And so just making yourself really comfy if you're lying on your front making sure you've got a little pillow,
Maybe having one arm up and one arm down.
If you're lying on your back,
Popping whatever you need behind your knees.
If you're lying on your front,
It's like,
Hmm,
How do you get the blanket to behave?
Just putting it round you a little bit like a cape before you lie down can sometimes help with that.
And so arriving as if the whole of our wonderful day of shared practice together has been for this very moment.
The body recognising itself as it relaxes down into the lap of the body from which we all come from,
That of Mother Earth.
For some of us who are tired,
It can be maybe the first opportunity in a while to simply sigh with relief as we can settle and relax,
Becoming aware of where the body meets the floor.
That wonderful embrace,
The earth of the body meeting the earth herself.
And noticing if there's anywhere still holding on,
Any tension or habits of holding stiffness in the body,
Just noticing.
We all have our areas,
It may be the shoulders or the pelvis or the jaw,
Or even the forehead,
Just with that wrinkled brow,
We keep looking,
Even though our eyes are now softly closed.
So welcoming ourselves home,
Welcoming the whole of the body as it is,
Home.
Come home to yourself.
And know that if there's any adjustment that you need to make,
That it's fine for you to move the body as you need.
There's an aim in our practice of the body being so relaxed that the need for movement simply doesn't arise.
Yet sometimes the body does need to move a little.
And so,
Laid there,
If that's floated up to the top,
If you're aware of the need to move,
Then just simply doing so,
But within an intention to return back to stillness.
Becoming aware of the ebb and flow of the breath.
Just broadening out and imagining the ebb and flow of the breath of Mother Earth herself.
All of the forests,
All of the green fields and plants,
Breathing.
The ebb and flow of the oceans.
And Mother Earth gently and steadily spinning round her axis and around the sun.
And so the qualities associated with the Earth element,
Steadiness,
Our ability to transition with ease.
The Earth is always spinning.
And yet,
When we allow ourselves to feel truly grounded,
We feel very steady and stable because the transition is constant.
So just as at a cellular level,
We are always moving,
Always changing.
May we too embody the calm and steadiness of Mother Earth as we navigate our way through our day.
Imagining that lovely ball of energy once again at the navel.
Warm and maybe feeling warm in your own belly.
And just inviting that warmth to truly nourish you from within.
And so we're going to take the breath and the awareness from the navel down the lower body for a few breaths.
Almost ebbing and flowing with every breath in and out.
So from the navel,
Just expanding down into the pelvis,
Into the hips,
Down the legs to the knees.
And on the exhale,
Coming back to the navel.
And then breathing into the pelvis,
Down the legs to the ankles.
And exhaling back into your centre.
Breathing right down into the toes.
Breathing back into the centre.
Just continuing to breathe from the navel down the legs into the soles of the feet and the toes.
With every exhale,
We can relax that little bit more.
Allowing the earth of our body to come home.
Then bringing the awareness to the upper body.
Starting again at the navel and inhaling up through the chest,
Up into the collarbones and the shoulders.
And then returning back to the navel on the exhale.
Expanding further down to the elbows,
Up the throat.
Exhale back to the navel.
Extending all the way down the arms to the wrists,
Into the palms of the hands,
Up into the third eye.
And then back to the navel.
And then just extending all the way into the tips of the fingers and thumbs,
Into the crown of the head and back to the navel.
Just for the next few breaths,
Breathing from the navel all the way into the edges of the upper body.
And then focusing on the navel and if it feels like a delicious and nourishing thing to do,
Breathing from the navel throughout the whole body.
Maybe starting small and gradually spreading out into the very edges,
Into the toes,
Into the fingers.
Or perhaps doing the opposite.
Perhaps concentrating more and more closer in to your own centre.
Soft and easy breath flowing in and out.
Feeling calm and stable and steady.
As if with every exhale we come home to ourselves that little bit more.
When we are in our centre,
How does that feel?
When we feel truly nourished,
How does that feel?
When we are capable,
When we are in our power,
How does that feel and where is that in the body?
The Earth element is about being in our centre.
The Earth element is embodying Mother Earth's capability to move with ease and balance and steadiness.
When we find ourselves out of balance,
Often it's because we are not nourished enough.
So coming home to ourselves,
Inviting all of the weary parts of us to settle and to relax.
Key emotion associated with the Earth element is that of empathy.
Where we connect with one another,
Able to really see someone else's situation and really feel with them.
May we just now offer that to ourselves.
May we be the Mother Earth to ourselves.
So we are truly nourished.
So as we start to navigate our way towards the end of this practice of Yoga Midra,
Inspired by the Earth element,
One way to really support ourselves in the coming days can be to offer ourselves a small affirmation or sankalpa,
A positive statement in simple language to help shore us up in the choppy waters of the days yet to come.
So offering yourself some space just now for that.
And then deepening the breath,
Welcoming a more awake and aware breath into the body,
Making the breath a little longer and deeper,
Maybe a little noisier.
Starting to move fingers and toes and run the tongue around the teeth.
Maybe turning the head from side to side if you wish,
Just to balance out the experience in the brain.
And then when it feels like a lovely thing to do,
You can stretch the body out,
Make the body as long as feels good.
And then hug the knees and make the body as small as feels good.
And if you're lying on your front,
You may wish to simply come back into child's pose.
Just spend a couple of breaths there.
So eventually making your way up to a more alert posture and state.
This practice for the Earth element is now complete.
Thank you very much for listening.
