Finding Ease In The Body

In this offering, we connect to the breath, just as it is in this moment, without forcing or changing anything. After noticing the breath, we will connect each exhale with a softening of the body as we scan from head to toe.

Transcript

Hello and welcome.

My name is Katie and I'm glad you're here with me today.

I invite you to find a posture,

Get settled in.

Allow the body to just settle into the gravity,

Sink into the chair,

The cushion you're sitting on.

Allow the arms to hang by the sides of the body.

Let your head balance nice and evenly on the neck,

On the shoulders.

When you feel like you're settled in,

Go ahead and close down the eyes.

In this practice,

We will simply breathe,

Settle into the body and try to find a sense of ease.

So,

There's no forcing of anything,

We're just gonna see how the body feels in this moment.

I'll guide you and I'll direct your attention to certain parts of the body.

If it's painful or there's any discomfort at all,

Go ahead and turn your attention to the breath and then join us again at a different part of the body.

So first,

Connecting to that breath,

Finding where your body is breathing.

Are you breathing through the nostrils or an open mouth?

Are you breathing deeply or is the breath a little more shallow?

And where is there movement in the body because of the breath?

Do you feel the breath at the tip of the nostrils?

Do you feel the breath in the chest?

Is there a slight lift and lower of the shoulders perhaps?

Maybe if you're breathing slowly and deeply,

You're feeling it all the way down into the belly.

So just notice if the belly is expanding and contracting with each inhale and exhale.

Nothing to do here but notice and observe and allow the body to breathe on its own in its own natural rhythm.

We're not trying to speed up or slow down the breath or lengthen the breath or change how we're breathing.

We're just noticing,

Noticing what feels comfortable.

Notice how your body chooses to breathe on its own.

And then we'll allow the breath to continue without our attention,

Focus solely on it.

And I'll guide you on a little body scan throughout the body.

And like I said,

If ever it feels too much and you want to go back to your breathing,

By all means,

Feel free to do that.

But I'll begin with you guiding from the top of the head,

Noticing any sensations at the scalp,

Even in the hair.

And then bringing your awareness on the front of the face,

Noticing if you're holding on to any tension in the brow,

The forehead,

Around the eyes.

See if you can soften.

Give the face permission to let go and to relax around the sinuses and the nose,

Each of the cheeks,

The ears.

You noticing any sensations in the body,

In the face?

Perhaps it's the temperature of the air against your skin.

Maybe it's moisture if you're damp,

Noticing the lips,

The jaw,

The tongue.

Can you soften the mouth?

And maybe if you're finding it hard to soften,

You go ahead and attach your breath to your body.

So as you breathe in,

You bring all of your awareness to the face.

And as you exhale,

You softly and gently give your body permission to soften.

Allow the eyes and the cheeks and the mouth to just relax,

Ease in the body.

That's all we're doing here is finding some ease,

Finding some space.

And then take another breath and find that ease and that space in the neck.

360 degrees around the neck,

Across the chest,

Opening up your heart space,

Letting your shoulders drop down away from the ears.

Breathe into that space and give your shoulders permission to let go and to drop.

And then notice on your next breath,

The whole front part of the body,

From the shoulders,

Past the chest,

Into the abdomen.

And just soften the torso,

Softening the gut,

Give it permission to relax.

And breathing and noticing the back of the body from the shoulders,

Down the spine,

Noticing what's tense in the shoulders,

Or the upper back,

Mid back,

All the way down into the lower back.

Noticing each of the sides of the body from the armpits down to the hips,

Breathing and filling the space,

Exhaling and softening.

See if you can find some more ease in the midsection.

Just giving the body permission,

A chance to relax.

And then noticing the hips and the pelvic area and the sitz bones,

Surrendering into that cushion once again,

Letting the gravity just weigh you down.

And feeling that sense of heaviness in each of the arms hanging on either side of the body.

Noticing any sensations,

Just breathing in and out of the arms,

Giving your arms a chance to rest,

And then bringing your breath and your awareness to your lower half of the body,

From the sitz bones down each of the legs,

Fronts,

And the backs of the legs,

To the knees,

The ankles,

Into each of the feet.

Just letting your attention rest,

The soles of the feet and the toes,

Feeling that connection that the feet have with the ground beneath you.

And once again,

Finding ease and comfort in the feet.

And just doing a last scan of the body from head to toe.

If there's a part of the body that's still tight,

Breathe into that space,

Recognize that it's tight,

And see if just simply by turning your attention towards the discomfort or the pain,

You can soften it.

Maybe you can,

And maybe not today.

Just notice you are the observer,

Allowing whatever is here for you to be here,

Trying to sit in this moment of ease without any judgment or expectation,

And just allowing,

Just allowing the body,

Giving the body permission just to rest and to find ease in this moment.

Just for one moment.

And coming back to your breathing,

Noticing once again how the body has chosen to breathe.

Is it shallow or deep?

Are you breathing through the nostrils or the mouth?

Can you feel the breath in the body,

In the chest,

In the belly?

Just allow yourself to sit with the breath and the body,

Finding ease in this moment.

And I invite you to just sit and enjoy for another moment,

Taking in the breath,

Observing the body,

Softening on the exhale if you can.

And then ever so slowly,

Making small movements of the wrists and the ankles,

Maybe rolling the neck side to side.

You might even reach the arms overhead and give a stretch.

And only when you are ready,

When you have found some calm,

Some ease in the body,

I invite you to open your eyes and go back to the rest of your day with this new sense,

This new sense of peace,

This new sense of calm and ease,

Ready to tackle whatever comes your way.

Thank you for joining me.