In this 10‑minute guided meditation, Monique Thompson (referred to as “Miss Monique”) leads listeners through a step‑by‑step relaxation routine designed to reduce anxiety and promote sleep. She begins by explaining the goal—activating the parasympathetic nervous system to slow heart rate and deepen breathing—then invites listeners to acknowledge and gently set aside the emotions and thoughts of the day. The practice includes a 90‑second emotional acknowledgment phase, followed by square (4‑inhalation/5‑exhalation) breathing, a mental “bookshelf” technique for shelving thoughts, a gentle fingertip‑to‑skin touch sequence intended to release oxytocin, and a grounding exercise that opens the eyes to the surrounding room. Monique concludes with three spiritual affirmations: (1) you are created and purposeful, (2) your life matters to God, and (3) life is finite. The meditation ends with a calm invitation to move forward unafraid, offering blessings to listeners.
Chapters
Hi, Monique Thompson here. Miss Monique to all of my students. Tonight we're gonna do a very quick meditation exercise, something to kind of help you relax. Maybe if you're trying to get yourself in a relaxed place so you can take a test or so that you can more easily fall asleep. We're tapping into the parasympathetic nervous system, which is the part of your body that helps you to have a Slower heartbeat, deeper breathing, and helps your mind to just kind of calm down and relax. So first things first, let's acknowledge your emotions. Maybe you had a pretty rough day, things happened today that you didn't like, or you were rushed today, you didn't get a lot accomplished. So the first thing I want you to do is try to just very, very gently let your mind flutter over to those emotions. And let them go. Okay, just a little bit at a time. You're gonna acknowledge them, set them aside, and let them go. We're gonna do that for 90 seconds. Just begin breathing now with me. Gentle, gentle breaths. Let those emotions walk by you. Anger, sadness, even joy and happiness. We're just trying to empty the mind. Let everything go. Frustration, disappointment. Take a breath. We've got about 60 more seconds now. Keep breathing. Just acknowledge the emotions that you've spent your day going through. Let them set aside, walk by. Another 25 seconds. You might notice the intensity is going down. That biological process is ending. Acknowledging these emotions helps them to be experienced without being your experience. A couple more seconds. Breathe with me. I'm going to start with square breathing, um, with a yoga exhale. So that means we're going to inhale to a count of 4 through our nose. 3, 4. And exhale to a count of 5. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. All right, we're gonna do a couple more square breaths. Inhale to a count of 4. 1, 2, 3, 4. Exhale to a count of 5. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Very good. By now you're probably in the parasympathetic nervous system, or starting to enter there. You're leaving the fight-or-flight response. Your head's probably clearing up a little bit, letting that cortisol run its course and get out of your brain. Letting your brain start to think, and that's exactly what I want you to allow it to do, is to acknowledge the thoughts that are coming through your mind and let them go as well. So each thought that comes up, acknowledge it and set it aside on the shelf. You've got a little bookshelf on the side. You don't have to organize these books right now. You're just acknowledging them and setting them to the side. So maybe you have thoughts about your family, acknowledge them, set them to the side. Thoughts about school, acknowledge it, set it to the side. There might be a particular teacher or a friend who's coming to mind, acknowledge them and just set them to the side on the shelf. We're not gonna shelve those books right now, we're just clearing the mind. Keep breathing a deep breath, 4 breaths in. 2, 3, 4. And out to 5. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. And now that the mind is clear, I want you to just kind of further your relaxation with a very gentle fingertip touch. So you're going to take your fingertips from your elbow to your hand. So you're going to grab your elbows as if you're giving yourself a very, very soft, gentle hug, and gently touch your elbows with your fingertips. A nice gentle touch and rub your fingertips down the length of your arm until you get to your wrist. And then take your hands palm to palm and very gently let your fingertips touch each hand, very gently the palm of each hand, just kind of getting a nice little oxytocin release, a little bit of that cuddle hormone by very gently touching your skin. And then take your fingertips up to your forehead and very gently touch your face. What a beautiful face. This face has seen so much, so much, so much, so much. I want to very gently honor everything that you've seen, everything you've experienced. Take a deep breath and let that go as well. All right, now we're just going to move right on over into acknowledging the room that you're in. Allow your eyes to open wide, experiencing the room that you're in. Look around. You're prepared, you're ready, you're ready to exist in the space that you're in, keeping in mind 3 very important truths. Truth first, one of all, is that you are created You are intended to be here. You are here on purpose. You are created. You are intended to be here. You are here on purpose. You are created. You are intended to be here, and you are here on purpose. Number 2, truth number 2: your life matters to God. Your life Matters to Him. He thinks about you. He intends you. Therefore, you are here and you are alive. Relax your heart. Accept the truth of your own existence. Truth number 3: You are here and you will be gone. Every life exits this side of paradise. You will not be here permanently, but you are here right now. Acknowledge and accept that you are alive and that you have an end. Live your day with your truths in mind. Let's breathe together, relax in the peace of our existence. Move forward into the path in front of you, unafraid, unaffected, and at peace. Blessings to all who are listening. Thank you for your time.
