This meditation is adapted from Nick at Spiritual Travel and designed to help you relax on your travels. Start breathing, in and out, till you feel yourself start to relax. Keep breathing… four breaths in, four breaths out…..

You’re sitting on a beach. It’s the beach you always dreamed of while suffering through those endlessly long, dreary days at work or uni. Now though, free at last, you’ve swapped the desk chair for a deck chair.

The sun shines high in the sky above you. Light glints from the crests and troughs of the surf that laps rhythmically nearby. The air is warm but not uncomfortably so. A breeze blows gently across the bay, cooling you down and rustling the palm fronds that sway over head. Heat shimmers the sand in the distance, rising in waves and blurring the lines of sea, sand and sky into a hazy combination of contorted colours. The atmosphere is one of varying shades of blue and gold.

The remnants of the freshly cut coconut purchased from a beachside vendor sits in the sand at your side, close to hand. A book, bought at the airport, rests half read on your chest as you gaze through weary eyes and tinted sun glasses at the other oiled and tanned beach dwellers that sunbathe, swim and generally enjoy the day around you. You rest your head back on your seat, and breathe a sigh of relief.

1. Sitting in an up-right position or laying down on your back, find a comfortable position you can sustain for a few minutes.

2. Release any unnecessary tension and gently bring your awareness to your breath.

3. You only need to observe your breath, do not change anything.

4. Observe the movements and sensations in your body with each inhalation and exhalation.

5. Let your attention travel with the air passing through your nose and throat to your lungs, feeling the expansion of the chest and belly.

6. Continue doing this for a few minutes.