Today's practice is about giving your mind permission to slow down by allowing your body to lead.
Through breath,
Felt sense awareness,
And gentle somatic movement,
We'll soothe the nervous system and bring the mind into the rhythm of the body.
Let's begin by lying on the back.
Arms resting in a loose V beside you.
Palms open to the sky.
Feel the weight of your body settling into the ground.
Notice the texture beneath you.
The places where your body meets the earth and the shifts in pressure as you settle in.
Take a slow breath in,
And release it through the mouth with an easy sigh.
Allow your next in-breath to come on its own.
Notice the feel of it,
The sound of it,
The rhythm of it.
You are invited now to initiate some gentle rocking by pressing your heels slightly into the and pointing and flexing your toes.
The whole body begins to move up and down,
Softly shaking out tension,
Finding your own rhythm.
It may be slow and steady,
Or quite vigorous if that feels good.
Shaking sends rhythmic pulses through muscles and fascia,
Helping them soften and unwind.
The repetitive movement clears excess energy and sends calming signals to the nervous system.
It's like a gentle nervous system reboot.
You may feel warmth,
Tingling,
Energy moving,
Or a sense of dropping back into yourself.
Keep breathing deeply,
But pause any time if you feel you need to rest.
Shaking has many benefits.
It improves circulation and fluid movement through the whole body.
It increases intero-reception,
That felt sense of being in your own body.
And it may even release emotional charge held in the body.
When you are ready to be still,
Pause to notice the effect of the shaking.
Can you sense the surge of somatic energy?
A release in muscular tension?
A sense of being more grounded,
Embodied,
Or even a shift in your mood?
Perhaps lighter,
Calmer,
Brighter.
Bring your awareness to your feet.
Feel their shape.
Wiggle your toes.
Stretch them long.
Spread them wide.
Scrunch them in,
Curling them downward.
Try making slow circles through your ankles.
One direction,
Then the other.
Slowly slide your heels along the ground,
Until your knees are bent and the soles of your feet are on the ground.
Tap your knees together,
Letting them rest,
Touching softly.
Then flutter them open like wings.
Bring your knees back together as you inhale,
And allow them to fall open to the sides as you exhale.
And when you are ready,
Slide your feet long,
And let your calves relax into the floor,
And notice their heaviness.
Sense the skin,
The muscles in your lower legs.
Bring attention to your knees,
Fronts,
Sides,
And back of the knees.
Feel into the joint,
The space inside.
Let the thighs lengthen,
From the knee to hip.
If there's any tension in the legs,
Invite a gentle jiggle,
Bouncing the legs,
Or perhaps rolling them open and closed.
Let your legs settle again.
Affirm to yourself,
I am grounded.
Shift awareness to your hips and pelvis.
Feel the wide bowl of your pelvis,
The weight of your sacrum resting on the earth.
Invite a slow pelvic rock,
Forward and backward.
Let the movements be slow,
A gentle ripple along your spine.
Tailbone tipping forward,
Then releasing back down.
Keep moving like this,
Flowing with your breath,
The river of energy moving along your spine.
Perhaps you would like to explore a gentle side to side sway,
Tilting your hips from left to right.
Or some slow,
Easy circles,
Like you're tracing a coin on the surface beneath you.
Just let the movement be fluid,
Spontaneous,
Intuitive.
Moving slowly,
With curiosity.
When this movement feels complete,
Return to stillness.
Affirm to yourself,
I am at home in my body.
Place one hand on your lower belly and one on your low back,
Or both hands on your belly,
If this is more comfortable.
Feel how your breath moves through you.
How a subtle expansion and the soft release moves you.
Imagine the breath as a gentle wave,
Slowly rising,
Swelling,
And then receding.
Bring your focus to your chest.
Feel the ribs widen as you inhale.
Soften as you exhale.
Sense the gentle lift of the sternum.
The stretch across your collarbones.
The space behind your heart.
Invite some slow shoulder rolls.
Tiny circles.
Feel the shoulder blades glide across your upper back.
Moving in one direction.
And then exploring the rotation in the other direction.
Then,
Come to be still.
Feel the weight in the upper back and shoulders.
Heavy.
Supported by the surface below.
Feel the weight of your arms.
From your shoulder to fingertips.
Bring your awareness to your palms.
Sense the spaciousness here.
Slowly rotate your palms downward.
And then upward.
Opening your palms to receive the in-breath.
All the way into your fingers.
And then grounding them down to receive the stability of the earth below.
Affirm to yourself,
I am here.
Bring awareness to the back of your neck.
Slowly glide your head to the right.
Then to the left.
Just enough to feel the skin stretch.
Soften your jaw.
Let your tongue float to the roof of your mouth.
Imagine your entire scalp relaxing.
Tension unfurling any creases in the forehead.
Sense your whole body.
The hum of aliveness within.
Let one hand rest over your heart.
And the other over your lower belly.
Feel the rhythm of your breath.
The gentle rise and fall.
The quiet steadiness inside you.
Know you can return to this place anytime.
Take a full breath in.
And a long,
Slow breath out.
In your own time,
Invite movement back into your whole body.
Roll your head from side to side.
Circle your wrists and ankles together.
Brush your fingertips along the floor to bring your arms overhead.
For a big stretch.
Slide your heels along the ground.
And bring the soles of your feet to the ground.
Let your legs sway softly left and right.
If a gentle twist calls to you,
Follow it,
Pausing on each side for a few breaths.
And when you are ready,
Roll to one side.
Lingering in stillness for a few breaths before coming up to sit.
We will close our practice together.
With palms resting at the heart.
Movement reconnects you to the body.
Breath settles you.
And awareness brings you home.
Here in this stillness,
Remember that your body always knows the way back home.
