Hi and welcome to today's meditation.
Today we'll be doing some practice with tension and release.
So I invite you to find your comfortable seat,
Extending your spine up tall,
Shoulders back and down,
And having something under your hips to help support your spine and extending up with a little more ease.
Once you've found your comfortable seat,
We'll begin by rubbing the palms of the hands together,
Bringing focus and energy into the palms.
And let's take our fingertips and we'll gently brush them across the forehead,
Temples,
And cheeks,
Brushing away any worries or expectations.
Then bringing your fingertips to your eyes,
Palms to your cheeks,
Turning your attention inward,
And take a couple of deep cleansing breaths.
When you're ready,
You can gently float your hands down,
Lifting your heart with your inhaling breath,
Allowing your sitting bones to sink into your seat with your exhaling breath.
We'll be focusing on our body throughout this practice today.
So I invite you as we begin to gently scan your body from your head down to your toes,
Noticing anywhere that you might feel tight,
Might feel stressful or pain,
Feeling free to shift and adjust your body as needed if you're in pain,
While also checking in with the rhythm of your breath at the moment.
Just noticing where it is.
Now I invite you to gently lift your eyebrows,
Scrunching up your forehead,
And as you come to your next exhaling breath,
Soften and release the eyebrows.
With your next inhaling breath,
Gently squeeze your eyes and as you exhale,
Soften them.
With your next inhaling breath,
Gently clench your jaw and as you exhale,
Soften the jaw,
Allowing the teeth to gently separate,
Allowing the tongue to drop to the lower jaw.
As you come to your next inhaling breath,
I invite you to scrunch your shoulders up by your ears,
And as you exhale,
Let the shoulders fall back and down,
Bringing your awareness to your right arm.
I invite you to bring your hand into a fist and gently tighten the muscles throughout the arm and shoulder.
And as you come to your exhale,
Release all the muscles through the right arm and hand.
Take a moment to notice what feels different from the right to the left side.
Then I invite you to bring your awareness to your left arm and hand,
Gently squeezing the hand into a fist and tensing the muscles throughout the left arm and shoulder.
And as you come to your exhaling breath,
Soften,
Releasing and letting go.
And again,
Noticing what is perhaps the same or different on the right and the left sides now.
I invite you to bring your awareness to your belly and engaging the belly muscles,
Contracting them toward the back.
And as you exhale,
Soften,
Letting go,
And inhale fully expanding the belly with the breath,
Noticing how your breathing shifts when you allow the belly to soften and release.
I invite you to bring your awareness to your hips and pelvis,
Gently tightening the muscles of the glutes and buttocks and around the hips.
And as you come to your next exhaling breath,
Gently softening and letting go.
And bringing your awareness to your right leg and foot.
I invite you to curl the toes of your right foot and engage the muscles through your entire leg.
And as you come to your exhale,
Gently soften,
Noticing the difference between the right and the left sides.
Now I invite you to bring your awareness to your left leg,
Curling the toes of the left foot,
Engaging the muscles of the leg,
Tensing,
And as you come to your exhale,
Softening.
Now I invite you once more to scan from the top of your head,
Down the body,
All the way to your feet,
Noticing what's different in your body from when we began,
Noticing the quality of your breath.
Without judgment,
Just acknowledging where you are in this moment,
Allowing your practice to be just as it was,
Allowing yourself to be just as you are in this moment.
Take a deep breath in and out,
Gently releasing the practice and opening your eyes and bringing yourself back to the space where you are.
The space where you are.
