavy personal stories that we carry and hold onto. Meditation is a great tool for stress relief. Period.

Just let it all go – relax. 

Wouldn’t it be nice to lessen your load and put down the 100-pound potato sack you’ve been carrying around? Even if only for a while?

When we learn to relax the body the mind will follow.  We learn that we don’t have to live in our heads all the time, we also reside in our bodies. In this post, we discuss how to visualize sending your energy downward and feeling your body connect to the Earth.

Lying down meditation can be a wonderful way to meditate – it brings us into deep states of relaxation and peace. It can be helpful for beginners (see how to meditate) when they feel particularly emotional or depleted of energy or perhaps if you are feeling so vulnerable that you don’t even feel like you can sit up straight. It’s nice to know that during these times (or any time you want to give yourself a break) that you can meditation lying down.

Lying down meditation, some might call this Savasana (lying down corpse pose) can often put us into such deep relaxation, that we sink into a dream-like state.  To reap the benefits of meditation we must learn to relax without slipping into this sluggish state.

If you are struggling with falling asleep the traditional meditation pose (seated upright position with a straight spine) might be more beneficial for you because this position allows your energy to flow and helps prevent your mind from slipping into sluggishness.

Having said that if you can master lying down meditation, it is a great way to allow your body to relax much more easily than you can in any other posture.  It is also great for deep relaxation (which is not meditation but does serve amazing benefits) or for those with back issues or physical reasons why they can’t sit straight up without pain.

Did you download your starter kit? Amazing! I hope it helps you on your journey. But for right now, let’s get to the good stuff. Lying down meditation…ahhhhh. Bliss.

Lying Down Meditation Steps

Position

• Lie down on your back with your arms at your sides, palms facing upward
• Touch your heels together and allow the feet to fall away from one another.
• Your legs should be about hip-distance apart.
• Although your eyes may be opened or closed, some people find it easier to stay awake with their eyes open. you will need to focus on giving a greater degree of alertness to remain awake and focused. Beginners may find it more difficult to meditate in this position without falling asleep.
• Place the tip of your tongue against the roof of your mouth or just behind your upper row of teeth.

Breathing

• First, start by taking a slow inhale through your nose and completely fill your chest. Hold your breath in your chest for about 5 seconds. Then, exhale completely through your mouth.
• Repeat this three to five times to relax your body.
• Start by sending the breath to the top of your head, now relax your scalp.
• Next relax your face, cheeks, and jaw.  Relax the space between your eyebrows.
• You might find it helpful to first clench the area you are trying to relax and then let it go, along with all the stress and tension.
• Send the breath to your shoulders, neck, arms, hands, fingers, chest, stomach, hips, legs, knees, feet and toes.  Breathe into your whole body.  Focus on one body part at a time until your entire body is relaxed.
• Dwell in different areas of your body and notice what comes up. Pain, emotions, resistance, tension, work on holding your attention and breath there until it releases.
• It is a deep nourishing of cells and a deep renewing of the spirit.  Many parts of the body are known for their emotional connections

If you fall asleep while meditating don’t beat yourself up, it simply means your body needed sleep more than it needed the meditation. That is okay, and your body will tell you what it needs.

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Thoughts

• Pay attention to your thoughts. You will notice that they come and go, rise and fall, manifest and dissipate like the rolling waves of an ocean. Just notice them without judgment. Don’t try to stop them, simply pay attention.
• With every inhale imagine that you are inhaling a white light. This light is purifying the negative energy inside your body. Imagine the light invading every cell of your body, you are now vibrating with energy. With every exhale imagine the dark energy leaving your body.
• An advantage of this lying down meditation practice is that you don’t have to expend any muscular effort. This gives you more energy to focus on the way your body feels.
• Scan each body part, look for signs of tension or even spaces that feel good. Linger in troubled areas and send the breath there. This is your practice and you can do what feels good.

MEDITATION TIP: If your mind wanders off and you lose focus, simply bring yourself back to the breath with non-judgment. Keep bringing yourself back to the breath over and over. Attempt to count and to 7 without losing focus.

Engage in your practice at various times and in various places, don’t just designate bedtime for meditating lying down.  You can practice this in a meadow, at the beach or lying on the floor. You can meditate anywhere that is peaceful and comfortable.

Commit to half an hour and try not to fall asleep, if you do fall asleep take great comfort in the fact that your sleep will likely be very restful.  For a while resting the energy in your mind and enjoy re-connection with mother earth.

 Please leave a comment below on your experience with this practice. I’d love to hear your thoughts. And Don’t Forget to PIN it!