Qigong is also a practice of relaxing,
Breathing deeply,
And focusing one's attention.
So we practice this in a sitting meditation or guided relaxation.
So,
Start finding a comfortable place for your feet on the floor,
However far out or in,
So that your thighs are nicely supported by the chair,
But not pinched or anything like that.
Back against the back of the chair,
So you can let the chair support you.
And figure out where you need to place your hips,
So that your abdomen has room to expand.
So if you choose to do abdominal breathing,
Your belly can expand,
And on the exhale,
Deflate.
Hands can be palms down,
Palms up,
One on the other,
Interlaced.
Whatever is most comfortable,
As long as it's a position that you can just let your hands be.
You don't have to hold them,
Make them work,
They can just relax.
And we're going to practice a breathing pattern that is designed to help us relax.
And so as you breathe in,
Fill up,
And then at the top of your breath,
Just hold it for a second,
And then breathe out.
And at the bottom of the breath,
Just hold it out for a second,
And then breathe in.
So it's in,
Pause,
Out,
Pause.
In,
Pause,
Just a second or two,
Out,
Pause.
I invite you to close your eyes,
Or pick a spot on the carpet to stare at.
While you turn your attention to the experience of your inhale,
And your exhale.
So that you're sitting,
Relaxed,
Comfortable,
Breathing in,
Pause,
Breathing out,
Pause.
Letting your body sink into the chair,
Or if you're at home,
Stretched out on a bed,
Or a couch,
Or the floor.
Just let gravity embrace you,
Let your muscles relax.
Breathing in,
Following the breath all the way in,
Down to your belly if you can.
Watch the pause,
Breathing out,
Letting your chest and abdomen deflate.
Breathing out,
Watching the pause,
At your own pace,
At your own rate.
As you're observing your breath,
Coming in and going out.
If you find that you've become distracted,
And drift off on some to-dos,
Or a phone call,
Or whatever.
And you notice that you've become distracted,
Just smile to yourself.
Come back to the next inhale,
Pause,
Exhale,
Pause.
For as we practice mindfulness of breathing,
To be mindful of when we've been distracted is also mindfulness.
And we can be happy that we noticed.
Or if while you're following your breath in,
Out,
Become drowsy and unfocused.
Once you notice that that's happened,
Smile to yourself,
Because that's a moment of mindfulness.
Come back to the next inhale.
So with this very simple pattern,
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
Observing the breath,
Breathing in,
Pause,
Breathing out,
Pause.
We build our energy of mindfulness,
Our energy of focusing our attention.
And that's a good thing.
But while you continue to follow your breath in,
And follow your breath out,
Including the pauses.
Begin to relax your feet,
Your toes,
And ankles.
Relax your calves,
Knees.
Relax your thighs,
Hips,
Whole pelvis area.
Breathing in,
Pause,
Muscles relaxing,
Getting softer.
Breathing out,
Pause.
Body becoming still.
Both legs from hips to toes.
Muscles becoming softer,
More loose.
Blood flowing more easily.
You may even feel your pulse on the soles of your feet.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
Relaxing your hands,
Fingers,
Wrists.
Relaxing your forearms and elbows.
Relaxing your upper arms,
Shoulders,
All along the collarbone.
Relaxing your shoulder blades.
As your arms continue to relax more and more.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
Relax your torso.
Your low abdomen,
Low back,
Mid,
Back,
Upper abdomen,
Upper back,
Chest.
All the way around the ribs.
Full torso.
Relaxing.
Muscles softening,
Becoming more loose.
Easier to breathe in and breathe out.
Breathing in,
Pause.
Breathing out,
Pause.
Your heart and lungs also relaxing in your torso.
Your backbone,
Spine relaxing in your torso.
Organs of digestion.
Liver,
Spleen,
Kidneys relaxing.
Blood flowing more easily,
Infusing your organs with fresh oxygen.
Fresh energy.
Relaxing your throat,
Back of your neck.
Relaxing the back of your head,
Top of your head.
Area around your ears,
Forehead.
Your eyes and eyelids,
Cheeks,
Nose.
Lips,
Tongue and jaw.
All the while breathing in,
Pause.
Breathing out,
Pause.
Letting all the energy we generated in those wonderful crane movements.
In those wonderful warm-ups.
Letting that energy,
That chi,
Sink into all the muscles,
All the way down to the bones.
Muscles and tendons.
All of your organs.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
Imagine that you can draw in fresh energy from the world around you.
I wonder how that would look to you.
How it would sound.
How it would feel.
Enjoy using your imagination.
As you relax.
And as you continue to relax,
I invite you to notice all the areas of your body that have gotten truly relaxed,
Comfortable,
Softened.
Where blood flows more easily.
Where energy flows more easily.
All the areas that need healing and loving-kindness,
Getting the energy they need.
As the body is relaxed.
Just notice.
Notice.
And very,
Very gradually,
If your breath has gotten very quiet,
Let it get a little bit more full.
A little bit more energizing in an active sort of way.
Deeper breaths,
I guess.
When you're ready,
Wiggle your fingers a little bit,
Wiggle your toes a little bit.
Open your eyes when you're ready.
And if you want to stretch,
Stretch.
Let you find your limbs again.
