When I was first learning to meditate, one of the techniques offered was this one. I used it to bring myself to a state of deep relaxation.

How to Practice

Imagine that you are at the top of an escalator that will take you down many levels. Each level brings you to a more profound inner state of restfulness and peace. Place yourself there and imagine you can see the moving steps ahead of you and feel the handrail under your palm.

Take a deep breath and let it out. Relax as you imagine stepping onto the escalator. Count backwards mentally from 10 to zero as you descend, 10 at the top and zero as you step off onto the landing at the new level. Feel how with each count downwards your busy mind is slowing down, your emotions are settling and your physical body is feeling calmer and more at ease.

When you get to zero, for just a moment, take note of the air at this new level. The light. The colour. But don’t linger. It’s time to move on downwards.

Place yourself at the top of the next downward ride and imagine you can see the moving steps ahead of you and feel the handrail under your palm again. Take a calm breath and count down 10 to zero just as you did before. Feel a deeper state of harmony and peace and relaxation as you continue downwards.

Again, note the beautiful world on that level as you round the corner and descend again.

At each new level, as you take note of the world around you, ask yourself if you’d like to feel more relaxed. If you do, keep going down. Notice how as you go down, with each level you feel more and more at ease.

Go down as deeply as you would like. Sometimes one level is plenty. Some days you might want to go down 10 levels. The number of levels you descend is not important to this meditation. What’s important is your willingness to let go and rest in it.