So a deep relaxation for you and this is themed with the name of the song that appears at the end of it which is called Hold On To.
In challenging times certainly many things going on that can bring despair and hopelessness.
I was reflecting on what the things I'm holding on to give me hope and and help me be resilient and that's how I wrote this song.
And the relaxation if you've not done it before is a bit like the end of a yoga class so we're gonna be moving through the body ever so slowly and gently giving loving attention to the body.
I named some anatomical labels to help us stay on track and otherwise you're resting in awareness and this is something I learned while living in the Plum Village Monastery.
It's something I've enjoyed offering to people since if you find a quiet place to rest for about,
Give yourself 15 minutes it should be about 12 or 13 in total and then I'll play the guitar for 30 seconds and then we'll get going.
Okay so when you've got that quiet place be undisturbed,
Let anyone know you need to know.
Put your phone on silent.
It's gonna feel the contact of the body on the ground.
We're gonna breathe in and out with the guitar three times so we're gonna breathe in one chord and then breathe out on the second one.
Okay so we'll do that three times.
So breathing in and breathing out and breathing in and breathing out.
One more time breathing in and breathing out.
Okay now just allow your breath to become natural and I'm gonna invite you down to the tips of your toes.
So feeling individually each of those toes.
Feel how the foot is resting,
Slightly relaxed and pointed out to the side.
Go with the sole of the foot and then over the top of the foot and aware of the bone structure underneath.
The metatarsals into the main bit of the foot.
The bridge,
The heel and aware of the ankle as well.
And then aware of the heel again and the ankle again and then we've got the two bones,
The tibia and the fibula bones on the chord there.
And they come into the ankle and there's also the calf muscle there so aware of that up to the shin and the knee.
And so we can be grateful.
It's a kind of grateful feeling we're trying to generate here.
That feeling of just appreciation I suppose for life,
For the body that we have.
And in doing so we calm the body and we look after things we appreciate and that's the idea.
All the things that our legs do,
Balance,
Walk,
Run,
Climb,
Allow us to stop,
They bear weight.
And just in this moment they can be rested and nourished in the rest.
So above the knees we move up to the femur bone,
The strongest in the body and then we've got the quadriceps in front of the hamstrings behind and that moves up to the pelvic arch and the synovial joint which connects into the pelvis.
And we've got the pelvic arch,
We've got the organs of that area,
We've got the gluteus muscles behind the bum muscles and then we've got the genitals,
We've got the large intestine,
Stomach,
Small intestines,
That whole area.
A lot goes on there,
Just allowing that area to rest.
The wonder of the digestive system and then beyond the stomach we move up towards the small intestines and on the side of the body there we've got the kidneys and we can feel the spine,
Be aware of the spine.
Just a rough awareness of where these things are placed is enough,
Just brings that relaxation throughout the whole body.
And then we move up to the lungs and the rib cage,
Feel it rising and falling,
The oxygen coming in.
And we can be aware of the heart on the left side,
Liver on the right.
I just become aware again of the breath,
I'm making myself feel,
It's a good sign,
The breath coming into the mouth,
Down the trachea and rising up the rib cage.
Then the lungs expand and deflate,
Oxygen comes in,
Carbon dioxide out.
Oxygen nourishing the body right around,
Back through the liver,
Clean and then out again,
That process,
Amazing respiratory process.
And we said about the heart,
So hovering over the heart we're going to go over to the left shoulder,
Down to the bicep and tricep and then we've got the,
That was the humerus bone as well,
Down to the elbow,
Radius and ulnar bones,
Ligaments to the wrist,
Palm,
Thumb and fingers of the left hand.
And can we be aware of the fingertips there and just with our mindfulness bring in the right fingertips and then just quietly move that journey,
Wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm.
Okay we got to the shoulder,
Aware of the collarbone and then aware of the tongue and the teeth.
Got the jaw,
The nose,
Ears,
Eyes under,
Eyelids closed,
Top of the head and back of the head.
So I'm gonna sing you this song while you just rest and with the breath,
A couple of minutes and then we'll bring you out at the end.
Love over hate,
May the love that we make,
Make it true.
I will hold on to in the eyes of our children and what the songs that we sing to them do.
I will hold on to life as it falls apart,
Comes together and moves.
I will hold on to,
I will hold on,
Hold on.
Will hold on to and I,
I will hold on to,
I will hold on,
Hold on.
To the bridges we build between what we say and mean,
Me and you.
I will hold on to in poetry,
Patience and love,
Liberation and the power of youth.
I will hold on to unheard voices emerging,
Listening,
Learning and the struggle for truth.
I will hold on to a gentleness,
Softness and healing the harms of abuse.
I will hold on to,
I will hold on,
Hold on.
Will hold on to and I,
I will hold on to,
I will hold on,
Hold on.
And oh,
At times there's a pulling apart because you don't know where we're coming from.
Breathe with the ignorance,
Breathe with the arrogance,
Blessings on all of our lungs.
And I will hold on to and I,
I will hold on to,
I will hold on,
Hold on to.
Okay,
So just over the next couple of minutes,
You can bring some movement back into the body,
Rest the tension in a way of specific parts of the body and just allow it to wash over the whole body.
And I'll play the guitar for another minute just so you can ease movement into the body.
Might like to use the arms to kind of hold yourself or put some pressure somewhere that feels good,
Gentle or a bit stronger as you prepare for the rest,
Whatever comes next for you.
