Hi,
And welcome to today's practice.
So taking your time to find a comfortable position,
And do whatever you have to do to get comfortable.
Just giving your body permission to rest and settle as best as it can this evening.
And then closing your eyes,
And take these first few moments to be still.
This can actually be quite tricky to do after a busy day of doing,
Rushing,
Juggling,
The commute to and from work,
Relationships,
Chores,
Endless to-do lists.
But I invite you to give yourself the opportunity to be still.
Becoming aware of how you are feeling in a very general way,
Not labelling,
Not pushing anything away,
Just checking in with how you're feeling for perhaps the first time today.
Becoming aware of any emotional qualities,
Any moods,
That might have been present throughout the day,
Or that are present just now.
Treating them gently,
Mindfully allowing them to be there,
Accepting that this is how you've shown up,
And that everything is welcome.
Becoming aware of what the mind is doing.
Is it busy,
Racing,
Chattering away?
Does it feel cluttered or congested?
Or maybe it feels open and calm,
Relieved to be slowing down.
Again,
Just observe.
Now becoming aware of any sensations in the body.
How does your body feel?
Is it tired,
Is it worn out?
Are the sensations coming and going,
Or sticking around?
Noticing if parts feel comfortable or uncomfortable,
Open or closed off.
Just acknowledging that this is how you are feeling,
And that it's okay.
And now start to take some big deep breaths,
In and out through the nose.
Breathing into a soft belly,
Noticing how it expands like a balloon.
Feeling that gentle sense of filling and stretching.
And without any force,
See if you can begin to gently deepen that inhale.
And you'll notice that as each round of breathing rolls on,
This deepening happens quite naturally.
And now with each exhale,
Start to lengthen and slow it down slightly.
And again,
As each cycle of breathing unfolds,
You may find the exhale just naturally lengthens.
And what we're doing here is signaling to the body that it is safe and that it can rest.
It doesn't have to be doing anything else,
It doesn't have to be anywhere else.
By using the breath in this way,
Breathing deeply in and slowly out,
We're allowing the body to remember that it can stop,
Recover and heal.
By breathing in this way,
You are offering your body kindness.
Now we begin to bring awareness to different areas of the body,
Giving each part space to rest and recover.
Starting with the face,
Softening across the forehead,
Relaxing the eyebrows.
Relaxing the jaws,
Softening any tension that might be there,
Allowing the eyelids to soften,
Allowing the eyes to sink.
Softening the tops of the cheeks just under the eyes,
Relaxing the jawline and clenching the teeth,
And letting the tongue relax.
And allowing this softening and release of tension to happen with each exhale.
And this practice isn't about perfection or getting things right,
Meeting a target.
We're just trying to soften as much as we can tonight.
Sometimes big days and our many responsibilities can really take a toll.
And so we can only relax as much as we're able.
Taking a deep breath here.
And as you exhale,
Soften the neck,
The throat,
The collarbone.
And then allowing the shoulders to drop.
Relaxing from the tops of the shoulders down into the tops of the arms.
Down to the bend of the elbows.
Releasing any tension from the forearms,
Your wrists,
The palm of your hands.
Relaxing all the way to the tips of your fingers as the arms become heavy and supported.
And noticing any sensations in the palm of the hands or the fingers.
This might be feelings of aliveness,
Energy or vibration.
Moving now to the upper back.
Softening across the shoulder blades.
And then over the tops of the shoulders into the chest.
Noticing the subtle rise and fall as you breathe.
With the next exhale,
Let the ribcage soften and drop.
Letting go in the middle back and lower back,
Allowing them to be supported.
And from the lower back,
Move through to the belly as it fills with your next inhale.
Feeling it expand and gently stretch.
And as you exhale,
Let it soften and fall.
Releasing any tension from the hips and softening down into the tops of the legs.
Noticing the contact of the back of the legs against the surface they're being supported by.
Feel that weight pressing down.
Softening the knees.
And then imagining a warm liquid flowing down from the knees into the calves and the shins,
Releasing tension as it goes down into the ankles,
Into the heels,
The soles and tops of the feet and each of the toes.
Becoming aware of any sensations in the soles of the feet.
And now opening your awareness to the whole body,
Taking in the full field of sensations just as they are.
Allowing the natural rhythm of your breath to guide you.
With each exhale,
Seeing if you can soften just a little more.
Allowing the outline of your body to start to dissolve into the space around you.
The boundaries fading,
The edges softening.
No longer separate,
But part of something endless and limitless.
An open space where you can simply be.
Each breath carrying you deeper into ease and into stillness.
Allowing yourself to completely let go,
To float unburdened,
Free in this vast,
Spacious awareness.
As you breathe in and out.
And if you become distracted,
That's absolutely fine,
You're not doing anything wrong.
Come back to the breath for a moment and ground yourself.
And allow the body to soften and drift and dissolve into spaciousness again.
And gently becoming aware of your feet once again.
Becoming aware of the toes,
The soles of your feet and the heels.
The ankles,
The shins,
The calves.
The knees,
The tops of the legs and the hips.
The lower back,
Middle back and upper back.
Belly,
Ribs,
Chest.
Shoulders,
Elbows,
Forearms,
Hands.
Collarbone,
The neck.
Face,
The eyes and the top of your head.
Take a few deep cleansing breaths.
In through the nose,
Out through the mouth.
Before you settle once more.
And then becoming aware of the sensations of contact with whatever is supporting you.
The feeling of weight pressing down.
Feeling of support.
And becoming aware of the space you're in.
The temperature.
Any movement of air.
And take a moment here to acknowledge yourself.
Offering a quiet thank you for showing up.
For giving yourself this time to pause and to rest.
Whatever your experience was,
Remember the act of sitting and offering yourself this time and space is enough.
As you end the day with an act of kindness.
And when you feel ready,
Allow your eyes to open.
And just taking in what's around you.
Colours,
Shapes,
Shadows.
Maybe the light has changed.
Noticing how the world moves and shifts over the course of a day.
But within you there is a stillness that remains.
A stillness you can always return to.
No matter how busy life becomes.
Thank you for joining me and I look forward to sitting with you next time.
