So taking your time to get nice and comfortable.
If you want a last drink of water or tea,
If you would like to get more blankets,
More cushions and take your time to do all of the things to prepare your nest to prepare for a comfortable relaxation.
And please don't rush,
Take your time.
And then when you're there coming to lie back.
Feeling a sense of arriving and just notice how it feels to be lying down.
Notice how it feels to be letting go of the effort from the day.
Letting go of any holding,
Any gripping.
And this can be physically or mentally just letting go of anything you feel like is weighing you down.
Releasing bit by bit with each breath out.
And then we'll take our awareness to all of the contact points in the back of the body.
So the back of the skull,
The shoulder blades,
The upper back,
Parts of the arms and the lower back,
The glutes,
Back of the legs and heels.
And just taking some time now to feel the pressure of the weight going down into the ground through these contact points.
And as we give ourselves permission to relax on a deeper level,
Can you feel yourself sinking deeper,
Feeling heavier and allowing any feeling of tiredness or fatigue to really wash through you,
Allow it to be there.
And using the feeling of tiredness in a sort of delicious and nourishing way to help you relax even deeper,
Embracing the tiredness,
Feeling heavier,
Feeling heavier and so heavy the contact points with the ground feel like they're getting bigger as you sink deeper into the support beneath you.
And know fully that the ground beneath you is there to hold and support you.
So allowing yourself to be held,
Allowing yourself to be supported.
And then taking your attention now to the front of the body.
Just sensing the space that is around.
And allow yourself to begin to breathe into the space.
A slow,
Calm,
Natural breath.
And with each breath now feeling a sense of becoming lighter in the body.
Feeling a sense of becoming so relaxed and so light that you could float up,
Floating upwards towards the ceiling like a feather.
And with each inhale and exhale,
You get lighter and lighter,
Becoming less dense,
Less physical in the body.
Creating more space,
More ease,
More comfort within.
And then holding these two sensations at the same time without overthinking.
Can you feel a sense of being heavy and supported and allowing the body to sink into the ground?
And at the same time,
Can you feel a sense of being so light,
So relaxed that you could float?
And allowing yourself to gently be in the middle of these two qualities,
These two sensations.
And then letting go of this practice,
Letting go of those sensations.
And we'll go a bit deeper into the body now as we begin the body scan.
So we'll take our attention up to the crown of the head,
Allowing this space to soften and relax.
Allow your awareness to come down to the forehead and to the space between the eyebrows.
Relaxing the temples,
Relaxing the muscles around the eyes,
Relaxing the muscles behind the eyes.
Relax your jaw,
Your cheeks,
Lips and chin.
Allowing your whole face to be relaxed and allow your whole head to be heavy.
Relaxing the space at the back of the neck and allow the throat to be soft.
Completely release the shoulders,
Relax into the tops of the arms,
Your elbows,
Forearms,
Wrists,
Hands,
Fingers and fingertips.
And allowing your attention to come up to the top of the spine.
From here slowly weaving your awareness down the back,
Creating space between each vertebrae and at the same time relaxing all of the muscles in the back.
Gradually allowing the whole back to soften and reconnect to the crown.
And then bringing your awareness up to the chest,
Allowing the collarbones to broaden,
Allowing the muscles in the chest to relax,
Ribcage to release.
Soften the diaphragm,
The sides of the body.
Allow the tummy to be soft.
Relaxing the hips and the pelvis,
The glutes,
Hamstrings,
Thighs,
Knees,
Shins,
Calves,
Ankles,
Tops of the feet,
Soles of the feet and toes.
Allowing the whole body to be relaxed,
Feeling the body as a whole complete form and shape.
And then slowly bringing your awareness back to the breath in the body.
Just feeling the rise and fall,
The ebb and flow.
And at this point you can either allow the breath to relax you and bring you into sleep or you can begin to deepen the breath and wake yourselves up.
