Close your eyes,
Soften the muscles of your face,
Your eyes,
Your forehead.
Take a moment to release and unclench the lower jaw from the upper jaw.
Begin to let go of tension and relax your body.
Start with one small area of your body that is tense.
Notice this area of tension and allow it to ease slightly.
Take a deep breath in and as you exhale,
Feel the muscles in the area you are focusing on becoming more relaxed.
Breathing in relaxation and breathing out tension.
Notice with each breath how you can relax this one area of tension.
Now begin to notice other areas of tension.
Choose one area to focus on and concentrate on breathing in relaxation and breathing out tension.
Feel your muscles relaxing,
Loosening as you breathe slowly and deeply.
Notice now where your body is the most relaxed.
See how this feeling of relaxation is growing,
Expanding to other areas of your body.
Feel your shoulders and hips release,
Sinking down,
Settling around your spine.
Your arms and legs are feeling heavy and relaxed.
Imagine that you are by the seaside.
You can hear the water moving with the shifting of the winds.
Take a deep breath in and out,
Enjoying the salty scent of the sea.
The ocean is very calm.
Most of the water looks smooth,
But you focus on the movement over the water.
Gentle ripples where the waves roll in towards the shore.
As you look out over the ocean,
The cool blue-green sea blurs with the edge of the sky.
The light shimmers and dances over the waves,
Constantly moving light and water.
You are walking along the shore,
The gentle waves are washing over your feet as you sink your toes into the cool,
Wet sand.
Feel the texture of the soft sand against your skin and how the next wave washes the sand away.
As the sun rises high in the sky,
The soft pink and purple haze fades into a vibrant orange-red glow.
You can feel the warmth of the sun on your face and shoulders as it begins to shine brighter.
The waves become a little bigger,
More lively as the breeze increases.
Feel the wind in your hair,
Hear the seagulls cry as they glide by,
Sensing freedom in their flag.
Begin to deepen your breath,
Inhaling wide and full,
Exhaling long and slow.
In your mind's eye,
Watch the waves pulling in and pulling out along the shore.
Feel your breath moving in and moving out of your body.
See if you can find a slow,
Rhythmic pace to the waves and be here,
Watching,
Observing,
Being and breathing.
Now see if you can match your inhale with the tide rolling in and exhale with the tide rolling out.
Gentle breathing,
Gentle waves,
Sinking and sensing into the natural flow.
Gaze of inhale,
Fall of exhale.
Tuning into the sensations of nature,
Use your five senses of sight,
Sound,
Smell,
Taste and touch to fully experience what is surrounding you and supporting you.
As we begin to open our awareness,
What else can you notice to embrace a more present human experience on earth?
Day by day,
Moment to moment,
Breath by breath.
When you are ready to reawaken your body,
Use your breath to bring movement back into fingers and toes.
With intention,
Circle out your wrists and ankles.
Purposely bend through knees,
Elbows,
Shrug your shoulders and move around in your hips.
Stretch your arms up overhead,
Open and expand your heart space,
Continuing to breathe in and breathe out.
With lying on your back,
Roll to your side and pause.
Feel your body relaxed and free of tension.
From a sitting position,
Uplift your spine and slowly roll your neck from side to side.
Drop your chin to your chest,
Place both hands over your heart and thank yourself for creating space to be and breathe.
Open your eyes,
Readjust your gaze and allow this calm,
Balanced sensation to be carried with you as you move and transition through the rest of your day.
Thank you.
