Welcome.
I suggest you recline or lean back for this practice.
Take a moment to soften into your space.
Just let your body really arrive here.
Maybe adjusting your shoulders,
Release your jaw,
Allow your face to soften around your eyes,
Your hands,
And sense into your body.
Feeling the support beneath you,
The floor,
The chair,
The earth.
You don't have to hold anything up right now.
When you're ready,
You might allow your eyes to close or rest them down gently.
You could bring your hands onto the body,
Maybe both hands at the ribs or staggered,
One hand at your heart and the other on your belly.
Begin by simply noticing,
Noticing the movement of breath as it flows in and out without changing it,
Just a soft wave moving through you.
Staying with this,
Staying with the breath,
Begin to invite the breath to widen in your body.
Can you feel your attention,
Your allowance,
And maybe some small effort to allow your breath in to expand your body,
Your ribs out wide.
Take a few more breath like this,
Breathing in nice and deep and wide,
And breathing out,
Softening.
Breathing in,
Expanding,
Feeling wide,
And breathing out,
Softening.
Let's take a few more breath like this,
Feeling the breath wide in your body.
Feeling connection,
Width,
Expanding from inside out.
Let's feel the way that we can breathe in and allow the sense of the breath to move up and down,
To feel your breath move long.
And now feel the way you can breathe in and allow the sense of the breath to move up and down,
To feel the breath move long in the body.
Breathing in long,
And breathing out,
Softening,
And breathing in this long breath,
Long to the crown of the head,
And long down towards your sacrum.
So just staying with your breath in and out,
Feeling these breath long,
Up and down,
Expanding the space.
Just again,
Breathing up and down,
Long.
And so feeling the next few breath in this way of knowing both the width,
Feeling wide,
And feeling long,
Feel expansion.
And now let's begin to guide the breath,
Gently,
No force here,
But breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth.
So breathing in through the nose,
And out through the mouth.
And just find the steady rhythm in through your nose,
And out through the mouth,
And in through the nose,
And out through the mouth.
And just a steady rhythm,
One breath linked to the next,
Riding this wave of breathing.
There's no real pause at the top,
No pause at the bottom,
Just this continuous wave or continuous circle.
This is conscious,
Connected breathing,
Staying with the breath,
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
Just let your inhale invite in nourishment,
And your exhale be a release,
A soft release.
And again,
Say inhale through the nose,
Exhale through the mouth,
Rising and falling,
And opening and softening.
Staying with it,
Staying with your breath,
Breathing,
Releasing,
And releasing.
If your mind wanders,
That's natural,
Just gently come back,
Find this rhythm again,
In through the nose,
And out through the mouth,
Like a tide,
Washing in and washing out.
Just notice how the body is responding.
You might notice there's more energy,
Maybe softness,
Maybe tingling or warmth,
Coolness,
A shift.
Just whatever's here,
It's welcome.
Breathing,
Breathing,
Allow the inhale to open,
Expand,
Allow the exhale just to clear up space,
Empty.
You don't need to try too hard,
Just let the breath move through you like a river,
Carving its way home.
Breathe in,
Staying with the breath,
And breathing out,
And breathing out,
Staying with it,
Letting the breath move.
Notice if your body wants to move,
It may,
It may not,
But connect,
Notice if your hands want to stretch,
Stay with the breath.
Maybe your toes want to wiggle,
Maybe a big stretch,
Staying with the breath,
Breathing out,
Breathing in,
Let the inhale open,
The exhale clearing space,
And now just starting to slow this down just a little slower,
Breathing in,
Nice long breath out,
Breathing in,
And long breath out,
Breathe out,
And so breathing in your nose,
Perhaps a little shorter,
But out your mouth really long,
Long breaths out,
Just stay with this,
Slow it down,
Letting your exhale be twice as long,
Long and slow and silent.
Imagine each of your breath in just drawing in light,
Each exhale releasing weight,
Tension,
Old stories,
Just in through the nose,
Long,
Long breaths out your mouth,
And again,
Just let your breath guide you to soften,
To relax,
Your breath still connected,
But no,
No striving,
Just simply riding the current,
Breath is the bridge,
Breath is the remembering,
Breath can be a beautiful path back home,
So if you'd like,
Place just a hand at your heart,
One again over your belly,
And feel the rise and the fall under your hands,
You might notice the tenderness of being alive right now,
You might feel into some of the space that you've made in this practice,
This breath,
The simple breath,
And just letting yourself rest,
Just a moment,
No need to control your breath,
A sense of gratitude,
Thank you,
Thank you for this breath,
Now you just might want to start to move,
You might lower your hands or stretch out your fingers,
Just noticing a little bit of your body as you move,
Take another moment here together,
So slowly,
You'll blink your eyes,
Notice how you feel,
Your body,
Heart,
Your mind,
And take a slow,
Steady inhale through the nose,
Just a long,
Soft exhale out your mouth,
Just take a bigger stretch in our body,
Maybe stretch your arms out,
Or your body long,
If you're reclined,
You might start to walk your feet in,
Stand on your feet,
Your knees bending,
And then gently,
When you're ready,
Take a moment to come back to your seat,
As we close practice today,
Let's bring our hands together at our heart,
I'm just inviting you to,
As we close,
Carry with you the remembrance that this breath is always here,
A sincere companion and ally,
And a guide back to ourself,
Taking one final breath together,
Breathing in,
Breathing out,
May we all know peace.
