Welcome,
And maybe welcome back if you've done the previous practices in this series.
I'm Diane Harris and I'm truly happy and very grateful for the privilege to share with you.
So thank you for choosing to spend time with me and more importantly to spend time with yourself.
This is part four of the Nourish Series,
Doing relaxation pose today.
This Nourish Series is a place for you to restore,
Rejuvenate,
And come home to yourself.
You may find at times,
Especially at the beginning,
That you're eager to get into the shape.
Maybe you know the shapes or you've done the practice with me before.
So I invite you to relax the urge to rush ahead and to give over to being led,
To being guided,
Where you can then completely relax and turn inward.
In this series,
I guide you into a shape,
But you can do this practice in any shape that calls to you.
So like I always say,
Just listen to that inner voice.
Don't stay where it doesn't feel comfortable.
You want to find the shape that is exactly right for you today.
So relaxation pose is lying on your back.
And I'd like you to have with you two or three pillows or two pillows and two blankets.
You might want a blanket to cover yourself because your body might cool down.
You're going to set up with your biggest pillow under your knees.
You're going to be lying on your back and then you might have a rolled blanket or rolled towel under your ankles.
And then you might enjoy a low pillow or folded blanket under your head and neck for support.
If you have an eye pillow,
That's a great addition to help you feel grounded and settle in.
Pause the recording if you need to,
Because you want to find the perfectly comfortable place for you.
So take time to set up.
Knowing that there's always the option to come onto your side if that feels better for you.
Might feel nice to have your arms just slightly wide of your body.
And that's move through the body to relax.
I love the feeling of noticing how relaxation comes in layers.
So right now,
Curl your fingers and your toes very tightly.
And then slowly let them uncurl and relax and try to know what's the layers of letting go.
Lift your right leg two inches off the floor.
And release.
Lift your left leg two inches off the floor.
And release.
Engage through the glutes completely.
And see if you can let go slowly so that you can experience the gradual and continual softening of the muscles.
You might even notice now how your low body feels heavy and weighted.
Engage your torso,
Your spine,
Your abdominals.
And release.
Right arm lifts two inches.
And release.
Left arm lifts two inches.
And release.
Scrunch your face up nice and tight.
Nobody's looking.
Feel the softening as you let go.
Let your teeth gently part.
And this signals many of the muscles in your face to relax.
Bring your attention to the skin on your face and see if you can imagine it softening.
You might even feel a slight tingling.
The forehead and the scalp relaxes.
Even imagine your ears softening.
You might even want to just gently rock your head a tiny bit side to side as you nestle into the pillow.
Your whole head sinks into the pillow.
Even the eyes feel softened into their sockets.
If your eyes are closed,
You're closing off external sight to enhance inner sight.
Now just notice the flow of your breath.
Softly in and softly out.
As you inhale,
Can you notice the air come down to the low abdomen?
And exhale.
The next inhale,
Feel the air come first to the low abdomen and then the low rib cage.
And exhale.
Now in three parts,
The inhale comes to the low abdomen,
The low rib cage,
And then the upper chest.
Soft exhale.
Inhale,
Lower torso,
Mid torso,
Upper torso.
Soft exhale.
Let this three-part breath on your inhale be smooth and fluid like a drink of water.
Filling each part without a pause in between.
Breath comes to the lower belly,
Mid body,
And upper chest.
And on the exhale,
Let's exhale in the reverse of that.
So inhale,
Lower belly,
Lower ribs,
Upper chest.
On the exhale,
Softening the upper chest,
The mid body,
The low body.
Three-part inhale and three-part exhale.
Building this breath awareness in this three-part breath,
Also called the complete breath.
Let your breath be easeful,
Gradual,
And unhurried.
Smoothly filling up and smoothly letting go.
No need to force the breath or deepen it.
Let the rhythm of your breath find you.
Breathing in,
Low abdomen,
Diaphragm,
Chest.
Breathing out,
Chest,
Diaphragm,
Low abdomen.
This breath is thought to be purifying and energizing.
We often don't breathe fully and completely.
Only breathing in our upper chest.
And that can cause decreased oxygen to your blood vessels and it can strain your heart and lungs.
So as you continue this gentle practice of the three-part breath,
Know that you're increasing the oxygen supply while decreasing your stress and anxiety levels.
Creating breath awareness and improving your lung capacity.
Maybe now when you get to the top of the inhale,
You can let it feel like you're taking a sip at the end to completely fill up.
Still endeavoring not to over-effort here.
You might even notice that you're developing a feeling of calm,
Serenity,
And balance.
