This is a short practice to help you become aware of and turn towards any underlying tension or tightness in the body with curiosity,
Kindness and self-compassion.
Taking whatever position feels comfortable for you right now,
Whether sitting,
Standing or lying down,
And embodying a sense of wakefulness and dignity,
Balanced with a sense of calm,
Openness and softness,
Particularly in the chest and front of the torso.
Dropping into the present moment,
Beginning by bringing your attention to the basic sensations created at the points of contact between your body and the surface you are on.
Feeling pressure,
Hardness or softness,
Weight moving down.
Now broadening your awareness around those points of contact until it permeates the entire body,
From the soles of the feet and the toes,
Through the finger and thumb tips,
And all the way up to the crown of the head.
Resting in awareness of the body as a whole,
Nothing to do,
Change or fix,
Just opening yourself to the universe of sensations in the body in this moment.
We often hold tension and tightness throughout our body,
And can be unaware of how it impacts our mood and the type of thoughts that flicker across the mind.
This tension might be a result of physical stress and strain,
Sitting for too long,
Using our computers and devices too much,
Or over-exerting ourselves.
It can also be a result of afflictive emotions,
Being caught,
Held,
Stuck in the body.
Emotions that have not been given an opportunity to be felt,
Processed and freed.
Whatever the cause is,
Simply shining the light of awareness on this tightness,
Bracing or gripping,
Can have a softening,
Relaxing effect.
Now let's do a brief scan of the body and check in with some of the usual suspects,
The tension hotspots,
And notice what's there.
Starting with the forehead,
That area below the hairline,
Above the eyebrow ridge,
Nestled between the temples.
If you encounter any tightness or bracing,
Here or anywhere else in the body,
Using the breath to support you in softening and releasing to whatever degree possible.
And not being concerned if you can't let it all go,
Remembering that you can come back to this practice again and again to work with any tension that remains.
Now resting attention on the area between the eyebrows,
The muscles around the eye socket,
The eyeballs themselves.
Attention now shifting to the tops of the jawbone,
The joints where the jaw attaches to the skull,
And tracing your attention all the way down the sides of the jaw,
Until it meets at the chin.
Breathing,
Softening.
Now resting attention on the area between the shoulders and neck,
Seeing if you can let the shoulders drop down a little further,
And if you are sitting or standing,
Allowing the shoulder blades to move just a few millimetres closer together.
Feeling the chest opening as they do,
Sensing the lungs and ribcage expanding on the in-breath and contracting on the out-breath.
Now permeating the shoulders,
Arms and hands with awareness,
Relaxing the muscles all the way down to the finger and thumb tips.
Attention now moving into the lower back,
Pelvic area,
Buttocks.
Breathing into those areas on the inhale and softening,
Letting go of any tension to whatever degree possible with each exhale.
Perhaps feeling the body getting lighter as the tension releases and drops down into the surface you are on.
Now gently escorting your attention into the upper legs,
Knee joints,
Calves,
Shins,
Ankles and feet.
Being curious about what's here,
Scanning for areas of tension and bringing awareness right into these regions of the body.
Expanding your awareness now to fill the entire body like a glass fills with water,
Noticing the body's shape,
Weight and texture.
Being with a sense of the whole body breathing in this moment,
Energising and expanding on the in-breath,
Contracting and letting go on the out-breath.
Aiming your attention on the breath sensations in the body and sustaining your attention on the breath sensations in the body.
Coming back to the breath any time you notice your mind has wandered and setting an intention to do this again and again until you hear the sound of the bells.
