So I'll invite you to go ahead and get as comfortable as you can.
So to do this,
I invite you to either sit or lie down,
Whatever is going to be most supportive for your body.
If you're seated,
It's good to have something behind the back just to keep the back straight.
If you're lying down,
It might be comfortable to have something beneath the knees and beneath the head just to support the back so that it feels straight and supported.
And so finding a spot where you feel as comfortable as you can and making any adjustments that you need to so that you can remain still.
And you might choose to put a blanket over you or a shawl.
And as we wrap ourselves with something just to cover the body,
It invites the body to find a moment of rest.
It feels safe,
Feels protected,
And also helps keep our body temperature regulated,
Which is an added bonus.
So once you're settled into your position,
Go ahead and close the eyes.
We close the eyes as an invitation to go inward to reflect on our internal space.
Inviting a full breath to enter in through the nose,
Pause at the top of that breath,
And then open the mouth,
Exhale and sigh softly,
Gently softening through the forehead,
The eyes,
The cheeks,
The jaw,
Even the tongue.
Inviting another full breath in through the nose,
Feeling the chest and the heart expand,
Pause at the top of that breath,
And then open the mouth,
Sigh,
And softly let go,
Softening through the shoulders,
The chest,
The length of the arms,
And even the belly.
Drawing in one more full breath in,
Feeling the diaphragm lift and the belly expand,
Hold,
And then open the mouth,
Sigh out loud,
Feel the whole body sink into the support beneath and behind you.
Just feeling the whole body fully supported as the breath finds a natural rhythm,
Each breath flowing fluidly one after the other,
As the body sinks a little further into the support beneath and behind you,
The whole body fully supported.
Breath is soft and long,
Fluid,
Steady.
And gently scanning the body from head to toe and toe to head and simply noticing what's present with you at this moment,
Noticing if there are areas of tension,
Tightness,
Discomfort,
Allowing the breath to move into those spaces.
So the breath might enter into the nose,
Travel into the area of tension,
Wrap itself around there,
And then exhale,
Gently softening.
You might welcome the breath to the nose,
The nose,
The head,
The body,
The body,
The body,
The body,
The body,
The body,
The body,
The body,
The body,
The body,
The body,
The body,
The body,
The body,
The body.
You might welcome and greet each sensation.
Trying,
Ah,
Hello shoulder.
Thank you for letting me know you need attention at this moment.
All sensation,
All is welcome here.
All is welcome.
Now gently bringing the awareness to the crown of the head.
And imagining the crown of the head just beginning to soften,
Allowing the awareness to travel down,
Softening through the forehead,
The temples,
The eyebrows,
And the forehead,
Allowing the eyes to sink a little deeper into the sockets.
The muscles around the eyes soften.
Softening through the cheeks,
The jaw,
The lips.
You might notice the teeth gently parting as the tongue softens.
Softening through the neck,
And both shoulders,
Both shoulder blades,
Upper arms,
Elbows,
Forearms,
The eyes,
The eyes,
The eyes,
The eyes,
The eyes,
The eyes,
Arms,
Wrists,
And all 10 fingers softening.
The upper body,
Mid torso,
Abdomen,
And low back all softening.
So the whole head and the whole upper body are soft,
Supported.
Both hips,
Buttocks,
Upper legs,
Knees,
Both shins and calves softening,
Both ankles,
Heels,
Tops of the feet,
Bottoms of the feet,
And all 10 toes.
The whole body,
The whole body together softening and sinking a little further into the support beneath and behind you.
Whole body fully supported as you gather your awareness onto the breath,
Just noticing the gentle flow of the breath in and out through the nose.
You might imagine the breath entering in through the crown of the head,
And gathering at the heart,
And exhaling from the heart down all the way through the base of the spine.
And then inhaling from the base of the spine into the heart,
Exhaling from the heart to the crown of the head.
Just continuing to breathe in this way,
In through the crown into the heart,
Transitioning from the heart down to the base of the spine.
In from the base of the heart,
Base of the spine to the heart,
Exhaling heart to crown of head.
Continuing to breathe at your own pace in this way,
In and out through the center of the heart.
You might begin to sense a bit of spaciousness forming in the heart of the breath.
You might begin to sense the spaciousness expanding,
Expanding outwardly into the heart.
You might begin to sense the spaciousness expanding,
Expanding outward from the heart with each breath.
The space gets a little bit bigger,
A little more expensive.
The spaciousness begins to envelop you,
Much like an egg forming all around you,
Arms length in all directions,
Above,
Behind,
To the side,
Below.
So there's this clear egg that follows around the length of the body,
In all directions.
Within this egg is you,
Your vision,
Your wisdom,
Your creativity,
Your knowing,
Your intelligence,
Your ignorance,
Your your love.
And you're sensing here as you're breathing,
This egg can spread out as far out as you would like,
Or you can draw it in as close to the body as you would like.
So you might experiment with this.
You might envision a color at the edge of the egg,
A color that you associate with love and trust.
You might experiment with inhale,
Drawing the edges of the egg a little bit closer to the body.
