Ease yourself down gently onto your back.
If you like,
Place a rolled blanket under your knees and a small folded towel under your head.
Close your eyes and rest your hands on your lower belly with your palms just below your navel.
Relax your shoulders and your neck.
Soften the inside of your mouth.
Close your eyes and turn your attention to your breath.
With each exhalation,
Allow your body to relax into the support underneath you so that each time you exhale,
Your body weight releases just a little more into this support.
With each inhalation,
Fill your body with breath.
With each exhalation,
Relax,
Release,
And let go of anything that you don't need.
Observe your breath and notice all the sensations accompanying the movement of breath into your body and out of your body.
Perhaps you'll feel the coolness of the air in your nostrils as you breathe in and warmth as you breathe out.
Notice the places and spaces that move with your breath.
Invite your breath to slow and deepen.
Relax your belly and bring your attention to your hands as they rest on your lower abdomen.
Notice that when you inhale fully and completely,
Your belly rounds and your hands gently rise.
And as you exhale,
Your belly releases down and your hands gently fall.
Continue in this manner for a few breaths,
Watching this gentle rise and fall.
Easy full breath in so that your belly rounds and your hands gently rise.
Easy exhalation so your belly relaxes down and your hands gently fall.
Inhaling and exhaling.
Slide your hands up to your ribs,
Resting one hand on either side of your rib cage.
Continue the relaxed abdominal breath.
And now,
Notice how your rib cage expands as you breathe in and relaxes back as you breathe out.
Easy breaths in,
Belly rounds,
Rib cage expands.
Easy exhalation.
Everything softens down.
Now,
Please slide your hands up to the top of your chest and feel the movement of breath below your collarbones.
Still bring the breath down deep so that your belly rounds and your rib cage expands.
And now feel the movement of breath in this upper part of your chest.
Your body knows how to do this,
But please don't strain or force.
Easy breaths in.
Easy exhalations.
Now,
Slide one hand onto your belly and leave one hand on your chest and feel this full and complete three-part breath.
On your inhalation,
The belly rounds,
The rib cage expands,
And the upper chest broadens and fills.
And on the exhalation,
Everything softens down.
Notice that there is movement not just in the front of your body where your hands are resting,
But also in the back of your body and on the sides of your body.
Visualize your lungs as two big balloons.
And as you breathe in,
Imagine these balloons expanding completely in six directions,
Side to side,
Top to bottom,
And front to back.
And as you breathe out,
Everything rests back.
Continue in this manner for a few more full,
Deep,
Three-part breaths.
Then as you're ready,
Relax your arms down by your sides and allow your breath to return to its own natural rhythm.
