Sit up tall,
Taking a moment to look around the room or the surrounding area of where you are.
Noticing colors,
Shapes,
And textures of the things present in your immediate environment.
Notice the light and shadows.
Notice the temperature of the air and any noises around you.
Inhale deeply,
Growing tall in your torso.
As you exhale,
Twist your spine around to the right.
Turn your neck as much as is comfortable,
And then turn your eyes,
Stretching them to gaze behind you.
Take a few deep breaths here.
With your next inhale,
Grow tall.
As you exhale,
Release the twist.
Take a deep breath in,
Growing tall in the torso.
As you exhale,
Twist your spine around to the left.
Turn your neck as much as is comfortable,
Then turn your eyes,
Stretching them to gaze behind you.
Take a few deep breaths here.
With your next inhale,
Grow tall.
Exhale,
Release the twist.
And now come to rest in a comfortable position with support for your whole body.
Use pillows and blankets under your head,
Your knees,
Or anywhere else that allows your body to release any holding or gripping.
Feel the support rising up to meet you.
Allow your body to release down with gravity.
Take a deep breath in through the nose.
Fill yourself up.
Open the mouth and let the breath go.
Bring your attention now to your physical body.
Become aware of your physical body.
Become aware that your body is breathing.
With your mind,
With your awareness,
Track the movement of the breath in and out of the body.
Inhale,
Fill yourself up.
Open the mouth and let the breath go.
As you take your next breath in,
Tense every muscle in your body from the top of the head to the tips of the toes and everything in between.
Squeeze tight.
Exhale,
Release all that tension.
Again,
Inhale,
Tensing the whole body,
Squeezing every muscle tight.
Exhale,
Release completely.
Once more,
As you inhale,
Tense the whole body.
As you exhale,
Let go.
Become still.
Become aware of the whole body.
Feel the whole body breathing.
Without moving,
Bring all of your attention to your right hand thumb.
Become completely aware of your right hand thumb.
First finger,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger.
Feeling the palm of the hand and the back of the hand.
The right wrist,
Lower arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm.
Feeling the right shoulder,
Armpit,
Right side of the ribcage and waist.
Feeling the right hip,
Thigh,
Knee,
Lower leg,
Ankle.
Feeling the whole right foot,
The top of the foot,
The sole of the foot,
The right toes.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Go now to the left side of the body.
Without moving,
Become completely aware of the left hand thumb.
Feel the left hand thumb.
First finger,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger.
Feeling the palm of the hand and the back of the hand.
Lower arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm.
Feeling the left shoulder,
Armpit,
Left side of the ribcage and waist.
Feeling the left hip,
Thigh,
Knee,
Lower leg,
Ankle.
Feeling the whole left foot,
The top of the foot,
The sole of the foot,
The left toes.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Go now to the back of the body.
Feeling the right heel and the left heel.
Back of the right knee,
Back of the left knee,
The right buttock,
Left buttock,
The back of the hip bones,
Low back,
Middle back,
Upper back,
Neck.
Feeling the right shoulder blade,
The left shoulder blade,
The space between the shoulder blades.
Feeling the back of the neck,
The back of the head.
Go now to the top of the head.
Become completely aware of the top of the head.
Feeling the forehead,
Right eyebrow,
Left eyebrow,
Middle of the eyebrows.
Right eye,
Left eye.
Feeling the whole nose,
The right nostril,
Left nostril,
Tip of the nose.
Feeling the right cheekbone,
Left cheekbone,
Right temple,
Left temple.
Right ear,
Left ear.
Feeling the right side of the jaw,
Left side of the jaw,
The chin.
Feeling the whole mouth,
Tongue,
Teeth,
Palate,
Lips.
Feeling the throat,
Right collarbone,
Left collarbone,
Right side of the chest,
Left side of the chest,
Middle of the chest.
Feeling the navel center,
Upper abdomen,
Lower abdomen,
Right groin,
Left groin,
Right kneecap,
Left kneecap.
Front of the right ankle,
Front of the left ankle,
Tips of the right toes,
Tips of the left toes.
Become aware of the whole body.
Become aware of the whole body.
Feel the whole body together.
Bring your awareness to the natural breath moving in and out of the body.
Notice the rise and fall,
The expansion and contraction,
The tension and the softening.
Watch this dance of polarities.
Observe without judgment or story.
Watch the pendulum of the breath,
But do not get involved.
Allow the breath to swing from one form to another and back again.
The rise and fall,
The expansion and contraction,
The tension and the softening.
Now begin to track the movement of breath down and up the whole body.
As the breath moves in,
Track it from the top of the head to the soles of the feet.
As the exhale is released,
Track the breath from the soles of the feet to the top of the head.
Inhale from the top of the head to the soles of the feet.
Exhale from the soles of the feet to the top of the head.
Inhale from the top of the head to the soles of the feet.
Exhale from the soles of the feet to the top of the head.
Please continue tracking the breath from the top of the head to the soles of the feet and back again.
Release,
Tracking the breath.
Bring your attention to your present moment.
Feel your physical body resting on the support beneath you.
Begin to scan through your physical body,
Taking inventory of any sensations present.
Notice any emotions rising up to the surface of your awareness.
Feel the quality of these sensations and where they make themselves known in the body.
Notice without judgment,
Without story.
Remain soft in your being and open in your mind as you explore physical and emotional sensation,
Allowing space for things to shift,
To move,
To release and to integrate.
Once again,
Become aware of your body and the support you are resting on.
Become aware that your body is breathing.
Begin to draw the breath into your body with intention.
Allow your awareness to rise up to the surface,
Becoming aware of the room or space you are resting in.
Notice the feel of the air on your skin and the noises around you.
As you continue to deepen your breath,
Slowly begin to wiggle,
Stretch and explore into the space around you.
Blinking your eyes open wide,
Take your time,
Bringing yourself back to an upright seated position.
Placing your hands over your heart and bowing your head,
Offer yourself love and gratitude for carving out this time and space to train and restore your nervous system back to safety and relaxation.
Whatever started here for you,
May it continue on for your highest good and healing.
