Welcome!
My name is Brenna Ricci and this is a longer version of a track called Calm Down.
And so this is an opportunity for you to come in.
I'm gonna welcome you to find a seat.
Sitting down in a chair or perhaps on the ground.
I'm going to guide you through a short meditation that will then open up into a silence for about 15 minutes to allow for you to take a little bit more time for yourself.
At the end of this track there will be a bell which will allow you to quietly come back in to wherever you're at in a more peaceful state of mind.
So we'll begin.
First things first,
Allowing for yourself to start to notice your points of contact.
Whether this may be your feet or your sit bones.
Lengthening up out of the spine.
Finding the crown of your head.
Taking the tip of the tongue and placing it on the roof of the mouth.
Softening the palms all the way down on towards the tops of the laps.
Or perhaps taking your favorite hand mudra.
So connecting the tongue.
Connecting the sit bones.
Connecting the hands.
Allowing for yourself to start to become very still.
And if you feel comfortable I invite you to close your eyes.
Starting to calm the mind.
I invite you to notice your breath.
And if you would feel so obliged,
Placing one hand over top of your heart and the other hand over top of your belly.
Starting to notice your breath and your breath rhythm.
Now if you've been experiencing anything difficult.
Something that's troubling you.
Whether that's physical,
Mental,
Emotional or spiritual.
Allowing yourself to start to calm your mind by connecting here with the breath and your breath rhythm.
Sensing and feeling what the body's going through.
And as thoughts arise.
Letting these difficult thoughts drift by.
We'll take three breaths together.
Just to really allow ourselves to explore calming down the nervous system.
So wherever you're at,
Start to take a slow inhale through your nose.
Filling up the belly,
The diaphragm,
The lungs.
And then open your mouth and exhale deeply.
Slowly squeezing out the last drop of air.
Take another inhale in.
Watching this breath rise from the belly to the heart to the crown of your head.
And then open up your mouth and expel all the air.
Last time,
Inhale in through the nose.
Making a big belly.
Rising this tall spine.
At the top,
Your maximum.
Gently open your mouth and exhale.
Softly release the base.
You'll find your own natural breath.
Continuing to feel the body and finding any tense muscles.
We're going to start finding these different areas.
So focusing first on perhaps the toes.
Moving up and towards the feet.
And the ankles.
Finding any tense muscles.
And then soothe and soften.
Allow for space to come back in.
As you travel up over your shin,
Scanning for any tense muscles.
Finding the backs of the calves,
The knees.
And then as you're feeling throughout these body parts and finding these tense muscle groups,
Take a breath in and on to your exhale out.
Soften,
Soothe and allow.
Traveling up over the knees,
The tops of the thighs,
Towards the backs of the hamstrings,
Inner groin and the hips.
Feeling these body parts and finding any tense muscle groups.
And then with your breath,
Exploring these different areas,
Softening,
Soothing and allowing them to be.
Coming up from the outer edges of the hips and towards the lower belly,
The pelvis,
Around to the side waists,
The buttocks,
The lower back.
Taking a moment here to pause and notice any tense muscle groups.
Feeling your body.
And then on a natural inhale in,
You'll know when.
Finding these muscles and exhaling into soft,
Soothe and allow.
Traveling up the lower back,
Around to the belly,
The middle of the waist,
Above the navel,
Up over the side waist,
The ribs,
The lungs,
The mid-back,
The chest,
The heart.
Exploring here as you make your way up your upper back.
Feel the body.
Finding tense muscles.
And then take a breath in.
And on your breath out,
Soothe,
Soften and allow.
Traveling up towards the shoulders.
Noticing tense muscles around the tops,
The front,
The back,
The sides.
Take an inhale here.
You might even rise your shoulders up to squeeze by your ears.
And then circle them down and back.
Telling yourself soothe,
Soften and allow.
Perhaps taking another shoulder shrug.
Inhaling up.
Lengthening out of the crown of your head as you squeeze your shoulders up by your ears.
Releasing the tense muscles as you circle them down and back.
Releasing,
Letting go.
One more time.
Inhaling your shoulder shrug.
Lengthening up through your spine.
And as you melt a gentle smile,
Pull the shoulders down and back.
Soothe,
Soften and allow.
Starting now to really sync up that breath with the breath rhythm.
Finding the top of your right shoulder coming down over the upper arm,
The elbow,
The lower arm,
The wrist,
The back of the hand,
The palm,
And all five right fingers.
Noticing this right side body.
If you'd like to squeeze your fist,
Find your right hand,
Put the thumb in the center of the palm,
Wrap the four fingers around the thumb,
Squeezing a fist,
Feeling the tense muscle groups,
And then release.
And as you travel back up the right side body,
Letting go,
Releasing,
Finding the top of the left shoulder coming down over the upper left arm,
The elbow,
The lower left arm,
The wrist,
The back of the left hand,
And the palm.
Feeling into this left side.
Finding and noticing any tense muscle groups here,
Perhaps taking and folding the left thumb in towards the palm,
Wrapping the left four fingers around the thumb.
Squeeze.
Big,
Intense squeeze.
And then as you exhale,
Soothe,
Soften,
Allow.
Travel back up the left fingertips,
Over the left hand,
Up over the left forearm,
Up to the bicep,
The tricep,
And the top of the left shoulder.
Taking a moment here,
The nape of the neck,
To maybe spin a circle all the way around the neck,
Throat.
Feel the body,
Finding any muscles that are tense around the throat,
Perhaps swallowing once or twice.
Afterwards,
Softening and placing the tip of the tongue back onto the roof of the mouth.
As you move up over the nape of the neck,
Finding the hair,
Soothing the hair.
Notice how silky your hair can appear.
As you scan up to the very crown of your head,
Lengthening up tall with your posture.
And as you move over the bangs,
Over the eyebrows,
Soothe,
Soften,
Allow.
Letting a gentle smile appear,
Unclenching the jaw,
Finding a beautiful release here with your smile.
Allowing for your hands to drift back towards your lap,
Palms facing down,
Close in towards the pelvis,
Elbows gently tucked up under and in towards the body.
Or perhaps taking your favorite hand mudra,
Going to continue to calm the mind by syncing up the breath and the breath rhythm.
So whenever you're ready,
Exhale out all the air.
Take an inhale in,
And gently release out.
Inhale,
And exhale.
Continuing on like this until you hear the sound of the bell,
Staying very present.
Watching each breath,
Noticing the in and the out.
And when any thoughts arise,
Letting them drift by,
Gently starting to find a bigger,
Deeper breath,
And allowing for the eyes to stay closed.
First,
Releasing the tongue from the roof of the mouth,
And then allow yourself to find your hands,
Releasing the hand mudra or wherever you've placed your palms.
Taking a few more big exhales,
Followed by even bigger inhales.
When you're ready,
You'll begin to gently start to open the eyes,
Looking out,
Being careful not to form judgment,
What you see,
But continuing to start to wake back up.
A few more breaths,
Wiggling the fingers,
The toes,
Taking any natural movements.
Thank you so much for taking the time to come in and calm down with this beautiful body scan,
And may you have an excellent rest of your day and into your evening.
Thank you for practicing with me.
