Hello and welcome.
It is so lovely to practice together,
Stepping away from the pace,
The pressure of our day and giving ourselves full permission to be here.
This is a self-massage and grounding practice.
Self-massage helps us to reconnect to our physical body,
Offering some relief to tight muscles and helps us to return to the present moment.
A perfect practice for a reset,
Anytime you feel the need to restore a sense of calm,
A sense of balance.
Finding a place where you'd like to practice.
You can be seated or laying down,
There's no right or wrong.
Closing down your eyes and letting your eyelids grow heavy and soft.
Beginning by connecting to the parts of your body in contact with something beneath you.
That could be your feet on the floor,
Your bum,
Your hips on a chair,
The couch,
A pillow beneath your head.
Welcoming yourself just as you are into the space.
And as you feel ready,
Bringing your fingertips to your forehead.
Gently massaging in small,
Mindful circles.
There's no right or wrong way to do this.
You can choose the pace,
The pressure.
And slowly moving your fingers to your temples.
Feeling softening through your face.
Imagining tension is dripping,
Drooping down.
Maybe your fingers move down towards your jawline.
Joining me in a full inhale through your nose.
And let it go through your mouth,
Maybe with a sigh.
You can continue with your self massage of the face,
Perhaps the ears,
The earlobes.
Instead you might like to move towards your neck.
Using your fingers to gently knead the muscles from the base of your skull down towards your shoulders.
There's no need to follow along precisely with my voice.
The invitation to explore,
To experiment.
Where is calling out for your attention?
Maybe moving down the arms and into your hands,
The upper arm,
The elbow,
Your forearm,
Your wrists.
Down into the palm of your hand,
The fingers,
The nails.
Anchoring your attention on the sensations you feel within your body as you massage.
Reconnecting to your breath.
Feeling it come in through your nose.
Dancing around your physical body.
Nourishing every cell,
Every muscle,
Every bone.
And it's okay if you notice your mind is wandering,
Drifting.
You can acknowledge the thought,
The feeling,
The emotion.
Acknowledge what is here and present.
And whenever you like,
You can return your attention to the physical sensations within your body.
Over the next few cycles of breath,
Choosing a place where you'd like to rest.
Letting go of the massage.
Noticing how you feel.
Maybe feeling a sense of being more connected to your body.
Feeling aliveness,
Energy.
And as you begin to return to the rest of your day,
Carrying this fresh energy and vitality along with you.
Let's close our practice by placing our hands on the belly or the heart.
And together taking a breath in through your nose.
Exhaling out with a sigh.
Whenever you're ready,
Blinking open your eyes.
Taking a look around the room,
The space that you're in.
You can roll your head from side to side.
Inviting a gentle sway through your body.
Might feel nice to take a big stretch,
A yawn.
You've done a wonderful thing for yourself today.
Thank you for your willingness,
Your trust.
Let's practice together again really soon.
