So go ahead and get comfortable.
Get as cozy and as comfortable as you can.
And you can do this practice today seated or lying down.
Either one is going to be fine.
Just notice what's going to let you feel the most comfortable and feel like you have the most access to your heart.
So if that's lying down,
By all means lie down and place something beneath your knees to take pressure off the low back and even a little something beneath the head to take pressure off the neck.
I want the body to feel supported.
If you're seated,
Go ahead and have something behind the back.
Again just holding,
Maybe something to lean into.
And then making any adjustments.
If you have a blanket available or a shawl,
I encourage you to grab that.
Gently lay the blanket over you as though you would be tucking yourself in.
And then taking a shawl or wrapping it around you if you're seated.
Again,
Just almost as an embrace.
This softens and invites the nervous system to know that it's being cared for,
That it's being protected.
And it invites the body to settle.
So go ahead and making any adjustments.
And then once you're all settled in,
Closing your eyes.
Taking a nice full breath in through the nose.
Pause at the top of the inhale.
And gently release,
Open the mouth,
Exhale with a nice audible softening through the forehead and the eyes,
Cheeks,
Jaw,
Even the tongue.
Taking another full breath in through the nose.
Pause at the top of that inhale as you receive the gift of breath.
Open the mouth,
Sigh it out,
Softening through the shoulders,
All the way down to the fingertips or the whole upper body and the belly,
Everything soften in the nose.
One more like that,
Full breath in,
Expanding through the heart and then pause.
And open the mouth,
Sigh it out,
Exhale,
Allowing the hips to sink into the support beneath you.
Feeling the support beneath you,
The whole body fully supported as your breath finds a natural rhythm,
Each breath flowing fluidly one after the other.
And gently bringing your awareness into the crown of the head,
Becoming aware of the head and the forehead,
Eyes,
The eyeballs rest deeper into the sockets,
The ears.
Notice the teeth separate just a little bit as the jaw softens.
Softening through the neck,
Both shoulders,
Upper back,
Mid back and low back,
Soften.
Both upper arms,
Elbows,
Forearms,
Wrists,
Both hands,
All 10 fingertips just soften.
Notice the whole front of the body,
The rib cage,
The abdomen,
Softens,
Just releasing into this moment.
As the hips and the pelvis soften,
Both upper legs,
Knees,
Lower legs,
Ankles,
Heels,
Both feet,
And all 10 toes soften.
The whole body,
The whole body together,
Fully supported.
And then gently scanning the body from head to toe and toe to head,
Just noticing any sensations that may be present within the body,
Becoming aware of any physical sensation,
Maybe a pressure or pain,
Even a slight discomfort,
Simply noticing and observing this.
Allow it space to exist,
You might greet it and say,
Oh,
Hello,
I see you.
It's okay that you're here.
It's okay that you're here.
Allowing the breath to move gently into the nose,
Into the space,
Washing it over with this kind acceptance.
If there's pain or a headache,
You might say,
Ah,
Headache,
It's okay that you're here.
Allowing the breath to move in and wash through the head,
The belly or the shoulder.
And then gently becoming aware of any emotions that may be with you today or that may have been present for some time now,
Dominant in the last week or so,
Saying,
Oh,
Hello.
And allow this emotion space to be rather than banishing it,
Pushing it away,
Welcome it and say,
Oh,
Hello.
Sadness.
It's okay that you're here.
You might even smile a little at it,
Offering a gentle welcoming grin,
Oh,
Hello emotion.
It's okay that you're here.
Bringing your awareness again into the breath and tracing the breath with the mind as it enters in through the crown of the head on the inhale,
Drawing down into the heart.
And exhale from the heart all the way down to the base of the feet.
Inhale from the base of the feet into the heart and exhale from the heart up through the crown of the head.
Inhale crown of head into heart.
Exhale heart down to the base of the feet.
Inhale feet to the heart.
Exhale heart to the crown of the head.
Trying to breathe in this way in your own rhythm,
Letting the breath center and pool at the heart.
You feel the heart filling with the flow and the transition of each breath.
The breath,
Your life force centered in the heart.
Now bringing to mind the memory of a moment of playfulness,
A moment of a smile.
It could be tiny,
It could be significant,
It could simply be a moment.
So allowing the body to receive this memory.
Notice the breath,
Feeling the heart move with this experience.
And breathing into the heart and resting your awareness here,
Invite the following phrases.
May I be open.
May I be present for joy.
May I welcome and embrace the joy in my life.
