So,
Let's begin by making ourselves comfortable.
Either sitting or lying down.
And taking some nice,
Big,
Deep breaths.
Breathing in.
And breathing out.
And with your next out breath,
Gently closing your eyes,
If you have not already done so.
And starting to feel the weight of the body.
Starting to notice the points of contact of the feet on the floor or your sit bones and the ground.
And the hands and arms resting on the leg or right beside them.
And maybe noticing any sounds that are here,
Near to you and in the distance.
Simply accept them as part of your present moment experience,
Without be clinging to them or getting annoyed about them.
And then bringing the mind into the physical senses.
Bringing the attention,
Even a little bit more towards the body.
As you scan down from head to toe.
And noticing any areas that feel particularly comfortable or uncomfortable.
Just building a first picture of how the body feels right now.
And also just noticing if there is any particular mood that might be around at the moment.
Observing mindfully,
Non-judgmentally,
Without having to make up a story in your head.
And noticing that there is nothing you need to achieve right now.
And now gently shifting your focus to the rise and fall of the breath.
Wherever you feel it the strongest in the body right now.
Feel the air coming in and leaving.
Your breath can serve as a home base that you can always return to.
As you just become increasingly comfortable in the flowing of the natural rhythm of the breath.
I just like you to imagine now a gentle,
Steady flow from above the crown of the head.
There is no need to see it clearly,
But it could be a soft light,
Warm,
Or just a sense of ease.
And if it feels okay,
Imagine this gentle warmth slowly flowing down from above at its own pace.
Almost like a mental shower.
You can pause it,
Adjust it,
Or let the image fade at any time.
Let this gentle,
Steady flow touch the top of the head.
Perhaps noticing any sensations here.
Or maybe noticing nothing at all,
Which is also completely fine.
And allow this warm,
This steady flow,
Allow it to flow down into the face,
Down your torso,
Traveling all the way down.
It's going to fill the body up as though it were a container,
Just melting away any tension,
Any discomfort.
Bathing in this warm,
In this soft light.
You just follow this soft,
Gentle light as it travels down through the body,
Gliding down towards the feet.
You're just feeling it as it fills up the toes,
One at a time.
Just mentally acknowledging each toe as it goes through.
And then it starts to travel again up through the feet,
The heels,
Ankles,
Left and right.
And it continues upward towards the knees,
Just melting away any tension and just focusing on the spaciousness,
The brightness,
The warmth.
As it continues up the upper half of the leg towards the hip and the pelvic area.
Continue with that idea,
The steady flow coming into the body,
Melting away any tension.
As it continues up through the trunk of the body,
Now the stomach,
The lower back.
And see if it feels possible to allow even 1% more ease.
Not necessarily melting away everything,
Just a tiny bit of space.
Following up towards the diaphragm,
Just melting away any tension here.
And it will continue to flow up now through the chest and the upper back area,
Shoulders.
And if this area holds discomfort or tension,
Simply acknowledging it with kindness.
No need to fix,
Just allowing.
And flowing all the way up to the top of the shoulders.
And continues to flow down both arms towards the elbows,
The hands.
Filling up one finger at a time.
And again,
Just feeling it as it fills upwards towards the elbows and shoulders again.
Just melting away as it continues to travel up through the neck,
The throat area,
Up through the head,
Top of the head.
And all the muscles in and around the face.
Sensing the body as a whole.
Maybe there is a subtle feeling of warmth or heaviness or spaciousness.
Or maybe simply feeling the feeling of being here.
How does your body feel now?
There's no need to hold the image of the warm flow and steady flow anymore.
You can just simply let it go and fade it away.
And simply rest in the awareness of your breath and body.
For a few more moments,
Allow your mind and body to be just as they are.
Breathing,
Supported by the ground beneath you.
And then slowly bringing yourself back in the space around you.
As you start to notice again the sound,
The smell,
The weight of your body,
The physical points of contact.
Slowly start to wiggle your fingers and toes,
Stretching your body if you need.
And remember,
You can return to this sense of pause any time you need during your week.
