This is Larissa Hall Carlson with some movements and breathing practices to help you prepare for meditation.
As we go through these practices,
If you're working with any injuries or tender spots,
Please adjust and modify skillfully to ensure your own safety and comfort.
Come to a comfortable,
Steady seat and we'll begin by loosening up the joints.
Stand up nice and tall and begin to roll the shoulders forward and up,
Back and down.
Big,
Comfortable shoulder circles.
Try to make these circles nice and smooth.
You can begin deepening the breath here,
Just noticing if there are any spots where the shoulders get caught or hitched or stuck.
Try to smooth out the circle so it's even all the way around.
Reverse direction.
And release the shoulders down.
Taking it to the hands and wrists,
Lift the hands up off the lap and open and close the fists,
Stretching the fingers wide and scrunching them in,
Getting more circulation in the hands.
And shake out the hands and begin to roll the wrists,
Keeping the spine long,
Gently engage the core for stability.
Keep the breath nice and smooth.
Reverse direction.
And release the hands back down to the lap.
And take it down to the feet and ankles,
Keeping the core engaged,
The spine nice and long,
Lift the right foot and begin to point and flex the foot,
Loosening up the ankle joint.
Roll the ankle.
Reverse.
And release the right foot to the floor.
Lift the left foot,
Keeping the core engaged,
And begin to point and flex that foot and ankle.
Nice smooth breath.
Getting circulation down to the extremities.
Circle the ankle.
And reverse.
Release the left foot down to the floor.
With the hands on the lap,
Rub the thighs,
Rubbing briskly up and down the thighs from the hips to the knees,
Stimulating circulation,
Encouraging more comfort and suppleness in the legs.
And release that.
Now sitting nice and tall,
Prepare for some sun breaths.
Inhale the arms out to the sides and up overhead.
Exhale the arms out to the sides and down,
Keeping the spine nice and long.
Again,
Inhale the arms out to the sides and up overhead.
Inhale the whole way up if you can.
Stay tall as you exhale the arms out to the sides and down,
Exhaling the entire way down.
Continue nice deep sun breaths,
Loosening up the shoulders a little more,
Inviting more air into the lungs,
Getting a bit of openness and stretch in the side ribs,
The intercostal muscles between the ribs,
The armpits.
And the next time the arms float back down,
Release the sun breath,
Return the hands to the lap.
And just take a moment to pause and feel.
Now loosen up the spine with some seated cat-cow,
Some undulation of the spine.
So with the hands on the lap,
Sitting comfortably and steadily in your seat,
Take a nice deep breath.
On the exhalation,
Tuck the tailbone round the spine,
Release the head and neck forward.
Then on the inhalation,
Lift the tailbone,
Stretch the belly and heart forward,
Lift the chin and the gaze.
On the exhalation,
Round the spine into a cat stretch.
On the inhalation,
Open the front torso into a cow stretch.
Back and forth like this,
Find your own rhythm,
Working to loosen up tension from the tailbone right up through the back of the neck.
Feeling about two more of each.
And when you've completed a set,
Return back to stillness.
Align the head right over the center of the shoulders,
Tuck the chin slightly,
Keeping the spine long,
Begin to soften,
Soften the arms and shoulders,
Soften and relax the belly,
The legs and the feet.
Drop the mind's attention down into the belly,
Down into the abdomen and begin to deepen the breath there.
On each inhalation,
Allow the belly to gently stretch open like a balloon.
On each exhalation,
Gently deflate the balloon of the belly,
Pulling the belly button back towards the spine.
Continue like this,
Inhale,
Let the belly gently open and stretch.
And on each exhalation,
Gently pull the belly button back towards the spine,
Using core strength to squeeze out the stale air.
And continue belly breathing or diaphragmatic breathing,
Inviting more air into the lungs,
Inviting more movement of the breathing diaphragm,
Using this gentle movement in the belly to help stimulate innate digestion,
Massaging the internal organs,
Creating more suppleness and ease.
And at the end of the next exhalation,
Release the abdominal breath.
Pause,
Scan and feel.
Prepare for the counting breath.
We'll inhale and exhale to the count of four.
You can do this with belly breathing,
With three-part breathing,
Or with any other full,
Energizing,
Nourishing breath.
So sitting tall,
Eyes soft or closed,
We'll breathe in and out through the nose.
Inhale.
Exhale.
And we begin,
Inhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Exhale,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Inhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Exhale,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Inhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Exhale,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Inhale.
3,
4,
Inhale,
Keep counting to your own beat.
You can speed it up or slow it down,
Just keep it even and steady.
Allow the mind to be absorbed by the rhythm of the breath.
Continue counting the breath,
Let it be a little softer,
A little more gentle.
And at the end of the next counted exhalation,
Release the breath.
As the natural breath returns,
Scan and feel the afterglow.
Notice if anything has changed or shifted for you.
Seeing the breath to gradually direct awareness more deeply inward.
Let's channel this energy more deeply inward with the alternate nostril breath.
Using the right hand,
Close off the right nostril gently with the right thumb.
Inhale smoothly up the left nostril.
When the lungs are full,
Switch,
Closing the left nostril,
Lift the right and exhale down the right side.
Inhale back up the right side.
When the lungs are full,
Switch and exhale down the left.
Keep the spine long here.
Inhale left.
Switch at the top,
Exhale right.
Inhale right,
Nice smooth satisfying breath.
Switch at the top and exhale left.
Inhale left.
Switch.
Exhale right.
Inhale right.
Switch.
Exhale left.
Continue.
Find a comfortable tempo.
As you flow from side to side,
Invite the breath to be graceful,
Easy and fluid.
Try to keep the face relaxed,
The shoulders soft.
In these final rounds,
Let the breath be a little more gentle,
A little more free and spacious.
And the next time you exhale down the left side,
Release the control of the breath,
Returning the hand back to the lap,
The breath back to normal.
Soften everything.
What has softened,
Loosened,
Opened through the breath.
Then very mindfully readjust your seat and prepare for meditation.
