Good morning.
This practice is designed to support you in beginning your day with connection and care.
Begin just lying in your bed,
Tuning into your body as you feel the bed holding you.
Take a moment to feel the weight and texture of the covers over your body.
Bring your awareness to any internal sensations of aliveness.
Maybe you can sense the warmth in your center,
Blood flow or tingling in your hands and arms,
Your heartbeat steadily pulsing,
Or the temperature of the breath moving in and out of the nostrils.
Now,
Let your hands rest on your belly.
Bring your full attention to your breath.
Recognize the rise of the belly under the hands as you inhale,
And the easy fall upon exhale.
Begin to even out the inhale and exhale,
And find a rhythm that feels slow and steady.
Take some time to feel the breath move into the lungs and stretch the muscles between the ribs,
Fanning them apart.
Notice the relaxation response on the exhale.
Breathe in and feel the rise of the belly,
The expansion of the ribs,
And the gentle lift of the collarbones.
As you exhale,
Witness the collarbones fall,
The ribs gather,
And the belly drop.
Take three more rounds just like this.
On your next inhale,
Fill the trunk just halfway up,
And pause.
Continue to fill all the way to the top of the breath,
And hold for a beat before releasing the breath in one long,
Fluid exhale.
Continue this pattern three more times.
Inhale partially.
Continue to inhale.
Pause.
Slow,
Steady breath.
Again,
Inhale.
Inhale fully.
Pause.
Exhale.
Last time,
Inhale halfway.
Inhale all the way to the top of the breath.
Pause.
Smooth,
Steady breath out.
Return to your natural breathing and let yourself sit in the afterglow of this practice and notice your energy.
Take a moment to gently bring movement into the feet,
Pointing and flexing,
While tuning into all the sensations up the legs and down the feet.
Roll the ankles a few times in each direction.
Move your attention up the legs and place a micro-bend in the knees,
Then slowly straighten and release the bend.
Move through this movement a few times,
Mindfully waking up the knee joint.
Continue up the body and begin to shift the hips slightly side to side.
These are tiny movements just to awaken the joints.
Move up to the spine and begin to gently shift from extension to flexion,
Arching and rounding the smallest amount,
Just to feel the stiffness begin to melt away.
As you move up to the shoulders and neck,
Let the movement move you in the direction your body is calling for.
This might look like tiny shoulder rolls,
Gentle waves that move up the neck and are what feels good.
Last,
Imagine the movement traveling down the arms to the wrists and hands.
Begin to roll the wrists until it feels natural to open and close the hands,
Feeling the many joints in the hands come alive.
Take the hand movement into a stretch,
Reaching the arms out or overhead.
Inhale,
Then return the arms so the hands come back to rest on the belly.
Take a deep breath to fill the lungs and open mouth side to exhale.
Notice the new state of your body.
As you're ready,
Softly blink the eyes,
Letting whatever light is in the room enter.
Begin to look around by rolling the eyes in the socket before inviting small amounts of movement into the head and neck.
As you take in the room,
Notice the items,
Shapes or colors here now that feel soothing or comforting to look at.
Let your gaze rest as long as you need before moving into your day.
When you are ready to move into your day,
Begin with a moment of gratitude for showing up and choosing to connect with your body in a kind and loving way.
I truly hope this practice serves you and that you experience something new each time you use it.
