Welcome yourself to this moment,
The awareness that you're choosing this time for yourself,
This time of deep rest.
You may envision this as a gift you are opening,
Especially for you in the gifting,
But also in the receiving,
Allowing yourself to receive this time of deep rest.
During this relaxation,
As your physical body relaxes,
Your mind softens,
Hold a light awareness on the instructions,
On my voice,
Moving your focus from the external,
Your surroundings,
To your awareness of an internal focus.
Begin by bringing your attention to your surroundings.
As a gentle observer,
Soaking in the surroundings around you,
There's no need to analyze or judge or label things,
More of a sense of your placement in the room,
A sense of the walls around you,
The ceiling above you,
And an awareness of the ground below you.
If you haven't already,
Feel free to softly close the eyes,
Or if it's more comfortable,
Keep them halfway open in a soft gaze,
Recognizing that as you soften the gaze,
The mind continues to quiet.
You may automatically find yourself breathing deeper,
Settling into your physical position,
Allowing the shoulders to soften,
The hinges of the jaw to relax,
A sense of coming home to your physical body,
A safe space to rest as the mind continues to quiet.
Gently guide all of your attention to the touch of breath moving throughout the body,
The sensation of your inhale,
And the sensation of the exhale.
Now envision yourself receiving the breath versus taking a breath.
How does that feel in the body?
A gentle invitation to receive and welcome the gift of breath,
Of life,
Welcoming the breath moving through the body,
A continued sense of ease,
Of calm,
Of peace.
Continuing to explore the breath,
Guide your awareness to the transition point,
The bridge connecting the inhale to the exhale,
And the bridge from the exhale moving into your inhalation.
Continuing to welcome the breath,
Feeling the fullness of the inhale,
And sensing as the inhale softly transitions into your exhale.
When you're ready,
Exploring the transition from the exhalation into your inhalation,
Almost as if the breath is drawing a circle.
Drawing the breath up on the inhale,
At the height of your inhale,
A smooth and gentle transition into your exhale.
Gently circling down throughout the exhalation,
And the smooth and gentle transition,
Easing back into your inhalation.
Explore these bridges in the breath,
Smoothing them out with each transition,
Sensing the breath as a circle,
Continuing that visual for the next few moments.
Now slowly begin to shape your breath,
Breathing in a little longer,
Feel that bridge into your exhalation,
And possibly breathe out a little longer as well.
Continuing to expand your breathing,
Observing the sense of grounding and presence in this moment.
When you're ready,
Guide your attention down to your hands,
Bringing all your awareness to your hands.
Begin to wiggle the fingers,
Continuing to relax deeply,
Guiding all of your focus down to your feet,
Like a magnet drawing all of your attention to your feet,
And slowly begin to wiggle the toes.
If you're able,
Slowly bring the palms of your hands together.
Begin to rub them a little vigorously to generate some heat,
Feeling the warmth in the palms.
Continue heating the hands,
And slowly cup your hands over your eyes,
Soaking in that darkness,
The warmth,
A sense of the eyes resting.
And when you're ready,
Slowly start to blink open the eyes,
A sense of the light coming in,
And relax your hands down,
Continuing to hold that internal sense of ease and calm as you become aware of your surroundings,
Holding space for both,
An internal sense of being,
As well as the external awareness of your surroundings,
The internal and the external.
