Begin by taking any movement that you need to get yourself in as comfortable a state as possible.
Take any light movement through the shoulders,
Roll out of the head and the neck.
Bring the hands to rest down by the sides or in the lap,
Allowing the eyes to come to a soft close,
Either fully or just halfway.
As you begin to turn your attention inwards,
Just feel yourself releasing any tension,
Any holding around the eyes and around the face.
You might want to take a little yawn,
A sigh or a wiggle of the jaw.
Consciously releasing the shoulders down away from the ears,
Relaxing and calming through the body.
From the top all the way down through the arms,
The hands,
Hips and legs.
Allowing all of the muscles to rest loosely.
Mentally taking a scan through the body.
When you find anywhere that's a bit resistant,
Anywhere that doesn't want to let go today,
Just concentrate on relaxing that area.
Giving yourself permission for these few moments today,
Just to let everything go.
Turning your awareness now to the breath,
Without forcing,
Changing or controlling anything.
Let yourself just watch the natural flow,
The natural rhythm of that breath.
Observing the movement and the path of each inhale and exhale.
Noticing any movement in the body that comes with that breath.
In a moment,
I want you to start deepening those inhales.
Making that breath in even fuller,
Even stronger.
Really expanding through the belly,
Expanding through the ribs.
Letting each exhale remain passive.
Letting that breath out with a sigh.
Then taking another even fuller,
Even deeper breath.
All those breathing muscles inside you stretch and expand.
Releasing again with a sigh.
Just continuing with a couple more of these,
Seeing how much of that breath you can take in,
How big you can make the inhale.
Sighing out any last bits of tension with the exhales.
Then returning to a steadier state of breath,
But noticing that naturally it's more comfortable being a bit deeper now,
A bit steadier.
Continue with a fuller breath in,
But begin to slow down the exhales.
To do this,
I want you to keep the mouth closed.
Imagine you are making a humming noise on that exhale,
But silently.
Keeping the lips together,
But feeling that hum from the back of the throat.
Making it last as long as you can.
Drawing a full breath in to begin.
Keeping the mouth closed and taking a silent hum to exhale.
Feeling that vibration right at the back of the throat.
Then taking a couple of rounds of natural breath in between.
Then repeating that silent humming breath.
Releasing that humming breath now.
Just scanning through the body,
Noticing any vibration,
Any movement,
Any energy or change from that breath.
Now again without controlling or changing it.
Begin to imagine the breath of that inhale moving into the body as a colour.
Watching where it travels to.
Where in the body that breath moves freely.
Where perhaps it might feel a little more restricted.
Notice if in these different areas the colour looks different.
If it looks brighter or darker.
In those areas of restriction,
See if you can let the breath actively spread and move more freely here.
You can direct that lighter,
Brighter colour everywhere it feels more stuck.
Now allow that light of the breath to begin to draw in.
To gather up into a bright ball at the base of the spine.
Moving and swirling.
Whatever colour you choose it to be.
Watching as that light begins to move up and down with the breath.
And just continuing to watch this light travel up through the spine all the way up to the crown of the head on the inhale.
And softly glide down as you breath out.
Watching that steady transition,
That easy movement,
All the way up and all the way down.
And as you sit and settle into this rhythm of the breath.
Perhaps seeing if you can add another count.
Slowing and steadying that breath even more.
And the next time you get to the top of that inhale,
All the way up at the crown of the head.
Just pausing for a moment.
That light suspended in space.
Before softly releasing down with that exhale.
All the way down to the base of the spine.
Pausing again at the bottom.
Holding that out breath.
Before starting again with the inhale,
Raising all the way up.
Pausing at the top.
Releasing all the way out.
And then just continue to watch that rolling breath.
Extending the pause to whatever is comfortable.
And then letting go of those pauses.
And finding a fuller cleansing breath.
Big breath in.
And a sigh as you breathe out.
Just falling back into a natural rhythm.
As that light disperses once more throughout the whole of the body.
And the breath just flows on its own.
Now not controlling or changing the breath anymore.
But beginning to count each round of breath.
An inhale and an exhale counts as one.
The next inhale and exhale is two.
And see if you can carry on with this cycle,
With this count.
Just watching the breath,
Adding one for each round.
Observing and seeing if you can make it all the way up to ten.
And if at any point you find your mind has wondered and you've lost that count.
Just let it go and restart back at zero.
And if you make it all the way to ten.
Just carry on beyond.
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Taking a scan of the whole of the body now.
Looking for any shifts or changes from this practice.
Anywhere you've created or discovered space that didn't feel like it was there before.
Anywhere there's ease in the body.
Where before there was tension.
Anywhere that was resistant.
Now feels free.
And then returning the awareness to the outermost edges of the body.
Everywhere it meets the floor.
Everywhere above it that there's space.
Coming to be aware of the temperature around you.
Without opening the eyes.
Picturing the room that you are in.
And then softly,
Mindfully,
Beginning to move into that space.
Perhaps taking a stretch.
With some gentle movement in the body.
Whenever you are ready.
Closing the practice.
And opening the eyes.
