Thank you for joining this practice.
As we settle in,
Please allow yourself to find a comfortable position where your spine is straight and you can relax into the comfort of your seat.
Allow yourself to be held by gravity.
Find a posture where you can relax and release all tension and holding within your body,
Yet remain upright.
Make sure your head is balanced gently atop with your chin slightly tucked.
And open your chest,
Allowing your shoulders to fall down and back,
Lifting your heart space.
And now,
Allow your eyes to fall closed.
Allow yourself to set aside any mental or emotional activity that you've carried into the practice.
Know that you can pick it back up and that it will be waiting for you when you're ready to return to it.
Choose to take this time now for yourself.
Let's start with some deep,
Rhythmic breathing,
And so take a deep breath in,
Filling yourself all the way up.
And hold.
And release with a long,
Slow exhale.
Take another deep breath in.
And hold.
And slowly release.
One more big,
Deep breath in now.
Hold.
And release.
Wonderful.
Now take a moment to scan through your body.
Check in with the muscles of your face.
Release any tightness you might be holding in your jaw.
Check in with your neck and your shoulders.
Loosen any tightness while retaining your open chest.
Check in with your back and your stomach.
Release any holding you might find.
Drop down into your hips and your thighs.
Feel the energy within as you relax.
And scan to your knees,
Ankles,
And feet.
Consciously relax at all.
Allow your focus to come onto your breath.
Breathe slowly and steadily,
Deeply but lightly.
Allow your breath to move through your whole body.
Feel the movement of each breath reaching the top of your head.
If you notice that your head is staying entirely still,
This might mean you're holding tension in your shoulders or neck.
Relax your muscles and allow yourself to breathe throughout your body.
However subtly,
Your breath should move every last bit of your physical body.
Drop your attention down into your body.
Allow yourself to scan the energy within yourself.
Feel the tingling,
Feel the shimmering,
The flowing of energy.
Feel into your wrists and arms.
Feel into your hands.
Feel into your abdomen and back.
And just pay attention to the energy within.
Continue breathing through your body and relaxing into your posture.
If any thoughts or emotions regarding the past or the future come to mind,
Acknowledge them and let them pass,
Gently returning your attention to your body.
Allow yourself to flow.
Allow yourself to come into synchronization with the energy within.
Feel the currents of energy which flow through you.
And notice these currents don't stop at the boundaries of your body.
These currents flow through you,
Out into the exterior world.
As you continue breathing steadily and focusing on the energy within your body,
Allow yourself to realize the energetic nature of the universe.
As we continue breathing here,
Deeply,
Throughout the whole of our bodies,
We may come to notice points of deeply held tension within.
You may feel a knot in your neck or your abdomen,
Perhaps in your back or in your shoulders.
We all hold points of tension at different places within our body.
As you continue breathing,
You may notice that these points of tension emerge to the surface of your conscious mind.
And you may also notice that your breath becomes more restrictive when you settle your attention on those points.
If this happens,
Simply allow your breath to do what it naturally does.
Allow it to become restricted if that's what it wants.
And maintain your focus on that point in your body,
Giving it permission to be exactly as it is,
Not forcing it to do anything.
Just be with it.
You'll find,
As you do this,
The tension within will slowly,
But surely,
Begin to unravel itself.
And so,
Continue breathing.
Allow yourself to sink in to whatever feelings you experience.
Whether you're feeling the flowing,
Shimmering energy that moves within your body and without,
Or you're feeling a knot of tension that you've been holding onto,
Know that it's perfect and that you're exactly where you need to be.
I want to thank you for joining me today for this short practice.
Know that you can return to this anytime,
That you can continue this practice on your own by simply finding a posture where you're in alignment with the earth's gravity and allowing yourself to relax into it,
Then breathing throughout your whole body.
You can slowly,
But surely,
Come into contact with the felt presence of your physical form and also release deeply held tensions which have taken residence within you.
And so,
As we return to our bodies,
Allow yourself to sense the space around you.
Allow yourself to stretch out any tightness which may have arisen.
Take a deep breath in and a deep breath out.
And whenever you're ready,
Open your eyes.
Namaste.