Let's just agree to give ourselves this time,
Folks,
To slow down,
To recognise that,
Whether it's science,
Philosophy or common sense,
Truly this time,
This practice,
Is the only thing that exists now.
The only time you can decide to take care of yourself,
To heal,
Is now.
So let's settle in.
Let's move to our breathing,
And to begin with,
A slightly deeper breath.
The emphasis is on breathing in through the nose,
Slightly deeper,
But always comfortable,
And blowing out through the mouth.
Breathing in through the nose,
Blowing out through the mouth.
You can imagine when you breathe in,
Breathing in from the waist to the top of the head,
And then gently blowing out through the mouth,
Slowing you down,
Bringing your breathing softer,
Easier,
Calmer.
Let's just have a few seconds in silence as we practice this breath together.
In through the nose,
Gentle blowing out through the mouth,
Giving yourself this time,
Acknowledging this moment,
This practice,
Slowing down.
Now just allow your breathing to settle,
To do its own thing,
Typically in and out through the nose,
But now don't try and change anything,
Just accept your breathing as it settles now.
I'd like you to know that whatever your breathing is doing at the moment is perfect for you now,
Just let go and allow the process.
I ask you just to notice your breathing a little bit more,
Nothing else,
Just sense the air as you take it in through the nostrils,
Maybe the temperature,
Where it settles in your body before it begins its journey out.
Does it feel the same leaving your body as when it enters?
There are no rights,
No wrongs,
It's just the natural flow of your breath and each breath we connect with slows us down to this moment.
So let's just have 30 seconds or so in silence now and the practice is just to be with our breath folks.
Our mind will wonder,
Mine,
Yours,
Everyone's,
But let's just keep coming back to the breath again and again for about 30 seconds in silence.
You're doing great,
Slowing down.
If you and I were being monitored now,
Our blood pressure,
Our heart rate,
Our nervous system would all fall in line,
Would all indicate that just simply allowing yourself this moment with your breath is healing,
Stabilising and calming.
Now allow your breath to continue to flow in its own natural way and take your awareness to the space that you have chosen for your practice.
With your eyes closed I'd just like you to notice the space,
Whatever that means,
However it ends up being,
Just notice the space now and an invitation to feel your connection to the space.
You may be sitting,
You may be lying,
But gently feel your weight against the surface that supports you.
Perhaps feel the bottoms of your feet against the floor or the surface.
Remind yourself that you're here now.
And when we set an intent to be well,
We slow down and experience the space,
We can often sense a softness that surrounds us,
A gentleness,
A tranquillity.
It's always there,
Wherever we are,
We just have to slow down to meet it.
And we can breathe in this softness,
This gentle air that surrounds us.
We can breathe it in and then let go with our out-breath of what no longer requires us to be with.
So we breathe in the softness of this space now,
We breathe out what we no longer require.
Let's just have 30 seconds or so in silence now as we're aware of the space and the gentle flow of our breath.
How perfectly you fit into wherever you are right now,
When you can relax gently in your own skin and just allow yourself to be here.
How perfectly you fit,
How easy it all is when we slow down and come to this moment.
All is well.
Now I'd like you to take your awareness to the top of your head,
Around your forehead or the eyes.
We're going to become physically relaxed now as part of this practice.
To do that,
We'll enjoy a gentle body scan together.
Again,
Have no expectations,
Just go with it.
Wherever you and I place our focus,
Just relax there.
Become soft there.
So let's begin now at the top of the head,
The forehead and around the eyes.
Perhaps the muscles of the cheeks,
The face and the jaw.
Just soften.
Allow the muscles to drop slightly.
This may open the jaw and the mouth and that's fine.
You are already letting go of energy that you were storing here no longer needed.
Stress,
Worry,
Just let it go.
Become soft.
Down through the neck to the shoulders,
The top of your chest and the top of your back.
So often we hold stress here,
We don't even realise we're carrying it.
Just drop your shoulders with me an inch,
A couple of centimetres.
Allow that energy just to fall away,
No longer yours to carry.
It probably never was.
Down both arms,
Over your elbows,
Into the bottoms of your arms and hands and right through to the ends of each finger.
And even here,
Give yourself permission to relax,
To become soft and easy,
To let go.
This brings us to our stomach and lower back.
Let's pause for a moment.
Give a little back.
Your vital organs work so hard for you every day.
In this moment,
Give each organ permission to safely relax with you,
To safely let go of any energy that's no longer required,
To reset,
Refresh,
To heal.
Before we carry on,
Just a slightly deeper breath and take it into the area of the stomach and the lower back.
Really breathe into that space and let it go as part of the healing process.
You're doing great.
Continuing now over the waist,
Into the hips and the pelvic area,
Becoming soft,
Relaxed,
Down through both legs and into your knees.
And again,
Let's just pause for a moment.
Your knees are so important.
Direction,
Movement,
Support.
I'd like you to imagine a warm oil like an elixir or a healing balm as it runs through both knees or through the joint,
Front and back,
Healing and lubricating.
Continuing now down through both legs at the calves at the bottom,
Over your ankles.
And for now,
Just into the back of both feet.
So we're just going to focus and stay at the heels now,
The back of your feet.
Let's just pause here for a few seconds.
Some part of you may wish to move on,
To continue your journey.
But I'd like this to be a reminder that it's important to rest,
To find balance in all things,
That you're always in control.
You can stop and pause,
Reflect at any point.
Let's just have a couple of breaths here with our focus just in the backs of our feet,
To settle,
To become comfortable with the pause.
Now moving on through both feet to the ends of each toe.
And this is a great opportunity to really feel the floor or the surface below the bottoms of your feet,
To bring your energy low,
To connect to this space,
To this moment.
Simply by being here,
You and I have set an intent to be well,
To take care of ourselves,
To give ourselves time.
I'd like you to visualize or sense now that this intent to be well,
To heal,
To become better,
Manifests itself as a white light.
You have been heard and so it is.
The white light starts to manifest and appear in the ends of each toe.
This may be like a mist or a fog swirling and moving,
But leaving nothing.
Everything is lit.
Everything is touched.
The white light may have a warmth to it.
It may not.
A feeling.
It moves now through both feet,
Taking in the backs and the heels,
Up through the ankles,
Swirling and moving,
Healing,
Warming,
Into the bottoms of your legs,
Back through both knees,
Healing and lubricating.
The light now enters the tops of your legs,
Moving purposefully and easily into the pelvic area,
The void,
The hips,
The buttocks,
The lower back,
Up into the stomach,
Again connecting,
Touching,
Healing all organs,
Up through the spine,
Into the ribcage,
The chest,
Up to the shoulders and the base of the neck,
And then just gently running down both arms,
Right through to the ends of each finger.
Your intent to heal has been heard.
All is well.
So let's just sit for 30 seconds or so now,
Connected to the light,
Healing,
Resting.
This healing light now wishes to complete its journey and so safely moves up through the neck,
Into the bottom of the head space,
Maybe swirling and moving,
Behind the eyes,
To the back of the skull and right up to the crown.
Now completely bathed and connected to light.
You set an intent to heal and be well.
And so it is.
Let's move back to our breathing now,
As we sit within the light,
Just for a few seconds in silence.
So bathed in healing light,
When you're ready,
I ask you to open your eyes and come back to the space that you have chosen,
In this moment.
