--- ai_generation_date: '2026-10-11' ai_model: gemini-3-pro-preview ai_prompt_hash: 964013ba audiodharma: talks: - date: '2020-09-15' is_meditation: true mp3_url: https://audiodharma.us-east-1.linodeobjects.com/talks/12099/20200915-Gil_Fronsdal-IMC-guided_meditation_relaxation_and_clarity.mp3 section_slug: guided-meditation-relaxation-and-clarity speakers: - speaker_name: Gil Fronsdal speaker_url: https://www.audiodharma.org/speakers/1 talk_start_time_seconds: 0 title: 'Guided Meditation: Relaxation and Clarity' url: https://www.audiodharma.org/talks/12099 video_unavailable: false collapsed_sections: [] location_city: Redwood City, CA video_unavailable: false youtube: id: IQZDqGVehLg imprecise_upload_date: '2021-05-04' title: 'Guided Meditation: Relaxation and Clarity' upload_date: null uploader_str: Insight Meditation Center uploader_url: https://www.youtube.com/@InsightMeditationCenter youtube_url: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQZDqGVehLg --- # Guided Meditation: Relaxation and Clarity - [Gil Fronsdal](https://www.audiodharma.org/speakers/1) _This is an AI-generated transcript from auto-generated subtitles for the video above. It likely contains inaccuracies, especially with speaker attribution if there are multiple speakers._ ## [Guided Meditation: Relaxation and Clarity](https://www.audiodharma.org/talks/12099) Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, good night. Greetings to everyone, I am happy to be here with you. The theme this week is mindfulness of the body. It doesn't take much reflection to appreciate how amazingly complex the workings of our bodies are, and all the different systems of our body that work in harmony. Even if some pieces of the system don't quite work and we have some illness, the majority of what's in the body is usually working. It works without our direction, without our working it. In fact, if we were to sit in the control tower of the body and direct everything that's supposed to be happening, we wouldn't have time for anything else. We probably wouldn't have time for all that it takes to direct the breathing, the digestion, the movements through the intestines, the swallowing, the organs working, the blood pumping, adjusting the heart rate, and the breathing rate. It just goes on and on, adjusting the hormone levels. It is phenomenal how it works. It is well recognized that we can strain the whole big system of the body by being stressed, by being constantly in some mode of tension or stress out of fear, busyness, ambition, or anger. Not a few people will discover that after some big emotional challenge, they will sometimes get sick or get a cold because this complicated system is compromised in some way. What we can do is optimize the working of the system partly by not living a stressed life, and that's one of the functions of meditation. But the reason I am bringing this up now is that in recognizing how much of the body works fine without us—that we don't have to direct the show—we create the conditions for it to operate well. To a certain degree, there is a process of getting out of the way, or not interfering with, and allowing this wonderful, marvelous physical system we have to operate. The ways in which the body operates is also, we could say, spiritual. There are deep ways in which if we open up in a calm way with clarity and make room to receive or allow something deep to unfold through the body, it really supports the deepening, fulfilling, and growth of meditation practice, reaching the full potential of what mindfulness can do. So there is an art of learning how to bring a sincere engagement to the practice, to truly show up in the present moment with commitment, dedication, and even devotion, making room for the body to do its dance and unfold. For many people in meditation, one of those things is that the body wants to relax in some ways. Yesterday I talked about relaxation. The Buddhist concept is not quite relaxation; it's a calming or tranquility[^1]. The difference might be that relaxation suggests going limp, whereas calm or tranquility can be there with a certain alertness, uprightness, and clarity. So today, what I would like to include as part of the meditation is a calming, relaxing movement that promotes clarity. A combination of calmness and clarity is what begins to allow this psychophysical system to move to a kind of health, and from a Buddhist point of view, as practice deepens, to a spiritual health. Those two things, tranquility and clarity, make room for things to unfold and operate naturally. We are getting out of the way and adding the receptivity we talked about yesterday. ## Guided Meditation Take a meditation posture that allows you to express an alertness with your body. Not a tension or hyper-vigilance, but a delightful alertness that here is where you are going to wake up and be