As you exhale,
Expanding it out just a little bit farther.
Breathing in and experimenting with where the edges of that egg feel most comfortable for your body.
At the center of the egg is the heart.
It's expanding and drawing in.
Breathing from the heart through to the egg,
The egg filled with your vision,
Wisdom,
Creativity,
Knowing,
And love.
And welcoming yourself and all these qualities here into the space within this egg,
The space in the heart.
And you might begin to invite an image of yourself to rest here in the heart space,
Seeing yourself here held in this light within the spaciousness of this egg.
You might offer the following phrases.
I know who I am.
I know what I am.
I know how I serve in this world.
I am welcome as I am.
I am worthy as I am.
I am lovable as I am.
I am loving presence guided by my own light.
I am.
I am.
I know who I am.
I know what I am.
I know how I serve in this world.
I am welcome as I am.
I am worthy as I am.
I am lovable as I am.
I am loving presence guided by my own inner light.
I am.
I am.
I know who I am.
I know what I am.
I know how I serve in this world.
I am welcome as I am.
I am worthy as I am.
I am lovable as I am.
I am loving presence guided by my own inner light.
I am.
I am.
I am.
And may I be kind to myself.
May I remember my value.
May I recognize,
Honor,
And trust my inner wisdom.
May I trust in myself.
May I trust.
May I trust.
May I be kind to myself.
May I remember my value.
May I recognize,
Honor,
And trust my inner wisdom.
May I trust in myself.
May I trust.
May I trust.
May I be kind to myself.
May I remember my value.
May I recognize,
Honor,
And trust my inner wisdom.
May I trust in myself.
May I trust.
May I trust.
I know who I am.
I know how I serve in this world.
I am welcome as I am.
I am worthy as I am.
I am lovable as I am.
I am loving presence guided by my inner light.
I am.
I am.
I am.
I am.
I am.
Continuing to gently repeat I on the inhale.
Am.
On the exhale.
I am.
Just finding your own rhythm,
This gentle repetition.
Sensing the soft warmth inside this egg,
This light comes from the heart and emanates out as far as is comfortable for you.
You get to determine what leaves this egg and what can come in.
No judgments or expectations can enter without your permission.
You can release anything that you wish from this egg,
Love,
Support,
Kindness.
This is your boundary.
Lovingly held.
I am.
Gently beginning to deepen the breath.
You might draw the egg,
A little bit closer to the body.
Telling into the spaciousness of this visualization of this sphere of light that is yours,
Yours alone.
Leaning into the trust that you know what you want to share and what isn't available.
May I trust.
May I trust.
May I trust.
Deepening the breath.
Begin to invite soft movements into the fingers and the toes,
Soft,
Gentle movements,
Perhaps touching the index finger to the thumb,
Center finger to thumb,
Ring finger to thumb,
Pinky finger to thumb,
Ring finger to thumb,
Center finger to thumb.
Index finger to thumb.
And drawing all the fingers in together into a closed fist and then exhale gently displaying the fingers out wide.
And now drawing the fingers together.
Exhale,
Splaying the fingers out why continuing to pulse with the hands in this way with the breath,
You might invite the feet into the section as well.
Scratching the toes spreading the toes wide and gently releasing that movement.
You might feel inclined to reach the arms up over her into a very big stretch and exhale gently releasing the arms back down to the sides or into your lap.
If you're lying down you might choose to gather the knees into the chest give them a little hug,
Perhaps roll side to side.
If you're seated you might just gently begin to roll the shoulders,
Awakening a little movement in the joints.
If you're lying down you might choose to roll over to one side and taking the hand closest to the sky and pressing it onto the earth in front of the heart and allowing that to help support you as you come back to join us in a seated position where we'll all meet.
And from the seated position I invite you to take your hands together in front of the heart and hold them there for just a moment.
Then beginning to rub them together generating a fair amount of heat,
Letting the hands get nice and hot nice and warm.
And then your hands are nice and warm placing one hand over the heart and the other either over the belly or over that other hand on the heart.
So either both hands on the heart or one around the heart and one around the belly.
Just taking a few breaths here.
Feel the chest and the abdomen pressing into the hands on the inhale and feeling that softening on the exhale,
As the hands just ride the waves of the breath on the surface of the body and sensing into this embrace that you are offering your own body here.
And feeling that you are in good hands.
You are held.
Right now at this moment,
All is well.
All is well.
Taking a full breath in through the nose.
And then the mouth side out exhale and touch into chest and pause there for a moment and invite a soft grand to form on your lips.
Soft grin that welcomes you home into this moment the space this body that is yours.
Soft grin that says,
I got this.
All is well.
And then instantly opening your eyes,
Returning your gaze back to the larger group and the larger space.
Pausing here for a moment and just noticing what is present in your body and your heart.
What feels different from half an hour ago.
And if you feel called to as we come out of practice is a great time to make note in your journal,
Or anywhere,
The fields,
And it's coming up for you anything that you noticed in this practice or to have a sip of water to hydrate to care for the body.
Thank you.
