So this is a short mindfulness and relaxation practice.
It can be used at any time but particularly could be useful if you're coming home from work.
Particularly if you've been sorting out other people's problems all day.
It's really important to de-stress and just come back to yourself and your current mood and experience.
So just take these 10 minutes just relax.
No expectations,
No other place you need to be,
No responsibilities.
You'll just find yourself a comfy place to sit or lie down.
Making sure your body is fully supported by the chair or the ground.
In a position where you can be relaxed but alert.
And then just gently closing your eyes.
Just starting to connect with the breath.
With your own natural breathing pattern.
So not trying to change anything but just seeing what's there.
And then when you're ready I'd like you to move your attention to the movement of the breath in your stomach.
So just noticing the rise and fall of your belly.
So hopefully you should notice that as you inhale your belly expands and grows making room for your lungs to fill with air.
And as you breathe out your stomach shrinks and contracts.
And just following that rhythm of your breath.
Perhaps just noticing if there's any areas of tension which are restricting the breath.
And if there is just seeing if you can soften those muscles.
We're not necessarily changing anything but we're just allowing space in the stomach.
Removing any resistance from tense muscles so that the breath can fill the stomach.
And noticing it in the back body as well so the sides and your lower back.
You might be able to notice the more subtle movements in your lower back so your spine curving towards the front of your body as you breathe in.
Lengthening and straightening as you breathe out.
And I'd like you to move your attention to the chest and the rib cage.
And just noticing how your rib cage expands and grows and takes up space as you breathe in and how it shrinks and contracts as you breathe out.
Just noticing this in your own natural rhythm.
And this is quite a subtle thing to concentrate on especially if you've had a busy day.
There's lots of things to concentrate on.
So if the mind wanders,
Which it will do,
Just notice where it's gone.
And then just bring the attention back to the rib cage and the breath.
Just giving yourself permission and space to just be in this moment,
To be here now.
Noticing the rib cage in the back body as well as the front.
Noticing the sides.
Just seeing if there's any tension you might be holding in your chest,
Which is restricting the breath and just softening,
Just allowing those muscles to relax and make room for the breath.
Just noticing that your body is breathing for itself.
You're not consciously doing anything.
You've got everything you need in this moment.
And then moving the attention up to the shoulders and the collarbones,
Perhaps the neck.
Just noticing the movement of the breath in this area of the body.
You might find that these movements are a lot more subtle,
A lot harder to distinguish than in other parts.
So just see if you can pinpoint any movement.
You might notice that your shoulders rock gently back and forth in time with the breath or up and down,
Just seeing what you can notice.
A lot of people hold tension in their shoulders,
Especially if you've been working at a desk all day.
So if you want to roll your shoulders,
Turn your neck from side to side gently,
Please do.
It might help you just relax those muscles and allow the breath to fill your body all the way up to the shoulders.
Perhaps move the attention up very slightly to encompass the jaw as well,
Another area where tension can lurk without us knowing.
So you could move the jaw very slightly and then when it returns to rest,
Make sure there's a gap between the top row of teeth and the bottom,
Not clenching your jaw unconsciously.
And then putting all of this together to notice the whole of the torso,
The journey of the breath,
All the way from the stomach to the shoulders.
Noticing that flow of movement up and down your body as you breathe in and out.
And that although we're choosing to sit in stillness as we practice,
There's still a lot of movement happening with the breath.
So our resting state is not rigid like a statue,
We're human.
We're breathing and moving.
The breath can almost rock our bodies,
Massaging the organs and soothing the nervous system.
As we come to the end of this short practice,
Starting to wiggle fingers and toes.
Perhaps rotating wrists and ankles.
And then moving on to a bigger stretch and opening your eyes.
Perhaps just take away with you that awareness of where you notice tension in your body today.
And just taking a moment throughout the day just to notice if that tension is still there and just relaxing.
Just taking a few seconds throughout the day just to check in with the body and release any tension.
