Find a comfortable position for rest.
This could be on your back with support under your head or your knees,
Or it could be with your legs supported up on a chair,
Or even sitting back in a comfortable chair.
Slow your breathing and feel the sensation of your breath moving in and out.
Feel your belly gently rise on the inhale,
And allow things to soften and relax on the exhale.
Now bring your awareness to your feet.
You can gently wiggle your toes and rotate your ankles,
Just exploring gentle movement and sensation through the feet and the toes.
And now let that movement subside and just feel the muscles of your feet and your ankles soften.
Bring your awareness to the space between the bones inside your feet.
Think of softening into that space.
Next bring your awareness into your legs,
Your calves,
Your knees,
Your thighs.
Gently sway your hips from side to side and feel the warmth spreading throughout the legs.
As this movement starts to subside,
Feel your leg and hip muscles melt,
As if the big muscles in your calves,
Your thighs,
Your glutes,
Just let them slide and melt away from the bone.
Now bring your awareness to your pelvis and your belly.
Feel the inhalations filling your belly and feel the release and the relaxation with every exhale.
Feel that movement through slow breathing,
Sensing that sense of release and letting go with every exhalation.
Allowing the weight of your pelvis and your back to soften into the floor,
Maybe even feeling a deeper softening and relaxation through your hips,
Through your legs,
Through your feet.
Next bring your awareness to your rib cage,
To your upper back and to your heart.
Gently place your hands on your heart and feel the warmth of your hands sinking into the tissues.
Let your heart soften.
Feel the weight of your mid to upper back,
Your shoulder blades.
Feel all that weight soften into the earth,
Spreading and widening into the floor or into the chair.
Now bring your awareness to your arms,
Your upper arms,
Your elbows and your forearms.
Let your arms gently sway and move in any way that feels good.
And then as they come back to stillness,
Feel the tension wash out of your shoulders and arms.
Let the arms be loose and soft.
And now bring your awareness to your hands and your fingers.
Gently moving through your hands and fingers like you're stroking a cat or touching soft fabric.
And as the movement subsides,
Just feel your hands soften into a gently curved palm.
Feel the warmth through the palms of your hands.
And in that curved palm,
Feel the spaces between the bones of your hands softening into that space.
And now bring your awareness to your neck,
Your head and your face.
Gently let your head sway from side to side in any range that's comfortable.
No matter how small the movement,
Just let it feel fluid,
Like seaweed moving in water.
Feel your jaw relax,
Lips resting together,
But your teeth slightly apart and the tip of your tongue resting on the roof of your mouth right behind your front teeth.
Soften your temples,
Your forehead,
Soften through the top of your head.
And now take a few breaths,
Feeling your body as a whole,
Relax and let go.
From the crown of your head to your fingertips to your toes.
Notice where your body makes contact with the ground and with every exhale,
Just let it melt and sink into that contact.
And if you feel pain anywhere in your body,
Just imagine that your breath could move into that painful spot.
Notice the tissues around the painful area relaxing and softening with every exhale.
As you breathe here,
See if you can sense the way the breath moves through your entire body.
With every inhale,
Feel how that affects everything from your belly outwards.
As you exhale,
Let everything soften and let go.
Take one more inhale,
One more exhale to allow your body to melt fully into the earth.
And then slowly,
Gently start to wiggle fingers and toes.
Gentle movement through the feet,
Through the hands,
Letting that movement just naturally and organically grow its way up through the legs,
The arms,
Any gentle movement that feels good.
Eventually,
Giving yourself a hug.
If you're lying down,
You can roll to one side,
Eventually coming back up to restart your day or to end your day with a little more body awareness,
A little more ease,
And a little more peace of mind.
Namaste.
