Hi!
My name is Anna,
And this is a practice in which you'll imagine giving yourself a massage.
Even though you're not actually having a hands-on massage,
You might be surprised at how much you can actually feel by bringing your attention to each part of your body.
This practice is designed to reduce stress,
Taking you out of your head and into your body,
And I hope you enjoy it.
Start by making yourself comfortable and start to land in your body.
Take a moment to notice your breath,
Allowing your inhale to fully expand your lungs and your belly,
And then completely exhale.
And one more time,
Fully expanding your lungs and your belly,
And completely exhale.
Bring your attention to your scalp and notice the sensations in your scalp.
And imagine that you're giving yourself a scalp massage.
You might imagine rubbing your fingers in circles over your entire scalp and behind your ears,
And continue to notice the sensations of your scalp as you imagine this massage.
Let your shoulders drop away from your ears,
And imagine giving yourself a shoulder massage,
Pressing your shoulders down,
Massaging any tight areas,
Noticing the sensations of your shoulders.
And imagine a back massage,
Two hands massaging your back in big circular motions,
Massaging out towards your shoulders,
Down to your lower back,
And up your spine,
Massaging your entire back.
And notice the sensations in your back.
Moving to your left arm,
Imagine massaging your left arm,
Maybe using a massage oil,
Or something like coconut oil that melts from the warmth of your skin.
And notice the sensations of your left arm as you massage downwards towards your left hand.
And imagine massaging the palm of your left hand,
And each finger one at a time,
Noticing any sensations in your left hand.
Over to your right arm,
Massaging your right arm with your imagination.
And again,
You can imagine using an oil like coconut oil or body butter that melts with the warmth of your skin.
And down to the palm of your right hand,
And massaging each finger one at a time,
Noticing the sensations in your right hand.
Moving to your left leg,
Massaging your leg using downward strokes.
You might want to spend some extra time behind the left knee,
And coming down to the left lower leg,
And visualize giving your left foot a deep massage,
Covering the heel,
Pushing several points along the arch of your foot,
And each toe one at a time,
Noticing the sensations of your left foot.
And over to your right leg,
Imagine massaging your right upper thigh,
Back of the knee,
Down to the lower leg,
And a massage of the right foot,
Making sure to get the heel,
Some points along the arch,
And each toe one at a time,
Noticing any sensations that arise in your right foot.
And to end this massage,
Visualize sweeping your hands from the top of your head,
Down your arms,
And down your legs.
And again,
From the top of your head,
Sweeping down your arms,
Down your legs,
And end with holding both feet while you fully inhale into your belly,
And fully exhale.
Taking one more deep breath in,
And exhale out,
And taking another moment to let the sensations you've created wash over you before you return to your day.
And I hope you have a beautiful day.
