Allow yourself to settle into a comfortable position.
Feeling the surface beneath you.
Supportive,
Present and steady.
You don't need to do anything with your body right now.
You don't need to change it,
Improve it or manage it.
You just need to arrive in it.
If it feels comfortable,
I invite you to gently close your eyes.
Will soften your gaze downward.
And begin to notice your breath.
Your natural rhythm,
Just as it is.
Take one slow breath in through your nose and a long,
Easy breath out.
And again,
Breathing in a little more slowly.
And breathing out a little more fully.
We're going to begin by honoring the four directions.
Turning first to the north.
The direction of Earth.
Of the body itself.
Bones,
Weight,
Physical form.
We honour the body's quiet endurance.
Everything it is carried,
Absorbed and held.
Without ever being asked if it was willing.
Turning to the east.
The direction of air and breath.
Of the lungs expanding and releasing.
Doing their work faithfully without any effort on our part.
We honour the breath that sustains us.
Even when we forget it is there.
Turning to the south,
The direction of fire and warmth.
Of the heat in the belly,
The blood moving through us.
A quiet vitality that keeps us alive and present.
We honour the life force in the body.
Steady,
Faithful,
Generous.
Turning to the west,
The direction of water and feeling.
Of sensation.
Emotion.
And the body's deep knowing.
We honour the intelligence that lives in the body.
The wisdom that arrives,
Not as thought.
But as feeling,
Tightness,
Release or knowing.
And the centre.
The whole body,
Here and now.
Present.
Alive.
Take one more slow breath in.
And out.
Now we are going to travel through the body slowly.
Not looking for anything wrong.
Not trying to fix.
Judge or change anything.
Simply arriving with gentle attention.
As if returning to a place that has been waiting patiently for you.
We begin at the feet.
Bring your awareness to the soles of your feet.
The toes.
The arches,
The hills.
These are the parts of you that carry you through every single day.
That meet the ground again and again.
Often without complaint.
Just notice them.
What is their tension here?
Tiredness.
Peace!
Whatever is present,
Just acknowledge it.
With a small,
Quiet thank you.
Now bring your awareness up into the calves and shins,
The knees,
The thighs.
These are the muscles that move you forward.
That hold you upright when the ground is uneven.
Become aware of any tightness or heaviness or ease.
No judgment.
Just noticing.
Moving up into the hips and the pelvis,
The lower belly.
This is the centre of gravity in the body.
A place where so many of us hold,
Without knowing it,
Stress,
Unexpressed emotion,
The weight of what we have not yet processed.
Breathe into this space if you can.
Allow it to soften.
Even just a little.
You don't have to know what you are holding here.
Just offer it a little warmth.
Now up into the belly and stomach.
The place of digestion.
Of taking things in and processing them.
How does this space feel?
Tight,
Open,
Hollow.
Full?
This is also the seat of instinct.
The gut that knows before the mind catches up.
Notice whether you have been listening to it lately.
Moving up into the chest,
The heart,
The lungs.
Feel the gentle rise and fall of your breath here.
The steady rhythm of your heartbeat.
Faithful and quiet and constant.
Notice what is being held in this space.
Perhaps there is heaviness,
Perhaps tenderness.
Or perhaps something softer.
Relief for warmth.
Or the beginning of something loosening.
Place a hand on your heart if that feels right.
And just stay for a moment.
Now the shoulders and the upper back.
These are the places where so many of us carry the weight of responsibility.
The things we have been holding up for others.
The things we have been told are ours to manage.
Notice any tightness here without trying to force it away.
Just breathe into it.
And ask gently.
What would it feel like to put some of this down?
Now the arms.
The hands.
These are the parts of you that give.
That reach,
Hold,
Create,
Care.
They have done so much for so long.
Notice how they feel right now.
Tired,
Maybe restless,
Heavy or light.
And ask yourself.
When did your hands last do something purely for the nourishment of you?
And now,
The face.
The jaw.
The place where so many of us hold our composure.
Where we keep it together.
Where we smile when we are not sure what else to do.
Allow the jaw to soften.
Muscles around the eyes to release.
The forehead to uncrease just a little.
You don't have to hold it together here.
This is a space where you're allowed to simply be.
Now with a slow breath in.
Allow your awareness to expand.
To taking your whole body at once.
From the soles of your feet.
To the crown of your head.
All of it.
Present.
Alive.
Use.
And ask yourself gently,
With as much honesty as you can offer right now.
What does my body need?
Not what I should need.
Not what would be sensible or practical or convenient.
What does it actually,
Honestly need?
You don't have to answer out loud.
You don't even have to know the answer fully.
Just allow the question to sit in the body.
And notice what arises.
Begin to notice your breath again.
Take a slow breath in.
And a long breath out.
And when you're ready in your own time.
Begin to feel the room around you returning.
Warmth of the evening the sounds.
Take a gentle breath in.
And let it go slowly.
Carrying with you whatever just arrived.
However small,
However quiet.
Your body may have been trying to tell you something.
And tonight,
Perhaps for the first time in a while.
.
.
You listened.
Namaste.
