Lie down on your back and make yourself comfortable in a place where you will feel warm and undisturbed.
You can lie on your bed,
Directly on the floor,
On a yoga mat or a rug and wrap yourself in a blanket if that feels comfortable.
This practice can be done with eyes closed,
But please feel free to keep them open if that feels right for you right now.
Or to open them at any time during the practice if it feels that you are falling asleep,
Although falling asleep,
If that happens,
It probably means that that's what your body needs right now.
Take a few moments to bring your awareness to the physical sensations in your body,
Sensations of touch or pressure,
Contact with whatever you're lying on.
And on each out-breath,
Allow yourself to sink a little deeper into the surface.
Gently remind yourself that this is a time for falling awake and the invitation is to be aware of your experience as it is,
Not as you think it should be.
We're not trying to change how we're feeling,
We're not even trying to be more relaxed or calmer.
The intention of the practice is to be aware and present to any sensations as we are focusing the attention on each part of the body.
Sometimes there might be a feeling of no sensations at all,
And if that's the case,
Just simply acknowledge it.
We are not trying to imagine sensations where none can be noticed.
Take your attention to your belly.
Notice the rise and fall of the abdomen with each in-breath and out-breath.
Take a few minutes to feel the sensations as you breathe in and out.
Your abdomen rises and falls.
Then gather your attention and bring it down into the body,
Into your legs,
Both feet and all the way to your toes.
Focusing on each toe,
Infuse your attention with interest and gentleness.
Perhaps you notice tingling,
A feeling of contact between the toes and the socks,
Or a blanket.
Whatever you are experiencing,
It's okay.
See if you can allow the sensations to be just as they are.
When you feel ready,
Let go of the toes and take your attention to the sensations of the bottom of your feet.
What does the soles of your feet feel like?
What sensations do you notice?
Then move your awareness to the instep,
The heel of each foot.
Is there a sense of pressure where the heels make contact with the mat or the surface beneath?
Try to stay aware of the breath in the background as you explore the sensations in the palm of your feet.
Then allow your awareness to expand into the rest of your feet,
Top of the feet,
Ankles,
Right into the bones and joints.
What sensations can you connect with here?
Stay aware of your breath,
The body breathing itself.
Then shift your attention to the lower legs,
Your knees,
Then the thighs.
What sensations are present in your legs?
Checking the quality of your attention,
No need to judge it.
See if you can infuse it with a sense of gentleness,
Curiosity and interest.
Now move your awareness to the pelvic area,
Your groin,
Genital,
Buttocks and hips.
Become aware of your lower back,
Abdomen,
Upper back and finally your chest and shoulders.
Notice any tones and textures,
Murmurs.
What are the qualities of the sensations that present themselves to your awareness in this area of the body?
The torso,
What does it feel like to connect?
Then gently bring your awareness to both hands and see if you can take your attention right inside the hands,
In each finger.
What sensations do you notice in your hands?
Palms of the hands,
Fingers,
Thumb.
Then gently move to your wrists,
Lower arms,
Elbows,
Upper arms,
Shoulders and armpits.
Then move your awareness to your neck,
Your face,
Jaw,
Mouth,
Lips,
Nose,
Cheeks,
Ears,
Eyes and forehead.
And now try and hold your entire head in awareness.
If at any point you become aware of any intense sensations such as tension in any particular part of the body,
See if it is possible to breathe into them.
And use the in-breath to gently bring awareness into these sensations.
Notice if the sensations change when you breathe out of them.
A gentle reminder that the attention from time to time will inevitably wander away from the breath,
From the body,
And this is entirely normal.
Now,
When you notice it,
Gently acknowledge the fact and return your attention back to the part of the body you intended to focus on.
Now the invitation is to open the awareness and hold a sense of the whole body,
The presence,
The physical presence of your whole body in awareness.
Sensations of wholeness,
Changing,
Moving,
Coming in,
Coming out,
Feeling the breath flowing freely in and out of the body.
Then,
If your eyes were closed,
I invite you to open your eyes and have a look around,
Take in the details of the space where you find yourself in,
And come back,
Space,
The experience of your body in the here and now.
