Take the next few breaths to settle in,
Whatever support you need for your body in this pose.
Sliding something under your knees to support your lower back,
A blanket over your body to keep you warm.
Just feeling yourself settle into this position,
Into this space,
Into this moment.
Feel yourself settle into a felt sense of ease,
A felt sense of support,
Acknowledging any discomfort and making the necessary adjustments so that you can feel your body begin to relax.
Notice all the parts of your body that are in contact with the earth or with a prop.
Feel every place where the body is supported and allow yourself to release more deeply,
Knowing that you are held.
Notice your breath,
The sounds within your body and in the space around you and acknowledge yourself in this space.
And from this acknowledgement,
Welcome your intention for today's practice.
Setting your intention in the present tense so that perhaps it comes to life as something like,
I am awake and aware.
If you're working with a specific emotion,
Memory or felt sense,
Perhaps you set your intention as something like,
I welcome all experience as a messenger.
Set your intention in a way that will allow you to give your practice your wholehearted attention.
Take three slow deep breaths.
As you do so,
Stating your intention to yourself three times in the present tense.
Allow your intention to be set aside for a moment,
Knowing that it is always there as an anchor to this practice and stepping now into your heartfelt desire,
Your heart's deepest longing for this life.
It may show up today as a statement of intent on how you want this life to be lived through you.
It may show up as an emotion,
An image or a word.
It may not show up at all.
Whatever is here for you,
Welcome it with your whole heart.
Remember that nothing is something to,
And allow this practice to be an open doorway for communication with yourself,
With your heart,
Setting your heartfelt desire aside for a moment.
Allow your inner resource to now surface.
And if you've been developing your inner resource for some time,
You're welcome to bring it online.
If you're still working on cultivating an inner resource,
It may be helpful to bring to mind an image,
A memory,
A word that helps you access a felt sense of ease in your body,
In your physical self.
Feel deeply into this place in your body where you experience ease and safety,
Comfort and wellbeing,
Sensation of the space within your mouth,
Sensing the tongue,
The gums,
The inner walls of the mouth,
The roof of the mouth,
The tongue,
The jaw,
From the mouth,
Extend awareness out into your ears.
Feel the right ear canal and the right ear.
Feeling the left ear canal.
The left ear,
Sense into your nose,
The right nostril,
The left nostril.
Welcoming sensation in your eyes,
Right eye,
Left eye.
Bring awareness to the top of the head and feel sensation across the forehead,
Both sides of the head,
The center of the top of the head.
Welcome sensation into the back of the head,
Back of the neck,
And the space between the shoulder blades.
Sensing the arms,
The right arm,
The left arm,
Both arms as pure sensation.
Notice how the mind might want to paint a picture.
See if you can release thought and stay with sensation of both arms.
Sense the space across your chest,
The rib cage,
The belly,
The mid and upper back,
The lower back,
Sensing the whole torso as sensation.
Welcome sensation now in the pelvis,
The right hip and leg,
The left hip and leg.
Sensation in both legs at the same time.
Notice the wholeness of the body,
The body as three-dimensional sensation,
Aware of how sensation is coming and going,
How breath is coming and going,
And feeling the body breathing itself.
Notice where you feel the body and the breath connect.
Sense the movement of the body as you breathe in,
The movement of the body as you breathe out,
Gentle pulsation of the body as you breathe in and out.
Stay connected to that place where you feel the breath meet the body.
Do you feel it as you first sip in air?
Do you feel it as the body begins to expand with breath?
Notice that point in your breath where the breath and body meet,
And notice the point in your exhale when the breath leaves the body,
Welcoming that natural rhythm of breath in and out,
Welcoming the natural sensation of breath and body communicating and connecting.
And just noticing if this breath has a beginning or an end,
Center or a periphery.
Do you feel it at the very edges of your skin?
Or can you begin to feel breath just beyond the physical barriers of yourself?
Notice what it feels like to be a witness to your breath.
Acknowledge anything that may be here for you now,
Anything that may have surfaced in your awareness,
And welcome the feeling of being at home in yourself,
Checking in with any sensations in the body,
And create space for these sensations to arise in your awareness,
In your body,
Perhaps welcoming them as messengers here to share with you insight about your own wholeness,
Well-being,
And joy.
Without changing anything,
Simply welcome feelings in the body as they are,
Acknowledge coolness or warmth,
Heaviness or lightness,
Effort or ease.
Without thinking,
Let yourself simply feel what are the textures of these sensations?
Where do you feel them emerging and dissolving to?
Noticing how these sensations are coming and going,
How your breath is coming and going.
Awareness present to all of this changing phenomena without trying to change anything,
Allowing everything to be just as it is.
Take note of any thoughts that are arising with curiosity and kindness,
Let yourself rest.
Simply notice thought without the need to change or define anything.
Observe if there's a preference within you for a particular thought or emotion to be here or to not be here,
And as you continue to observe the movement of your mind,
The flow of your breath,
The rhythm of sensation and life moving through you,
Invite a sense of contentment into your body and breath,
A sense of ease,
A sense of being content with what is in this moment,
Releasing the need to be any certain way,
Letting go of any picture the mind wishes to cultivate,
And instead softening into this moment just as it is,
Everything coming and going,
Each thought,
Each breath,
Each sensation arriving,
Lasting for a time,
And then dissolving,
And sense this expansive awareness underlying all of this temporal phenomena.
Sensing your breath now begin to deepen,
And allow this felt sense of breath to nourish and clarify you,
Acknowledging your whole self as you are,
Finding your way back to your inner resource,
That felt sense of peace,
Wellbeing,
And ease in the body.
Allow your eyes to remain closed as you begin to bring awareness back into the space around you,
The weight of the ground beneath you rising up to meet and support the weight of your body,
The space between you and the walls around you,
The ceiling.
Before you welcome movement in the body,
Can you feel into the very outermost edges of your being without moving,
Without painting a picture in the mind,
Can you feel to the tips of your toes,
To the tips of your fingers,
And allow awareness to gently reawaken a connection to your body when it feels right for you,
Welcoming movement into this body,
Again,
From the outermost reaches of your physical self,
Taking your time to find your way back.
Eventually returning to a wide awake state of being.
