Welcome.
In these first few moments,
I invite you to just take a moment to arrive.
That can look like finding a comfortable place to sit,
Laying down and getting cozy,
Maybe taking a moment to move,
Get all the wiggles out,
Shake the arms,
Bring the hands to the body,
Whatever you need to arrive in this space,
In this time.
When you're able,
Whether you're laying down or seated,
Feel your way to the base of the spine,
To the area behind the hips,
The tailbone.
Crawl your way up the spinal column,
Not doing anything,
Just noticing,
Feeling where you're at right now.
As we work our way up the spine,
Until we come to the base of the skull and follow the skull around the crown of the head,
Imagining we have a string coming out the very tip-top of our skull.
You're able to grow tall through your spine with ease,
Imagining that string lifting you up.
Towards the sky or towards the space behind you if you're laying down.
Is there any way that you can make yourself a little more restful,
Whether you're seated or laying down?
Find a way to support yourself even more right now.
And once you get into this really,
Truly cozy and restful space,
Let your noticing expand to the rest of the body,
To your neck,
To your face,
Your arms and your legs.
Do you notice any areas that jump out at you where you feel tension or holding?
Start by letting your awareness drift to those areas that might just need a little extra love today.
Imagining that you are giving them a little massage with the mind,
Invite them to release.
You can even place your hand physically on those spaces of tension,
Giving yourself that physical reminder that they are held,
They are supported,
They can soften now.
And when you have truly settled into your physical space,
Let those spots of tension melt away.
Now it's time to draw our attention just a bit deeper,
Going inward,
Coming into the internal space.
Allow your eyes to soften or close.
And here with your sense of sight in the outside world softened,
Begin to notice,
To observe the inner world.
Let your thoughts flow in and out of your awareness,
Playing at the edges of your attention,
Like clouds that drift by in the sky.
They're there,
They're present.
Our thoughts will always come,
But that doesn't mean they have to control us.
Now bring your awareness to the breath,
The rush of air over your upper lip as you inhale through the nose,
The gentle swell of your chest or belly,
And the softening release as the air leaves you.
Feel into where you are now in this moment.
Let go of the need to control or change.
Just notice as the breath swells and releases.
Begin ever so gradually to deepen that breath.
Bring your inhalations lower.
See if your belly can swell with the breath,
Expanding fully,
And then your ribs and chest follow suit.
And then as you release that breath,
Find a moment to sit in the silence,
At the bottom.
Same at the top.
As you inhale,
Feel that weightlessness,
Where there is no breath,
No exhale,
That held moment at the top.
Continue breathing,
Playing with lengthening that holding of the breath at the top and the bottom.
Play with making a box out of your breath.
Inhaling,
Holding.
Exhaling,
Holding in equal length.
Finish your next breathing cycle,
And when you've done so,
Take a full breath in.
Sigh it out.
And again,
If you're in a space where you feel free to do so,
I invite you to make the sigh as loud and dramatic as you can.
Inhale with me.
Exhale.
Release.
And then allow the breath to begin to return to whatever its current unaltered state might be.
Begin to shift your awareness gradually back into the space that you are in.
Wiggle the fingers,
The toes,
Moving that awareness back into your body.
And continue in this space of rest for a few moments.
And notice how your body feels now,
Knowing that you can always turn back inward.
You can always come back to being alone with yourself and your breath.