As your nervous system relaxes,
Observe the quality of your breath.
The ancient yogic texts teach us that this and other breath practices purify and regulate the vital energy or life force in our body.
It refreshes us not just physically,
But mentally,
Emotionally,
And spiritually.
Grateful for these bodies that we have,
This one vehicle for the whole of our life.
It's so important to care for it.
Even our mind may leave us,
But in this human experience,
This body is the one body,
The one thing that tethers us to the earth.
You don't just have to be in a practice to have these benefits and to care for your body and yourself.
You can practice this breath anywhere,
Anytime.
You don't have to be in any special position or place.
Feel free now to release any shaping of your breath.
And as your body feels heavy in the ground,
Release any call to fidget.
When the breath becomes calm,
The mind starts to calm and the desire to fidget may lessen so that you can linger in your surrender.
So that you can submit to the earth and gravity and let them have you.
Your breath is soft and unshaped.
As the layers of your body continue to release,
Let your attention remain below the surface of everyday life.
Let your breath become delicate.
We're finding harmony here by recharging our batteries.
This calm breath invites a calm mind.
This calm mind invites a calm body.
And with body,
Breath and mind calm,
The heart and emotions can find a safe place to rest.
Recharging our batteries,
We're looking to integrate body,
Heart and mind and spirit,
Which is really the essence of who we are.
We are more than our heartbeat.
We're more than the organs functioning in our body and the breath in our lungs.
All unique.
It is the spirit that this body houses.
That makes us who we are.
So when we endeavor to find harmony,
When we look to integrate breath,
Body,
Mind,
Heart,
Mood,
Spirit.
That's our way to work towards experiencing our own natural wholeness,
Our natural state.
There may be times when you've felt like you've been in that perfect moment where for no reason at all,
Everything just feels the way it should.
That's you experiencing your own wholeness.
And the more we carve out this time to cultivate that,
The more it finds us in day to day life.
So that we can luxuriate in that,
Not just on our mats and in our practice.
But in moments through our days.
We've together softened our breath.
Softened our bodies.
Bring awareness now to your mind.
Does it feel less frenetic?
Can your mind yield to the undoing that the breath and the body invite?
Our mind is such a powerful thing.
And there's magic in knowing that.
That the pictures we create in our mind are the beginning of creating our reality.
So what pictures are you holding in your mind?
What are the internal thoughts or dialogue?
How you picture your life in the moment and in the future.
This is something you can update like an operating system.
This is something you choose.
You can harness the power of your mind.
So perhaps right now,
Think of one way you like feeling.
And build a picture around that.
What shapes or colors or images that you bring that feeling from being a picture to being in your body.
Are you in nature and what is your surroundings?
Sometimes it's hard to retrain the brain.
It feels like a big leap.
But we just start with the inner dialogue to help us build trust,
To help us feel safe.
So take a moment now to praise yourself for being here in this practice.
Tell yourself that you're going to be your own support system,
Always,
All the time,
No matter what.
That you're going to stay regardless of the thoughts and images and words that come up.
You stay and support with kindness and compassion.
Because we're all learning.
We're all learning to be vulnerable as our defenses come down in these moments of stillness.
And rather than having to direct things,
Can you just be curious about the mystery unfolding within you?
Yes the mind may wander.
When we bring the mind back,
We're coming closer to wholeness.
So often in life our mind and our body are in different places.
You might be at work and we're thinking of the chores on the way home.
We might be at home on a Tuesday,
But we're thinking of plans for the weekend.
Our body and mind separate.
But we can pause when we notice that.
Try this three-part breath.
And there you are.
Back towards wholeness.
Mind's attention on the breath.
Fueling the body.
Calming the nervous system.
Feeling yourself in your interest of getting to know yourself.
Feeling an opening and a curiosity or maybe it might feel like a lot.
This idea of getting to know yourself.
This idea of listening in.
Your inner self craves it.
And being here right now,
You're showing your inner self that you're willing to take the journey.
You are worth it.
You are whole.
And you are complete.
In some moments it might feel overwhelming or blissful,
Joyful,
Easeful.
You might have moments of clarity and they may expand.
You might feel an expansion within you.
Commit to staying the course and loving yourself.
Let go of the need to analyze this in any way.
Come to your breath and let your breath illuminate your body.
Bringing a softness.
Perhaps bringing your hands to your body.
Maybe one on the heart,
One on the low body.
As you commit to your self relationship and the opportunity to discover in search of freedom.
May you know your own goodness and let it shine brightly.
Namaste.
