Hello and welcome.
Thank you for joining me today.
So often in the busy lives we lead,
Our bodies are abused,
Neglected,
Overworked and forgotten.
We spend so much of our precious time and energy navigating the world around us,
Completing daily tasks,
Fulfilling obligations or caring for the needs of others.
We have lost touch with the healing art of rest,
With the wisdom and the dance between the in-breath and the out-breath.
We were not modeled this important practice of showing up for ourselves in this way,
Of attending to our experience,
Showing ourselves that same loving attention we so freely give away.
That beautiful,
Important energy you have within you.
It's time,
Dear one,
To invest a few minutes on that precious life of yours,
On you,
On your body,
Your experience.
Let's begin by taking a gentle,
Deep breath in of that sweet,
Sweet oxygen,
That nourishing resource we so often take for granted.
Taking a moment to turn your attention inward,
Using the breath as an anchor to the present moment,
Allowing yourself to get curious about the breath,
To take notice of all the details so often disregarded,
Of the feeling of the breath moving across your nostrils,
Of the muscles expanding and contracting to allow for each precious breath entering your body,
Oxygenating your body,
Refueling each and every cell within your body.
We're going to begin to move through the body,
Allowing you to give your loving attention to each area of your sacred,
Beautiful self,
To explore your experience within your body at this very moment,
Taking this moment to notice any points of pain or tension,
Any areas that you may have been carrying stress or trauma within your body.
And then you're going to allow it to release,
Giving it your permission to just let go,
Each time noticing the difference,
Noticing the softening of the body with each passing moment,
With each nourishing breath taken down into the belly.
If you notice your mind wanders at any time,
That's okay,
That's what minds do.
Simply bring your attention back to the breath as many times as necessary.
Be gentle with yourself,
Dear one,
Using your breath as an anchor to allow you to fully tune into your body,
Moment by moment,
Breath by breath,
As best you can.
Allowing your awareness to move down your body to your feet now,
Curling your toes in and activating the muscles of your legs as you use them to clench down.
Holding it,
Feeling the tension and the tightness.
Now release,
Allowing your feet and legs to relax.
Notice how good it feels to bring in this ease,
This rest.
Clenching your fists now,
Tightening them as much as you can,
Studying the feeling of tension as your muscles are working to keep this position.
Now relax your fists,
Concentrating on the difference,
On how loose and relaxed your fists and arms now feel.
Tapping your fists again now,
This time pulling them in towards your chest and flexing your forearms and your biceps,
Almost as if you're showing off those muscles.
Now allow your arms to straighten out and relax,
Watching the relaxation spread up through your arms,
Noticing how calm and good it feels.
Pulling your shoulders up towards your ears now,
Sort of punching your head to support the position.
Feeling the tension in your shoulders,
Your neck,
Your upper back,
Holding it a bit longer,
Really tuning into the stress and the strain.
Now relax your shoulders and observe the calmness as it moves through your neck,
Your throat,
Your upper back.
Notice how calm and peaceful your shoulders feel as you allow them to soften.
Wrinkling your forehead as tight as you can now,
Hold it,
Scrunching up your eyes.
Notice all the muscles and tendons working together to achieve this position.
Feel the tension,
The tightness,
The strain.
Now relax and let it smooth out,
Just imagining your forehead and scalp becoming smooth and rested.
Closing your eyes very tightly now,
Squeezing them tighter and tighter,
Working hard to maintain this position.
Feel the tension and the tightness.
Now relax and let them smooth out,
Giving them permission to rest and imagining your eyes becoming droopy and heavy.
Plinching your jaw now by biting down hard,
Squeezing it as tight as is available to you now.
Feel how strong your jaws are,
How tight you can bite down.
Now relax your jaw and slightly part your lips.
Feel the ease,
Notice how much more pleasant this calmness is,
Just letting your whole face go slack.
Relaxing your entire body now,
Watching as the feeling of looseness and relaxation moves throughout your whole body,
Allowing for a softness,
A nourishment found through the loving attention you have gifted yourself with today.
If there are places that remain tense or you often store stress and tension,
Turn that loving attention towards it and imagine it softening,
Allowing for a mindful release,
Unintentional noticing,
Listening and honoring your body,
Your experience.
You are completely calm and relaxed now.
Your body is relaxed and at rest.
Hold on to this feeling as you move through the rest of your day,
Knowing that this is available to you at any time,
Whether you're seeking a nice comfortable place to set the trajectory of your day,
A healing tool to release pain or discomfort from the body,
Or a place of calm to allow for drifting up to deep,
Restful sleep.
Either way,
Beautiful soul,
The choice is always yours.
May you be well.
May you be happy.
May you be loved.
May you be loved.
