Welcome to a guided Shavasana practice that will go for approximately 10 minutes.
Please make sure you have time and the space to be with yourself in this experience.
Shavasana practice requires lying on the ground,
Make sure you have enough space and support around you.
This may be a yoga mat or blanket underneath you or thin cushions under the head or the hips.
If you are not already lying on the ground,
Take some time now to come to the ground slowly.
Come to lying on your back,
Making sure that your hips and shoulders feel supported.
The back of your head is resting on the ground,
The back of the neck is slightly long.
For some people there will be a gentle tuck of the chin.
Make sure that there is still enough space in your neck for you to breathe comfortably.
Let the arms be a little bit further away from the body,
Giving your ribs room to breathe.
Take the heels slightly wider than the hips and let the toes turn to the side,
Relaxing the feet.
Notice if you can allow the shoulders,
Hips and heels,
The elbows and the wrists to be heavy into the floor,
Letting your muscles be soft,
Almost hanging off your bones.
Notice your breath,
Allow your breath to become your main focus.
You might choose to notice your breath by placing your attention in your belly or you might focus on the heart center or sternum or even your brow center.
Wherever you are resting your attention whilst you observe the breath,
Just notice what it feels like to be in this space with yourself,
Observing this experience.
There's nothing to do,
Just be there,
Noticing,
Sitting with yourself as though you would sit with a friend,
Accepting,
Trying not to change them and allowing them to be as they are in this moment.
If your mind is distracted and you catch yourself,
See if you can smile lovingly at yourself and return back to your seat,
Continuing to watch your experience.
Just notice how the interruption of my voice affects your experience.
There's no need to move,
Just observe the thoughts,
Your breath or your body,
Noticing what's shifted,
Noticing what stayed the same.
You might notice if your thoughts have become a little louder,
More frequent,
Maybe your breathings become more purposeful,
More conscious and you might have more awareness of the hands and feet and any parts of the body on the ground.
Just allow yourself to slowly bring yourself more presently into your body,
Into the breath,
Taking as much time as you need.
There's no need to move.
If you do feel like moving,
You can always introduce any movement at any time,
Including wiggling fingers and toes,
Circling wrists.
For some people,
They'll like to stretch their arms up and overhead,
Pointing the toes in the opposite direction,
Giving yourself an all-over body yawn.
From here,
If you want to continue moving,
You might roll to your side and have a handful of breaths,
Just lying on your side.
You might choose to stay here or you can always come to seated and have more breaths in a seated shape.
However you choose to finish the practice,
Whether you're lying,
Lying on your side or seated,
Just take some time to acknowledge the closure of the practice and giving yourself space before you start to do anything else next.
Even if that's just going to brush your teeth or have a shower to end your day,
Let yourself sit in this pocket of time for a little bit longer.
Thank you for joining me in the practice.
I hope you have a very good sleep and lots of space in the rest of your week.
