Find yourself in a seated position,
You can get comfortable in a chair,
On the floor,
In the middle of the room,
Or against a wall,
Anywhere that you find comfort and safety.
Feel free to take a few moments to pad your seat,
Or locate any props you need to feel fully supported in your place.
Once you're settled,
Call your attention to your breath.
Not changing anything,
Simply observing the inhale and the exhale.
Watching your breath move in and out,
In and out.
In a few moments,
We will introduce a hold of the breath at the top of the inhale.
Feel encouraged to hold your breath as long as you can,
But not so long that you are straining or struggling.
Simply hold your breath in,
Just to your edge of comfort.
Then allow the exhale to enter,
Relaxing as much as you can on each exhale.
On your next breath,
Let's prepare by exhaling all of the air out of the lungs.
And taking time to explore a deep,
Filling inhale,
Holding the breath at the top just until you reach your edge.
Then exhaling and relaxing your entire body.
Again,
Fully inhaling as deep as you can to the hold.
And when your body tells you it's time to release everything,
Drop down into your seat.
Continue to inhale and hold,
Allowing each exhale to help you relax just a little more.
Introducing now,
While holding the breath,
Squeezing the hands into fists and pinning the elbows to the side of the body.
Squeezing while holding the breath,
And then releasing everything on the exhale,
And relaxing as much as you can into your seat.
Breathing in,
Holding and squeezing,
And a breath out to let it all go.
Again,
Breathing in,
Holding and squeezing,
And a breath out to let it all go.
Breathing in,
Holding and squeezing,
And a breath out to let it all go.
And again,
A breath in,
Holding and relaxing.
On your next round,
Can you hold and squeeze,
But also relax the shoulders at the same time?
Breathing in,
Holding the breath,
Squeezing the fists,
But dropping the shoulders back and down.
Then an exhale while you let everything go.
Breathing in,
Holding the breath,
Squeezing the fists,
But dropping the shoulders back and down.
Then an exhale while you let everything go.
And again,
Breathing in,
Relaxing and tensing together.
And then letting everything go.
Adding on now,
A breath in,
Holding the breath and squeezing the fists with the shoulders and the soles of the feet,
Relaxing.
And then letting everything go on the exhale.
A breath in,
Holding the breath and squeezing the fists with the shoulders and the soles of the feet,
Relaxing.
And then letting everything go on the exhale.
Another inhale,
Continuing on at your own pace,
Working to see if we can both tense and relax simultaneously.
Isolating parts of the body and enacting agency over where we choose to let the tension sit.
Trying as best you can to squeeze the arms and the hands while allowing the shoulders and the bottoms of the feet to release open.
Furthering the relaxation of the entire body on each exhale.
Continuing to explore,
Perhaps adding a small wiggle of the neck and head while you hold your breath.
Breathing fully in,
Holding the breath and squeezing the fists while relaxing the neck,
The shoulders,
The soles of the feet.
And relaxing fully into the exhale when you're ready.
Continuing to practice enacting this agency.
Maintaining a small bit of tension in one area of the body and really focusing on letting everything else go.
Let that full,
Deep sense of letting go enter on every exhale.
And on your next round,
Feel encouraged to let go of the squeezing in the arms and hands.
After a breath in,
Hold the breath but allow the neck,
The shoulders,
The armpits,
The hands,
The soles of your feet to relax.
Deepening into this relaxation as you exhale.
Breathing in,
Holding the breath but allowing the body to relax.
And then letting everything go.
Trusting in your seat to hold you as you continue to surrender to relaxation.
On your next inhale and hold,
Continue to relax the body as you have and also think of relaxing the pelvic floor.
Can you let your neck,
Shoulders,
Hands,
Feet and pelvic bowl release and open even as you hold your breath?
Even if you find a small amount of release,
All shifting is positive.
Breathing in,
Holding the breath while releasing the neck,
Shoulders,
Hands,
Feet,
Hips,
Pelvic floor.
And continuing to relax even deeper on your exhale.
Breathing in,
Holding the breath,
Release the neck,
Shoulders,
Hands,
Feet,
Hips and pelvic floor.
And relax even deeper on your exhale.
Breathing in,
Hold the breath,
Release neck,
Shoulders,
Hands,
Feet,
Hips,
Pelvic floor,
Forehead.
And relax even deeper on your exhale.
And after your next breath cycle,
Feel invited to let the holding of the breath go.
Being mindful to stay as relaxed as possible through the inhale and exhale on your own natural rhythm.
Just breathing.
Just being.
Continue to relax,
Knowing that the only place you need to be is here and now.
A breath in.
A breath out.
No holding.
Nothing you are trying to do.
Breathing gently but deeply.
Remembering to let go.
Allowing your neck to relax.
The shoulders to drop down and back.
Relaxing across the chest.
Releasing the solar plexus.
Letting that lower back go.
Allowing any tension in the digestive tract to dissipate.
Relaxing through the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet so that they feel open and wide.
Welcoming that same freedom to enter the pelvic bowl.
The floor will hold you,
So don't worry about using your core muscles to stabilize.
Just let everything relax downward,
Like you are dangling from a string connected to your collarbone.
Maintain focus for a moment on the pelvic bowl and its external counterparts underneath the torso.
All of those openings.
Imagine them stretching open,
Like a big yawn.
Release your hips.
Just let those relax down as much as you can.
And continue to imagine the openings underneath you releasing wide,
Perhaps like a flower gently unfurling.
Imagining your entire undercarriage and even across your hips and bottom spreading across the floor wide,
Sinking into gravity.
Allow them to take up space.
Allow your bottom to widen against the floor or the cushion.
And your low back to broaden against and embrace any surface it may be touching.
Relax deeply.
Let go.
Allow yourself to take up the space that you deserve in a calm,
Relaxed,
Effortless way.
You deserve to take up this space.
You deserve this time.
Feel encouraged to stay here as long as it serves you.
Enjoy.
