Close the door,
Snuggle under a duvet or find your favourite chair and cover your legs with a blanket.
Settle in.
Allow your eyelids to drop.
Try to adjust your position until you're 10% more comfortable.
Feel the sensation of your breath.
Why do we focus on the breath?
Because whatever happens,
It's always there.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
The one constant.
Rising,
Falling.
Notice where in the body each inhale ends.
Note the state of your mind,
The speed of your thoughts.
Take a mental photo.
Now on both hands,
Connect your thumbs with your first fingers,
Your index fingers.
Notice how your next few inhales reach a little deeper in your chest,
Down into your ribs.
Now connect your thumbs with your middle fingers as well as your index fingers.
Watch the next few breaths in and how they seem to spread a little further down into the belly.
Continue watching but not leading your breaths.
Witnessing,
Not controlling.
Notice if you feel a little calmer.
Now allow your hands to relax in your lap but keep that connection between your fingers as maintaining your flow of energy.
In a moment I'm going to invite you to ignite your imagination and take a little journey.
There will be times when your mind naturally drifts elsewhere,
Distracted by thoughts,
By sensations,
By sounds or ruminations of past and future.
Your mind and body works hard to take you away from the present moment,
To entice you into memories of past events or into the imagined future.
When you notice that this has happened,
Bring your full focus back to the breath.
Following its cooling entry at the nostrils,
Feeling its movement through your internal organs and surrendering into its warming exhale.
Use that breath focus to escort your wandering attention back to this moment,
Back to the now.
Know and accept that each interruption is just the mind functioning as it should but each time you become aware of the distraction and you let it go,
You're exercising your mindful muscle,
Your ability to be in the present.
Now imagine you are floating on a pool of moving water,
Gently flowing under warming soporific sunlight.
Notice the physical sensations in every part of your body that is supported by the flowing water.
Feelings in your heels,
Bobbing up and down with the ripples of the current,
Sparkling under the reflected sun like liquid gold.
Notice the sensations in your calves and up to the backs of your knees,
Rooting out any tension and gently releasing it into the imagined pool beneath you.
Now focusing on the vibrations in the backs of your legs,
Naming what you feel.
Is it heat,
Pressure,
Numbness,
Heaviness or lightness?
Moving awareness to hips and pelvis,
Still picturing yourself floating in flow.
Now anchoring your focus to the base of your spine,
Breathing three deep breaths into this space.
Inhale,
Exhale,
Breathing in,
Breathing out,
Noticing any tension here and using the breath to aid its relief.
Physically letting go,
Exploring with curiosity the sensations in the back of your ribcage,
Letting your attention glide from the base of the spine slowly to the nape of the neck.
And finally,
Witnessing and labelling the sensations in the back of your head,
Resting on the surface of the water as is supported by a new luxurious pillow.
Notice how your body flows effortlessly,
Following the natural direction of the tide,
Like a branch drifting downstream,
Noting how it feels to move in flow.
What change can you make to your daily life to mentally feel that flow rather than swimming against the tide?
Is there something you're holding on to that is no longer serving you,
That's literally weighing you down?
Is there a habit that's inhibiting your growth,
A situation or a person that's holding you back?
What is one small,
Subtle change you can make today that will shift the tide and help you become a better version of yourself?
Now picture how you feel and what you look like when that weight is lifted,
Jaw released,
Shoulders drop,
A smile beginning to grow from the corners of your mouth,
Any remaining tension expelled into the water.
Turning your attention now to the front of your body,
Enveloped by the glowing sun,
Heat on your face,
Refracting off your cheeks,
Tickling your forehead,
Landing on the bridge of your nose,
Stroking your lips,
Feeling its warmth on your chest,
Your belly,
Feeling the radiance flowing down each leg,
A spotlight on your knees,
Moving to your shins,
Down to your toes,
Drifting in pure flow,
In a dreamlike state,
Feeling perfectly relaxed with the heat from above and the hydrotherapy beneath you,
Breathing in flow,
Releasing the barriers,
Breathing in energy,
Letting go of lethargy,
Breathing in light,
Exhaling negativity,
Drifting off to distractions,
And then bringing yourself back to the image.
Take a mental picture of how you look and feel in this state on your pool of water and know that you can return here anytime just by closing your eyes and focusing on your breath.
The psychiatrist Elizabeth Kubler-Ross,
Pioneer of the five stages of grief,
Said,
You cannot say hello until you say goodbye.
Let go today of something that is no longer serving you,
That no longer serves any purpose.
Now coming back to your space in this room,
Sensing the contact between your fingers,
Noticing all smells as you inhale and the sounds as you exhale,
Feeling all points that have contact with the chair or bed.
Take a stretch,
Take a deep,
Long,
Conscious inhale and hold it at the pinnacle.
Make an O shape with your mouth and slowly release.
Gently open your eyes.
Now take strength from this pause and let the current reignite you for the rest of your day.
