Then go ahead and begin whenever you feel ready and your position could be seated or lying down.
Ensuring that you are extremely comfortable and making any final adjustments.
Placing your hands wherever feels comfortable,
Elongating the spine,
Ensuring that you feel equally weighted between your right and left side.
So if you're seated,
It would be the sit bones are equally weighted.
If you're lying down,
The sit bones or the back or the arms and legs are equally weighted and even if you're seated the soles of the feet.
So bringing in that balance to the right and left side.
We're going to start really simple this evening with our belly breathing and begin to draw your awareness down to your belly.
Starting to notice that when you inhale if there's any movement in this area.
And when you exhale,
See if there's a bit of a release.
Sometimes our breath gets stuck in the chest and it doesn't go all the way down to the belly.
So notice if your belly is moving at all or maybe the top portion is moving more than the bottom portion.
And just sit with these breaths for a couple moment and I'm not even asking you to change anything.
I just want you to notice how you're breathing when we're first beginning.
And then we'll notice at the end if there's a shift at all.
And even noticing as you breathe if you're having any expectations associated with how long are we going to do this?
What are we going to do next?
Or noticing if the mind has started to travel outside of this space.
This evening's meditation is going to be mainly focused on the body.
And so when your attention does draw upward to the mind or outside of the body,
Just notice that's happening and then redirect back in.
And the breath is always a nice place to go to.
Noticing the length and the quality of the breath.
If it has changed at all.
If it feels the same.
Has the pace changed?
Do you feel more movement in the lower portion of the belly now or is it more upper?
Perhaps maybe even the imagery of the breath travels all the way down to the soles of the feet and then back up.
Some of us do better with imagery and some of us do better with feeling.
And so just stick with what you know.
And then I want you to ask your body,
How are you today?
Maybe you heard a word Maybe you felt a sensation Maybe even there was a shift emotionally And can you sit with whatever quality might have come up?
So if you're feeling tired,
Do you know where that tiredness is located?
If there is an ache,
Where specifically is that?
And even if you heard the word strong,
Where specifically do you feel that strength?
What part of the body answered you back?
When you said how are you doing?
Maybe again you had that word come up exploring where that quality is located in the body.
And even noticing if maybe perhaps you notice something new or even something new in that same area.
And if you're feeling the need to pull out of this,
If it starts to become too much and you don't want to do that,
You can always come back to the belly breathing.
Now we're going to invite the body to begin to relax.
Inviting in these qualities of relaxation and softening.
Beginning with the eyes.
Let go of any squeezing or tightness in the eyes.
Let them just gently begin to close.
Even with the eyelids closed,
They're soft.
The cheeks are relaxed.
The mouth is soft.
The lower portion of the jaw unhinges and let go this area.
Let go of any constriction in the throat.
Allow the breath to flow fluidly through this area.
Relax your shoulders.
Let go of any weight that you might be holding.
Almost as if there is this wave of relaxation traveling from the shoulders all the way down the arms into the fingertips.
The hands are light.
You feel open.
Deeply relaxed.
And then that wave of relaxation travels from the top of the shoulders in the back portion all the way down the spine into the lower back.
And maybe you feel this wave travel down the back or you see the relaxation travel down.
And then the same exact thing happens from the throat,
This relaxation in the chest,
Softening and letting go of the belly.
The breath is able to be more expansive in the belly now.
Let go of any gripping,
Any tightness or holding in this area.
While your glutes are supporting you,
They're relaxed.
They're not bracing or holding you up.
They're soft underneath of you.
And then a wave of relaxation travels from the thighs,
Down the knees into the feet.
All the way down to the soles of the feet.
Let go of your feet.
If you're seated,
Maybe they become a little bit heavier into the ground.
If you're lying down,
Maybe they flop open a little bit more.
Relax all of your toes.
Feel this wave of relaxation travel from the crown of the head all the way down the entire body.
To the fingertips,
Down the torso,
Into the soles of the feet.
Entire body is peaceful and relaxed.
The only thing that is moving is the portions of the body that are breathing.
And the breath now feels so soft and open because the entire body has let go.
Maybe that breath is more expansive,
Maybe not.
Maybe it travels further.
Maybe you feel the breath in different parts of the body.
It doesn't even have to be parts of the body that the breath actually touches.
Maybe you feel the energy associated with the breath going into the arms and the hands.
It's as if the whole entire body is breathing.
There's this vibrancy associated with the breath.
The whole inhale fills the body.
And the whole exhale fills the body with peace and serenity.
Fluid and open with the inhale.
Peaceful.
And softened with the exhale.
Feeling at home and safe inside this body.
Feeling at peace.
There's nowhere to go and nowhere to be.
Filling this body with love and acceptance.
And as you're continuing to breathe in the body,
Is there any part that needs a little more acknowledgement?
A little more love or nurturing energy?
I want you to specifically send your breath to this part of the body.
It's almost as if the breath is giving this portion of the body a hug.
Embracing it,
Holding it,
Acknowledging it.
Let the body caress this part of the body.
The breath,
Excuse me.
And for these last few moments or so,
Maybe staying with that one part of the body.
Traveling to another part.
Or maybe just breathe the whole body again.
The inhale is fluid and spacious.
The exhale,
Softening and peaceful.
Now I want you to direct your awareness to the skin.
The outside of the body.
And feeling this part of the body connected to surfaces.
Or props that might be supporting you.
And then directing your awareness to your heart space.
Your heart chakra is located.
And connecting to this area in any way that feels authentic to you.
So maybe bringing hands to prayer.
Or stacking one hand on top of the other.
Or if you don't feel like moving yet,
Just bring your awareness to that space.
Either mentally or physically bowing the head to the heart space.
The place behind the hands.
In gratitude and acknowledgement of this body.
Of acceptance and love.
Maybe anything else that you need right now.
And from my heart center to each of yours,
I see you,
I acknowledge you,
I honor you.
Namaste.
