You can rest down into your seat and grow through your spine as you allow your eyes to close.
And we use the sound of the bell to transition from a mode of going and doing,
Thinking and planning,
Back into a mode of being with,
Opening in curious observation and non-judgmental awareness.
You can place all of your attention on the breath as you allow it to naturally and gently lengthen and deepen,
Not forcing any changes,
Just being with the ones that happen naturally,
Accompanying focused attention.
You can give yourself permission not to have a busy body or a busy mind as you arrive fully and completely in the present moment,
Allowing this moment to be enough.
You can let go of the need to do anything else or be anywhere else as you allow the stillness of just being to be enough.
And in this stillness,
You can allow the body to become the most important thing.
Becoming aware of the body in acceptance and love,
Not needing to change the body or judge it or fix it,
Just being with it as an observer with compassion and kindness.
And as we reconnect with the body,
We can do so in gratitude,
Remembering all that the body does for us to keep us alive and healthy and balanced.
We can begin by showing gratitude for the heart,
For beating,
For the lungs,
For breathing,
For the stomach and digestive tract,
For absorbing nutrients,
For all the detoxifying organs,
For cleansing the body,
To the reproductive organs for giving us life,
To the skeletal structure for giving us form,
The muscles for giving us strength,
The tendons and ligaments for giving us mobility,
And the skin for protecting us from and connecting us to the world around us,
To the eyes for seeing,
The nose for smelling,
The ears for hearing,
And the tongue for tasting.
So grateful for the body and all that it does to keep us participating in this miraculous gift of life.
And then we can begin to scan through the body,
Finding sensation everywhere,
But not judging these sensations or needing them to change or be different.
Just observing what is in loving acceptance,
Remembering each part of the body that may go forgotten in our busy day,
And recognizing each part as an integral part of the whole,
Keeping us alive and well.
So we can begin this scan by finding sensation in our toes,
The soles of our feet,
The ankles,
Low legs,
Knees,
Upper legs,
Hips,
And pelvis,
Low back,
Stomach,
Upper back,
Knees,
Upper back,
Chest,
Shoulders,
Arms,
Elbows,
Wrists,
Hands,
To the very tips of the fingers,
The neck,
The base of the neck,
Behind the ears,
Softening the jaw and the mouth,
Allowing the eyes to rest back in the head and the skin on the scalp to rest back and down,
Clearing space in the forehead.
We can feel a relaxation and an ease wash through our entire bodies as we let go of the tensions caused by the need to run from the past or towards the future,
And we arrive in loving acceptance of whatever is right here and right now.
The body does not need to perform,
To be productive or progress as you allow the stillness of just being to be enough.
Then you can breathe in a deep sense of gratitude and love,
Recognizing all that the body does to keep you alive and healthy and balanced.
And then bring this awareness of the body with you as I ring the bell three times and we come back to our shared space.
