Be sure you're comfortable,
Whether it's seated or lying down,
But make sure that your chest isn't inhibited by anything,
So you're not laying on your side,
Which can crunch the shoulders forward.
And take a few moments to notice how your body feels sitting or lying down.
So if you're sitting on a chair,
Just notice your feet grounding with the support of the floor,
And your seat grounded on your chair safe,
Or if you're lying down feeling the support of a bed or a cushion,
Or if you're sitting on a pillow,
Just notice the grounding for a moment.
And you can close your eyes if that's comfortable for you,
And with an inhale,
Draw your shoulders up towards your ears.
Just feel the tension there,
And as you exhale,
Drop the shoulders down,
Feeling the shoulder blades maybe work to touch,
They're not going to touch.
And then do it again,
Roll the shoulders up,
Feel that tension,
And then as you exhale,
Feel the release of tension as you drop the shoulders down.
And now with an inhale,
Feel your chest maybe push forward or up if you're lying down.
Really open the chest,
And as you exhale,
Maybe crunch the shoulders forward,
Feel that compression.
And inhale,
Open,
Feel the lungs expand,
And exhale,
Compress.
And then your next inhale,
See if you can open the chest and leave it open.
If you're sitting on a chair,
You can maybe open your hands,
Or if you're sitting on the floor,
You can put your palms on your lap and open up your hands to receive.
And just feel that opening,
That expansion on every inhale,
And then notice how long it takes for you to inhale.
See if you can draw that out.
If it's possible,
Breathe in through the nose to allow the air to slowly come in,
And then slowly,
Softly exhale.
See if you can draw the breath in deeper,
Expanding the lungs forward,
Backwards,
Sidewards,
And the breath of life opening.
And then exhale,
Softly release.
And then notice if there is a part of your body that maybe feels some tension,
So it's a good time to scan.
So maybe notice your feet,
If there's any tension,
Your toes,
Your heels,
Your calves and shins,
Your knees and thighs,
Your pelvic area,
Your stomach,
Your ribs,
Your chest,
Your shoulders,
Your arms.
Maybe notice a little tension in your neck,
If you feel some tension there,
Maybe drop your ear to the right,
Breathe for a moment,
And then drop your left ear to the left,
And bring your head back to center,
And just notice any other places in your body that might feel some tension.
Maybe in your temples,
Between your eyebrows,
And your jaw,
Just notice any tension there.
And then take that cleansing breath to that place.
So if you still feel tension in your neck,
Breathe into it,
Feel the expansion,
And then the release with every breath.
If you feel tension in your hips,
Feel the breath give life into it,
And then release it.
Then continue your deep breath,
Scanning the body.
So now bring to mind your favorite name for God.
It could be Allah,
Adonai,
God,
Divine One,
Jesus,
So many names for God,
So many names for the Eternal Creator.
So call that name right now in your mind,
Let it echo for a moment.
And now with the next inhale,
Call that name for God,
And on the exhale,
Speak your prayer.
Hopefully it's short enough for the exhale.
So inhale,
Breathe in the name of God,
And then exhale your prayer.
It could be just one word,
A few words.
Inhale,
Breathe in the name of God.
Exhale,
Prayer.
Now take a few moments to do this,
And if you ever find your mind moving away,
Always draw it back to the breath.
You have a continual mantra,
Breathing in the name of God,
Breathing out your prayer.
So if your mind has drawn you way off course,
Slowly bring it back to the breath one more time.
Inhale,
Breathe in the name of God.
Exhale your prayer.
And then if your eyes are closed,
You can open them.
Just allow it very softly,
Maybe wiggle your toes or fingers,
And just continue to breathe for a moment as you re-enter,
Reawaken to the outer world.
But know that this inner world is always living,
Breathing.
And if possible,
During moments of trial,
Moments of stress,
See if you can remember that breath in the name of God,
And then exhaling that prayer,
Even if it's just once or twice.
And this is how you can pray always.
You can walk around life just breathing,
Knowing that every breath is a prayer.
