Welcome to your five minute reset practice.
So to begin,
Get yourself comfortable,
Find yourself in a position that remains sustainable,
Whether you are seated,
Whether you're on a chair or the floor,
Or whether you're lying down,
Perhaps on your bed.
And just take a moment or two to really make any of those final little movements,
Adjustments,
Little shifts or changes in your body so that you can just find a space to settle,
To be still.
You might choose to close your eyes or if it feels more helpful,
Maybe you'll just soften down your gaze.
And as you begin to turn that direction of your attention inward,
Just seeing if at this moment in time,
If you can just set your day down so far,
Whatever it's taken you to do or move through in order to get to this point today,
Knowing that you can return back to it after you've done it knowing that you can return back to it after these five minutes if you need.
But just for now,
If you can just allow yourself to settle into your body.
And with that,
Start to become aware of your breath.
And just noting the natural rhythm of your breath without needing to change it or force it.
Just feel it as it travels in and out of your body.
Noting where it maybe naturally softens or relaxes through your physical shape.
As you simply notice the direction of the breath in through the nostrils and back out through the nostrils.
And you might even now find it helpful to just take a few very slow,
Deep breaths.
And as your body continues to move towards the space of relaxing,
And you now scan through your physical body from the top of your head all the way down,
Down the back of the neck,
The shoulders,
The arms,
To the full length of your spine all the way down into your hips,
Your legs,
Right down into the soles of your feet.
Notice where it feels tense or restricted,
Where it feels free and spacious,
Or also noting all the parts in between,
Maybe there's not much at all.
And rather than building a story around what it is that you find,
Can you just notice it?
And if the mind gets distracted or busy or caught up in all of the rehashing and the rehearsing that 24 seven radio station happens to have in their play,
Can you just pause,
Re-relax into your body and come back to your breath?
Aware of the breath,
Aware of sensation in your body,
Perhaps even aware of sound,
But rather than getting caught up in any one feature of the experience,
Can you just continue to be with whatever arises now?
Letting awareness in and of itself,
That ability to just give yourself a moment of time and space,
Allowing that to be your practice.
Nothing to do,
Nowhere to be,
But just being,
Breathing,
Feeling into your body right here,
This moment,
This body,
This breath.
And then a moment I will ring a bell,
Which will signal the ends of our formal practice together.
But until that moment,
Can you just say,
Just as you are,
Perhaps giving yourself a thank you for just giving yourself this five minutes of space,
Of stillness,
Of rest in the midst of a busy day,
To soothe your overloaded nervous system,
To come back into what's important,
And to nourish your own self and your wellbeing.
So with that third bell,
You might now find a stretch,
Move your body if it feels good,
And if you haven't already,
Open up your eyes,
And take your time as with care,
You make your way into the rest of your day.
Thank you.
Thank you.
