Welcome,
Thank you for being here today.
I also welcome you to take a moment of gratitude,
Maybe smiling or hugging your arms or knees.
We're making space for gratitude because showing up and simply being here can be the hardest part of any practice.
It's at once both a small and big step.
In reminding ourselves of this,
We give ourselves permission to hold a gentle perspective of where we are.
Now before beginning to check in with your rest today,
Take some time to set up your space.
The first thing being,
Do you need to set a timer for an extra five or ten minutes after this recording ends?
If yes,
Pause here and please do so.
Maybe add a blanket or sweatshirt to the top of your layers,
Pillows underneath your joints.
Really tend to yourself to find the external support that your body is asking for.
Honor that.
Maybe you subtract a thing or two at some point.
If at any time you need to shift to be just a tad more comfortable,
Feel free.
Try to move slowly so you can maintain that settling in sensation that you've come to find.
Setting up and settling in doesn't have to be permanent.
Our support may need changing in the most subtle ways.
Again,
Honor that.
Honor your truth.
Everything offered here is an invitation for you to explore.
Feel free to change your mind or skip any invitations altogether because this is your space,
Your body,
And your self-care.
There are always choices.
Even though we aren't actually doing anything,
If building comfort through support for your body is all you do,
That can be more than enough to find the rest you may need.
If there are areas of your body that do not feel sensation,
Simply drawing your attention to those areas can cultivate rest and healing,
And you can return to your inner glimmer whenever you wish.
In this meditation,
We'll be alternating our awareness around different areas of the body.
If you wish to let your attention stay on one area a bit longer,
Consider this your permission slip to do so.
Maybe there's an area that you don't typically think about or sense into,
But today you find yourself sensing into this area,
Wanting to be reintroduced to it,
Whatever it is.
Maybe you place your hand or a soft object on that area to maintain that connection.
I mentioned before that inner glimmer.
Let's explore what that is.
It's a sense of awe from a place or an imagined place where there's a feeling of ease,
Calm,
And even safety.
It can be from a recent moment,
A current or old home,
A moment with someone,
A beloved animal.
Your inner glimmer can hold whatever you'd like it to hold.
Feel into this awe for a few moments.
What do you notice in your body?
Remembering that you can return to your inner glimmer anytime,
Begin to draw your attention toward your breath,
Your most honest breath.
That is how it's naturally moving,
As though you were a child again.
Notice where it's moving in your body.
Perhaps bringing a palm or two to where it's ebbing and flowing.
Feel into its qualities.
Don't think too much about them,
Just feel.
And if nothing comes up,
Nothing comes up.
We are just checking in.
Just checking in.
You can bring the feeling of awe with you through this practice so that it is available to you at any time.
Again,
There are always choices.
If it feels right for you,
Close your eyes or lower your gaze as we turn toward resting and digesting these moments.
Maybe yawn a few times.
Or inhale through the nose and slowly sigh out through the mouth.
If that resonates,
Do so a few times,
Moving slow.
As we ease into a physical state of heaviness,
This can be a reminder of how we can also maintain a sense of lightness to our being as we explore rest.
A lightness in our heart,
And therefore our state of mind.
An example of where we see these opposites working together is with sea otters.
They settle themselves with kelp to rest in their forest.
And they're quite literally anchored with their kelp,
Grounded and layered.
As they rest,
They link paws with each other to form a raft and remain stable.
There's a lightness that moves from one direction outward in the community,
The cohort,
I like to call it.
And as with their light anchor and sense of camaraderie,
We too can create a stable buoyancy of camaraderie.
When we regularly approach ourselves with curiosity and choices,
We practice self-compassion that can only ripple outward to our own cohorts in life,
Wherever they are.
Now bring your attention to the sensations of your whole body resting where it is.
If you feel like movement needs to happen in your body,
As we ripple our awareness out from one area to another,
You can play with small wiggles.
This may offer you a more interactive experience.
Notice the points of contact between your heels and the surface,
Knees and the surface,
Low ribcage,
Middle of the ribcage,
Top of the ribcage,
All along the shoulder girdle.
Take a moment to notice the heaviness around your presence.
Now bring your attention to the sensation or imagining of sensation of air across your wrists,
Back of the fingers,
Pads of the fingers,
Back of the palms,
Sides of the hands.
From the sides of the hands,
Our attention travels up to the sides of our neck,
Sensing or imagining the temperature of air,
The front of our neck,
Chin,
The space above the lips,
Sides of the nose,
Top of the nose,
Eyelids,
Temples,
Top of the head.
Take a moment to notice the lightness around your presence.
With heaviness,
There is lightness.
Let your breath breathe here.
Now feel free to stay with your honest breath,
Or if it feels right for you,
Begin to count slowly from 1 to 4 on your next inhale,
Followed by 1 to 4 on the exhale.
Find your own pace and do this a few times.
Whether you are with your honest breath or counting,
Take time to feel into a rhythm.
Once you have found your rhythm,
Begin to mentally recite the following phrases.
From air to breath,
May I be anchored in softness.
From air to breath,
May I be buoyant.
From air to breath,
May I be anchored in softness.
From air to breath,
May I be buoyant.
Keep repeating for about 2 minutes.
Maybe adding,
From air to breath,
May I be receptive.
From air to breath,
May I be connected.
From air to breath,
May I be receptive.
From air to breath,
May I be connected.
Keep repeating for about 2 minutes.
Perhaps your intuition gives you an answer.
From air to breath,
May I be.
From air to breath,
May I be.
As you repeat whatever resonates,
Imagine yourself moving through your day with these cultivated qualities.
What does that look like?
Take some time to imagine your contribution to a cohort from a place of buoyancy.
From air to breath,
May I be.
We are going to begin absorbing this practice now.
You can come back to any or all of these phrases whenever you need a sense of lightness.
Feel your body resting here.
Feel your body resting on the surface or surfaces underneath it.
Sense where you are in space,
How close you are to the curve of the chair or blanket or edges of the mat.
Let your breath breathe here.
Now,
Rub your hands together.
With extended fingers,
Can you feel the warmth between them?
Between the palms?
If it feels right,
Bring a palm to each eye.
Notice all sensations over your eyelids.
Feel free to stay here if you'd like to remain resting.
If you'd like to return to your day or evening,
Remove your hands.
Flutter the eyes.
Maybe finding slow and easeful movement in your neck from side to side,
If that's comfortable where you are.
Begin to curl and release the fingers,
The toes.
Maybe creating wrist circles or ankle circles.
Stretching your whole body.
Taking a few moments to smile.
Only releasing it when and if you wish.
May you take these phrases and choice of breath with you as you reconnect with the rhythm of your day or evening.
Thank you.
Be well.
