So as you are beginning to kind of settle into your pose,
Whether you want to do it seated or lying down,
We're going to keep our eyes open,
Like I said,
And what I want you to begin to do is just start to kind of look around where you're located and start slowly.
And so even if you're lying down,
You can even kind of turn your head a bit.
And if you're seated,
The same thing,
So don't feel like you have to keep your head forward.
We'll settle down and we'll close our eyes eventually,
But this is just how we're going to start this evening.
And so as you're looking around,
Maybe perhaps there is something that catches your attention that you want to maybe just hit pause with,
And you maybe want to just really look at it.
So if in your home,
Maybe perhaps it's one of your favorite photos,
Maybe it's even a little trinket that just brings you such joy.
And if you don't feel like stopping,
You can always keep just gazing around and just keep noticing.
We're going slowly though as we look around.
And now we're going to switch it up.
And so we're going to begin to listen to the sounds around us.
At this point,
It might be a bit easier for you to close your eyes,
To release any external distractions.
And so the same thing like we did with the site,
Noticing a sound maybe perhaps you want to stay with a bit longer.
And maybe that is not the case and you kind of want to just drift from one sound to the next.
And then deciding whether you liked either staying with the focal point of a sound or the site better for you.
So we all tend to actually favor one.
And if there was one specific sound or one specific site,
Maybe you wanted to stay with one.
And maybe you're going to just direct your attention to that one thing.
And as you've directed your attention to that either site or that sound,
I want you to now come inward inside your body and notice how you're feeling.
And it's okay if you're feeling jittery and busy.
It's just as okay if you're feeling calm and relaxed.
Noticing the physical sensations of the body as you're examining inside.
And maybe even you want to tie a number to it.
So what I mean by that,
Maybe if your jaw feels really tight,
You can say my jaw right now is at a four.
It's not that tight,
Kind of in the mid-level.
And if your favorite was more of the site,
I want you to close your eyes.
So we will all now close our eyes if we have not done so.
And now beginning to use the focal point of our breath.
Noticing your inhale as it travels down through the body.
And then your exhale as it travels back up through the body and then either out the nose or the mouth.
Noticing if you can figure out how long your breath is.
Does it travel all the way down into your belly?
Does it stop at your chest?
And if you don't know that answer,
Just stick with what you do know.
So maybe you're just going to stay with noticing the parts of your body that rise with the inhale and expand.
And then when you exhale,
There's parts of the body that gently relax and fall.
Noticing if your breath is fluid.
If it's going directly down to a point and then going back up again.
Or noticing if perhaps maybe it's a little jagged and it's kind of stopping and it doesn't feel that fluid.
And accepting it,
It's okay.
It's just how we're breathing this evening.
Beginning to add on to the breath.
We're going to do our box breathing.
And so my pregnant friend who is on here,
You will not do the pause and the retention of your breath.
You're going to skip that part.
So the breathing is,
We're going to inhale to the count of four.
Pause two at the bottom of your box.
Exhale back again for four.
And then pause two back at the top.
And so stay with that breath pattern of four,
Inhale,
Four,
Exhale,
Two,
Hold,
Four,
Exhale,
Two,
Hold.
And if at any point your mind is wandering,
Just notice that it did and come back to the breath pattern of four,
Inhale,
Pause two,
Exhale four,
Pause two.
And then go through two more full boxes and then you can release that breath pattern.
And after you have released the attention to that breath pattern,
I want you to begin to bring your attention back into the body again.
Noticing if there was any shifts or changes.
So maybe if your jaw was at the level four of tightness,
Maybe it's a three.
Maybe also noticing other parts of your body now.
Maybe you have a little bit more capacity to physically notice something else that you didn't notice before.
And now I want you to call to mind your favorite place.
This is the place that makes you feel the most safe and secure.
This is a place that maybe perhaps you have been before,
Or maybe you were completely creating it in your imagination.
Beginning to notice if you have any changes in your body.
Beginning to see this location.
Noticing the colors that you might see.
Noticing the details.
If you're at the beach,
Maybe perhaps you're seeing the waves and even that foamy top of the waves.
Maybe if yours is the forest,
You can even see the leaves on the trees.
Feeling what it's like to be in this location.
Maybe feeling the warmth of the sun on your skin.
Maybe feeling a breeze gently on your face.
What sounds do you hear?
Is there anything that you can smell or even taste?
Fully immersing ourselves in our very favorite location.
And as we're in this location that makes us feel very safe and secure,
How do our bodies feel now?
Has anything shifted or changed?
Is there anything new that you can feel physically within your body?
When you're physically feeling the body,
Try not to get caught up in the emotional aspect of it.
So just name the physical part.
We're not going to say that means that I'm sad or that I'm happy or angry.
Just say that my shoulders are at a little tightness at a level two.
We just leave it right there.
And now coming back to our breath again,
Gently noticing our inhale.
And our exhale.
This time we're going to add a mantra to our breath.
So as you inhale,
Mentally repeat to yourself,
Present,
Here,
Now.
And as you exhale,
Present,
Here,
Now.
Now,
If you notice that your mind takes you out of this place,
Notice the thought that happens.
And just say that is a thought of the past,
The present,
Or the future.
And after you say that,
Gently bring the attention back into the breath.
Inhaling,
Present,
Here,
Now.
And exhaling,
Present,
Here,
Now.
And we're going to stay with this mantra.
For just a couple moments of silence.
And it's okay if you have to remind yourself to come back to the breath a hundred times.
Present,
Here,
Now.
Present,
Here,
Now.
And exhaling,
Present,
Here,
Now.
Repeating that mantra three more times.
And then you can release that mantra.
And after you release the mantra,
Noticing how the body's feeling now.
Does that area that felt tight before feel the same as it did when you first started?
Are there new parts of the body that you did not have awareness to before?
Does a part of the body now feel more open or settled?
More steady or grounded?
And with your attention in the body,
Gently bringing your awareness back into the room,
Starting with the sounds that you hear around you.
If you like the visualization,
You want to open your eyes,
You can at this time.
But if your body doesn't want to,
Then you can keep your eyes closed.
If you are seated,
Bringing your hands into prayer position in front of the heart center.
And if you are lying down,
You can just stack one hand on top of that heart center and then the other one on top.
As you focus on that place behind your hands,
I want you to send yourself a message of love,
Of gratitude.
Anything you might need to tell yourself right now.
And if you don't know,
You can just say,
I love you,
And then insert your name here.
And as you said that message to yourself,
Notice how your body felt right after you did.
From my heart space to each of yours,
I am deeply grateful for you.
That you guys have joined me this evening.
Namaste.
