We'll start off by taking three deep breaths together and I'm going to invite you to inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth.
And when you exhale,
I want you to really focus on the feeling of releasing.
So really sigh and put some sound into it.
I find that we carry a lot of emotions in our belly and in our throats and sound can really help us release some of the heaviness or anxiety that we might be feeling.
So let's take three deep breaths like that.
Inhaling,
Exhaling,
Twice more,
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
One more time,
Make this the deepest breath that you've taken all day.
Inhaling,
Exhaling.
Take a moment right now to just check in on how your body and how your mind are feeling today.
We'll move into a brief body scan which can be helpful for bringing mind,
Body and breath together and also inviting a sense of relaxation for those of us who are maybe feeling a little riled up today.
So we'll start by bringing our awareness to our forehead,
Letting it be soft.
We'll notice our eyes,
The area around our eyes,
Temples,
Just releasing any tension,
Any tightness that you might be holding there.
Bring awareness now to your nose,
Starting to notice the feeling of each inhale and exhale.
Moving down to your cheeks,
Your mouth,
Your jaw.
If you want,
You can open up your mouth really big and stick out your tongue.
That can actually be so nice for releasing tightness that you might be holding in the jaw area.
I know that that's somewhere that I hold a lot of stress.
Let's move down now to your throat,
Sides of the neck,
Tops of shoulders,
Upper arms,
Shoulder blades.
This is another place where,
You know,
We quite literally carry it all.
So maybe even roll your shoulder blades up,
Back and down.
And notice if there's a little bit more space now along the sides of your neck,
Your upper back and across the front of your chest.
Bring your awareness down now to the front of your chest,
Feeling your lungs expand and contract with each inhale and exhale.
Moving now to your upper arms,
Elbows,
Forearms,
Wrists,
Hands.
Imagine any stress,
Any tension,
Just draining out your fingertips.
We're going to move back now to the middle of our torso,
To our mid back,
Lower back.
Hopping around now to our lower belly.
Seeing if you can notice how your belly gets a little bit bigger with each breath in and shrinks slightly with each breath out.
Bring awareness now to your hips,
To your upper thighs,
Knees,
Shins,
Calves,
Toes.
Imagine any stress or tension just melting out the tips of your toes.
And we'll breathe here,
Really dropping in to the sensation of each breath in and each breath out.
Remembering some of the tools to help keep us focused on our breath.
So that might just be marking each inhalation with the word in and each out breath for the word out.
We're counting them one and two,
Starting over with each cycle of breath.
When you notice thoughts arising,
And they definitely will,
Just label them as thinking and return to whatever practice whether it's the labeling in and out or counting that feels right for you.
Remembering thoughts are just a natural byproduct of the mind,
Like waves in the sea or clouds in the sky.
They'll arise,
Exist,
And dissipate all on their own.
There's nothing else to do,
Nowhere else to go.
Just breathing,
Just being.
If you found that you've been pulled away by thoughts,
That's all right.
Just let go of it.
Really letting yourself just be with this moment and the next.
Returning once again to the breath,
Seeing if you can be with these next three breaths,
Really giving them your full attention.
Exhaling,
Breathing out.
Let yourself be with this last cycle breath.
And whenever you're ready,
Slowly open your eyes.
And if you'd like to mark the end of your practice with a bow or hands over heart,
Showing gratitude to yourself and to anyone else for being here today,
You can do so now.
