Let's settle in.
Begin by noticing your posture.
Find a comfortable position that allows your body to be still and relaxed.
You can sit in an upright chair with your knees a few inches apart and your feet flat on the floor.
Or you can sit on the floor or you can sit on a mat or cushion with your legs crossed.
You can rest your hands on your knees or in your lap.
Relax your arms and shoulders.
Drop your chin slightly forward to lengthen your neck.
You can separate your back teeth apart.
And maybe,
If it feels good,
Rest your tongue behind your two front teeth.
Gaze gently downwards or lightly close your eyes.
Let's take three long,
Slow breaths.
We'll inhale and exhale,
Inhale and exhale,
Inhale and exhale.
As you breathe,
Start to notice your chest,
Your stomach,
And how they rise and fall with each breath.
Become aware of the natural rhythm of the breath as it enters and leaves the body.
You don't need to do anything to change or control the breath.
Just let it happen.
Now bring your awareness to the top of your head.
And you can visualize a small circular area at the top of your head.
Completely relax this area.
Allow this sense of relaxation to extend down below the actual surface of the head.
Gently enlarge this area until it covers the entire top of your head.
Feel the skin,
Hair,
And the entire top of your head become completely relaxed.
Let's expand to the relaxed area down the sides of the head,
Including the ears,
And down the back of the head.
Feel the relaxation flowing down over the forehead,
Relaxing the muscles of the eyes,
The nose,
The cheeks,
The mouth,
And the jaw.
Rest here for a moment with the sensation that your entire head is completely relaxed.
This feeling of relaxation travels down,
Down into the throat,
Down the back of the neck,
Down to the shoulders,
Down through the arm,
The elbow,
The wrist,
Through the tips of the fingers.
The relaxation flows down your spine,
Spreading down and across your back.
Relax the diaphragm,
The abdomen,
The stomach,
The hips.
Enjoy this feeling of relaxation in your entire upper body,
Inside and out.
Let this relaxation move down into the legs now.
Down through the thigh,
The knee,
The calf,
The ankle,
The foot,
All the way through the tips of the toes.
Take a few moments now to observe your entire body.
Is it completely relaxed?
Use your inhale to notice any tension you might still be feeling.
And let this tension go on your exhale.
Start to wiggle your fingers,
Wiggle your toes,
Maybe do some neck circles,
Some shoulder rolls.
You can blink your eyes open and bring your awareness back to the room.
Notice any sense of harmony or ease that this practice may have brought to your body and mind.
Thank you for practicing with me today.