present. Here is where you are going to give a kind of sacred time to this psychophysical system that we have, to let it move towards health, to let it move towards something profound. Gently close your eyes. Just feel this body that you have. Feel how the body is experienced. What is the body's experience of itself right now? Then, if you can, begin to relax parts of your body. Start with some of the larger, obvious places, like relaxing the muscles of the face and relaxing the shoulders. There are two parts to relaxing: there is softening and letting go of tension, and then there is something I call the _afterglow_. We relax as far as we can—maybe it's not complete relaxation—and then there's a kind of pleasant feeling for the parts that have been relaxed. That pleasantness might be present together with a feeling of the tension that remains, and that is okay. Relax the shoulders, and take a few moments to feel the afterglow of what that relaxation has done. Feel that whatever subtle afterglow there is can be a waking up of clarity. Not to lean into it or struggle to search for it, but recognize that the afterglow perhaps itself is a kind of clarity of awareness and attention. Relax the belly. Soften the belly. Is there any subtle, pleasant afterglow for a moment or two? Become aware of your breathing. Become aware of how your body experiences breathing. Every time you exhale, allow some part of your body to relax a bit, to become calmer. Sometimes the whole body is released a bit as you exhale. Sometimes it's particular parts of your body. As you exhale and relax, see if there's a little bit of that afterglow at the end. Just a teeny bit of something pleasant and nice that you can allow to come into clarity. Allow clarity to be felt in whatever way it is, even if it's vague. The whole exhale is a kind of calming and settling, with an afterglow at the end. With whatever relaxation and calm you have, receive the inhale. Allow the inhale to arise. With a calm, relaxed mind, let there be clarity with the inhale. Feel and sense the whole inhale in the way that you would feel how smooth a piece of wood is that you've been carefully sanding. Let your hand brush across the full length of the wood. Let the whole inhale brush the full length of your body. Allow and receive the whole in-breath, and relax and calm as you exhale, resting in the afterglow for a moment. Sometimes, as you exhale, relax your thinking. Release your thinking. Let go on the exhale, and at the end of the exhale, maybe there's a subtle, pleasant afterglow of the absence of that thinking. Allow that absence to receive the inhale. Relaxing and letting go makes more room to clearly feel and sense the inhale with a quiet mind. Relax with the exhale, allow yourself to be peaceful at the end of the exhale, and peacefully receive the inhale. ## Reflections As we come to the end of this meditation, I would like to point out that some emotions that we live with and act on require, or come with, tension. Anger and hostility come with tension. Greed and craving come with tension. Being perplexed, confused, and deluded come with tension. If we learn to relax, be peaceful, be calm, and let go of tension, then we have more room for the emotions that don't inherently come with tension: generosity, love, compassion, and kindness. The more we can let go of tension and open to clarity of what's here, the more room and opportunities there are for our heart's capacity for love, kindness, and generosity to flow. May it be that you go through your day today letting go of tension. Take the time to be calm and peaceful, not giving in to the rush, the greed, and the ambitions of doing a lot. Stay close to that place where you can feel peaceful and calm, and let your care for the world shine forth. Let the heart's capacity for love, generosity, and compassion become a greater part of your day. In doing so, have the dedication and aspiration that on this day, these next twenty-four hours, your relaxed goodwill benefits the world. May it support, help, and benefit the people you encounter, the people you think about, the people you communicate with, and the people you're concerned with. May what comes out of a peaceful heart be for the welfare and happiness of all beings. May all beings be peaceful. May all beings allow their own goodness to shine forth and bring joy[^2]. May all beings be free of external and internal oppression, blockage, and resistance. May all beings know what we're capable of when the heart is relaxed and peaceful. May all beings be happy. --- [^1]: **Calming or Tranquility:** In Buddhist practice, this typically refers to the Pali term _Passaddhi_, which means tranquility or calmness of the body and mind, and is one of the Seven Factors of Awakening. [^2]: Original transcript read "bring you", corrected to "bring joy" based on context.