May I be open.
May I be present for joy.
May I welcome and embrace the joy in my life.
May I be open.
May I be present for joy.
May I welcome and embrace the joy in my life.
You're calling in yourself,
You might even visualize you resting in the heart.
You call your name to yourself and say,
You have permission to feel good.
You have permission to let go.
You have permission to feel joy.
You calling your name to yourself.
You have permission to feel good.
You have permission to let go.
You have permission to feel joy,
It's okay.
Calling your name to yourself,
You have permission to feel good.
You have permission to let go.
You have permission to feel joy.
Calling your name to yourself,
It's okay to feel joy.
Calling your name to yourself,
It's okay to feel joy.
It's okay to feel joy.
It's okay to feel joy.
And calling your name to yourself again and saying joy,
How we connect.
Joy is okay.
It's okay to feel joy.
Taking a full breath and exhale.
Feeling the whole body fully supportive to invite in this sense of joy.
You might find that this joy is associated with a color.
And imagining this color of joy tracing in with the breaths,
You're breathing in the color of joy down into the heart,
Exhaling joy back out into the world.
Feeling the flow of joy on the waves of the breath.
Breathing in joy from the world,
Exhaling joy from the heart back into the world.
Each inhale,
This color of joy radiates through the whole body expanding farther with each inhale,
With each exhale releasing out into the world.
It's okay to feel joy.
And one nice full breath in,
Open the mouth,
Exhale,
Sigh.
So begin to become aware of the fingers on the toes.
Becoming aware of the points of contact between your body and the support beneath you as the breath gently deepens.
Bringing your awareness into the surroundings around you,
Keeping the eyes closed,
But just becoming aware of your presence in the space around you.
And if you're lying down,
I invite you to perhaps draw the knees into the chest and give them a big hug,
Perhaps rocking side to side.
If you're seated,
Continue simply to ride the waves of the breath,
Shinning into the sensation of joy in the heart.
For those of you lying down,
Feel free to roll over to one side or the other,
Allowing the hand that's closest to the ceiling to gently press on the earth in front of the heart and help support you back up to a seated position.
Once we're all seated,
I invite you to,
While keeping the eyes closed,
Place both hands gently on top of the heart center,
Just at that space in the center of the chest and holding the heart for a moment.
From there,
You might put the hands in prayer position.
And on the inhale,
You might open the hands up much like a clam shell,
Drawing,
Keeping the thumbs together but opening the pinkies out.
Exhale,
Closing them back together.
So inhale,
Opening the hands.
Exhale closing the palms back together.
On the inhale,
Imagining that you're opening and gathering,
Gathering joy and possibility.
And then on the exhale,
You're drawing that deep into the heart,
Receiving that in the opening created by the release of breath.
So inhale,
The hands might open a little bit farther.
On the exhale,
There's a gathering,
Drawing that joy deeper into the heart,
Into the body.
Just experiment with how far your hands feel like they want to go.
Exhale,
Draw back together towards the heart.
The inhale might stay just as gentle clam shell or they might open up into a large open embrace.
Exhale drawing back together gathering.
And that emptiness created with the exhale filling with that joy that's been gathered with the inhale expand.
Exhale drawing together.
Continue in this pulsation,
Your own rhythm.
And that whatever range of openness is available to you right now is exactly what it needs to be.
It's a gentle clam shell,
Giant embrace.
All is welcome.
All is okay.
You have permission to feel good.
You have permission to let go.
Continuing to breathe in this way until it feels complete.
And when it does,
Gently resting one palm on top of the other on the heart.
And feeling that,
Feeling the effects of that breath,
That movement,
That opening and receiving in the heart.
So notice what that feels like in the body.
You might notice a soft grin forming on the lips naturally.
And gentle welcoming of this moment.
The next inhale reaching the arms up overhead into a nice big stretch.
With a big exhale on the side,
Drop the hands.
Feel free to shake them out.
In the arms,
You might even shake the shoulders out a little.
Slipping a little movement in.
It might even feel a little silly and that's okay.
Letting the silliness wave through the body.
A little shimmy.
Taking another breath in,
A nice big open mouth exhale.
You tuck the chin to the chest.
Invite a soft smile to form on the lips,
One that welcomes you back home into this body,
This moment,
This community.
And gently open your eyes,
Taking in the sight of you as you receive you lovingly with your own eyes.
And gently raise your gaze and come back to center.
Carrying that joy and that experience with you.
Welcome back.
Welcome back.
.
