So allow yourself to get settled in,
Make any adjustments so that your body is more relaxed with the floor,
With your cushions,
Your supports.
Take a deep breath in through your nose and say out through your mouth.
Let's do that a few times.
Feel your body settle into the floor,
The cushion beneath you.
Let your breath become natural,
But feel free to sigh at any time.
Feel the back of the body,
The back of the head,
The back of the shoulders,
The back of the arms,
The spine,
The back of the hips,
The back of the legs and the heels,
Just sinking a little bit more deeper into the floor,
Into the supports beneath you,
With the breath gently lightening through the body.
And notice the sensation to the face.
Feel the forehead,
The space between the eyebrows,
Gently relax,
The cheeks,
The jaw,
Feel the cool breath draw in through the nose and the warm breath leaving the body.
Natural,
Effortless.
Relax your mouth,
Your tongue.
Feel the sides and the back of the neck relax,
The head even heavier,
The throat center softening.
Feel the collarbones relax,
The shoulder joints and the upper arms heavy,
The elbows.
Feel your hands and fingers relax,
Both arms resting.
Bring your attention into your heart center.
Maybe you notice your heartbeat,
The breath moving through the lungs,
Hugging the heart with each breath in.
The belly rising and falling.
Feel the front of the hips relax,
The hip flexors,
Your thighs,
Your knees,
The shins,
The ankles,
The feet relax,
The toes soften.
And your whole body now settling into a gentle comfort,
Stillness,
Where the mind is aware.
Aware of the breath,
Aware of sensation,
Allowing yourself to sink into a space between waking and between sleeping,
Where there's subtle awareness and deep rest.
It's rhythmic flow,
Feeling sensation through your body,
Witnessing subtle sensation,
Aliveness within the stillness,
Witnessing your experience,
Thoughts,
Sensations,
Memories,
Holding space for whatever showed up,
Allowing what is to be there.
Allow yourself to see it,
To feel it,
To hold it.
Perfect just as it is,
You are perfect just as you are.
Allow your breath to naturally deepen,
Touch into different areas of your body,
As if you're breathing into your toes and you're breathing into your fingers,
Feeling the physical,
The energetic sensations,
Like the energy is inviting the physical back into movement,
Back into full connection with your mind,
With your spirit,
Taking in,
Receiving in,
Whatever you received in this practice,
Whatever you let go of,
Honoring that,
Thanking that which you let go of,
For showing itself,
For surrendering.
Thanking anything that might have showed up that's new,
Awareness,
Sensation,
Presence,
Everything unfolding for you,
Through you,
Trusting your journey.
So as you're ready,
Invite your body to gently reawaken.
Maybe the breath deepens a bit more,
Maybe there's a gentle movement in a limb.
Take your time,
There's no rush.
You might rest a little longer on your back,
Or maybe you need to roll to one side,
Whatever side calls you.
Maybe a little gentle movement,
A little rock over the back,
Or a stretch through the body would feel good right now.
You can slowly make your way back up to your seat,
But there's no rush.
Maybe keeping the eyes closed for a few moments as you come back to your seat,
Slowly come back into space together.
You might want to put a hand over your heart,
A hand over your belly,
Maybe over the lower belly,
Getting a little deeper into the body.
And just breathing,
Being with yourself,
Honoring yourself for taking the time for this practice,
For receiving,
Pausing,
Connecting,
And acknowledging whatever's present within you physically in the body,
Mentally in the mind,
Emotionally,
Energetically,
Spiritually,
Trusting your journey.
Here you are.
I want you to bring your hands together and just rub your palms.
Feel some warmth in your palms,
And then place your palms over top of your eyes so that you feel the cup of the palms around the forehead,
The eyebrows,
The cheekbones.
Just hold the hands there for a moment.
Feel that darkness,
That warmth,
That nurturance,
The hands over the eyes.
That you have this inner experience,
That it's valid,
Whatever it is,
That you're allowed to feel and think and be however you are.
Allow everything to be welcomed.
And then we slowly open the eyes just into the warmth of the palms,
Knowing that there's this bridge between the inner and the outer world.
And that we can open our eyes back into the world with fresh gaze,
With new awareness,
With deeper connection with self.
So when you're ready,
Just slowly wash your face with those warm palms.
Just give the face a little wash across the eyes,
The forehead,
Under the eyes,
Maybe the jaw,
Down the neck.
Maybe you want to rub down the arms.
Give yourself a little hug if you need to.
And just down the body,
Maybe onto the legs.
Just getting back in touch with the whole body,
The bottoms of the feet.
Knowing that you are in a held,
Safe space.
You can connect again with the world around you as you're ready.