All around you,
The world clamors for your attention,
Begging you to notice the things outside of yourself.
This practice is an invitation to look inward,
To marvel at your own breath,
To witness the superficial and the deeper layers of your physical body,
And to develop your concentration and clarity of mind,
And to deeply release tension from your body,
Head to toe.
Lie down on your back,
With your feet hip distance apart,
And your arms stretched out alongside you with your palms facing up.
Support the back of your head or the back of your knees with a cushion as needed.
Make any last adjustments so that you feel symmetrical,
Supported,
And ready for stillness.
Notice your breath,
Without forcing or changing anything about it.
Simply observe your breath in,
And your breath out.
Let your belly be soft,
And allow it to expand upward and outward with every in-breath,
And then let it fall in a relaxed and gentle manner with every out-breath.
Keep your shoulders relaxed,
Your neck and head heavy as you continue to puff the belly out with every inhale,
And exhale passively,
No effort required.
Bring your attention to the space between your eyebrows,
Known as your third eye center.
Imagine here a dot of deep blue light,
The color of the midnight sky.
Imagine this deep blue light penetrating through your skull to reach deep into your brain.
Sense that this light has the power to ease tension,
And see if you can feel a softening deep within your head,
Like a heavy sigh at the end of the day.
Shift your attention and this light to the hollow of your throat,
Between your two collarbones.
Again sense that this light can penetrate deeply underneath the surface of your skin and your muscles and your bones,
Relaxing,
Melting away tension.
Shift the light to your right shoulder joint,
And again here feel the light bring a deep sense of release and relaxation to your shoulder.
And now to your right elbow,
Your right wrist,
The tip of your right thumb,
The tip of your index finger,
Tip of your middle finger,
Tip of your ring finger,
And the tip of your pinky finger.
Come back to your right wrist,
Sensing the light here deep within your joint,
Up to your right elbow,
Your right shoulder,
The hollow of your throat.
Move the light to your left shoulder joint,
Allow it to sit there a moment,
To soften and release deeply any tension,
Pain,
Or soreness,
Then float the light to your left elbow,
Your left wrist,
The tip of your left thumb,
The tip of your index finger,
The tip of your middle finger,
The tip of your ring finger,
The tip of your pinky finger,
Your left wrist,
Left elbow,
Left shoulder,
Back to the hollow of your throat.
Move the light to your heart center,
In the very middle of your chest,
And let this light pour into this space,
Easing tension in your chest.
Shift the light to the right side of your chest,
Back to your heart center,
Left side of your chest,
And back to your heart center.
Move the light down your midline to your solar plexus,
Just below the bottom of your breastbone.
Shift further now to your low belly,
About two inches below your navel.
Let your navel,
Your belly,
Be soft,
Fully relaxed.
Allow the light to move into your right hip joint,
Your right knee joint,
Your right ankle,
Into your right big toe,
The tip of your second toe,
The tip of your third toe,
Tip of your fourth toe,
Tip of your fifth toe,
Your right ankle,
Right knee,
Right hip,
Your low belly,
Two inches below your navel.
Bring awareness and light into your left hip joint,
Your left knee,
Your left ankle,
Your left big toe,
Tip of your second toe,
Tip of your third toe,
Tip of your fourth toe,
Tip of your fifth toe,
Your left ankle,
Left knee,
Left hip,
Your low belly,
Two inches below your navel.
Up your midline to your solar plexus,
Up to your heart,
To the hollow of your throat,
To the space between your eyebrows.
From the center of your eyebrows,
Sense this deep blue light expand to cover your entire body,
From head to toe,
Fingertips to fingertips,
Like a comforting cloak,
Protecting you from outside influences,
From the distractions of the world around you,
Fully immersed in this internal realm,
Like the breaking of dawn,
Gently let your awareness expand to the sounds,
The textures,
The sights around you,
Coming back into the present,
Into relationship with the external,
With a renewed sense of self,
Of the connection between your mind and your body.
Breathe deeply into your nose and out your mouth,
Move your toes and fingers,
Open your eyes,
And get ready to re-enter your day with a clearer mind and a more relaxed body.
