Let's begin this practice with three long deep breaths.
So breathing in through your nose,
Filling up the chest,
Involving your diaphragm if you can.
Then holding for a moment and then slowly exhaling.
Then breathing in again,
Really filling up the chest,
And slowly exhaling.
Then one last time,
Breathing in a full deep breath,
Holding the breath and then exhaling.
And then breathing naturally.
So bringing your attention to the whole of your body.
And with your eyes closed,
See if you can notice the play of light coming through your closed eyelids.
Is it dark?
Or can you notice some colour?
Maybe some shapes?
Some movement?
Relaxing your eyes if you can.
Just using curiosity to really explore what you see with your closed eyelids.
Almost as if you can see the lighted up space inside your head.
And expanding your awareness to the whole of your head.
As if from the light through your closed eyelids is really lighting up all the energy and aliveness in your head.
Sensing your head from the inside out.
And imagine extending this visual awareness around the whole of your inner body.
Moving the light and energy and awareness from your head down your neck,
Your throat and shoulders.
All the time sensing your body from the inside out,
Your inner body,
Full of energy and aliveness.
And from your shoulders moving down your arms,
Past your elbows,
To your hands and fingers.
Then down your chest and back,
Your belly,
Lower torso and pelvic area.
If you can,
Sensing them full of light and energy,
Full of vitality.
Then down your legs,
Past your knees,
Down to your feet,
To the soles of your feet.
Imagining the whole of your body filled with playful light and energy.
From the soles of your feet to the tips of your fingers to the top of your head.
Feeling calm,
Relaxed,
Open and aware.
Aware of the sense of presence,
Without thought.
And if you do find that your attention has been taken away by thoughts,
Gently bringing it back,
Maybe to the light behind your closed eyelids.
Using that as an anchor for noticing presence.
And if you get taken away in thought again,
Bringing your attention and awareness back to the light behind your closed eyelids.
Expanding that sense to the whole of your body.
Really embodying the aliveness and vitality.
If it helps,
Bringing a half smile to the corners of your mouth.
Feeling energized and aware.
And expanding your awareness to take in sounds that are already here.
Noticing sounds in the room.
And sounds outside.
Extending your hearing as far as it will go.
And resting there.
Body relaxed,
Aware and alert.
Open and receptive to whatever arises in the changing flow of experience.
Without getting immersed in the foreground content,
The movement and noise.
Open to sounds,
Sensations,
Thoughts and feelings coming and going.
Taking your time to really appreciate the presence that is here.
Maybe with a sense of gratitude and wonder that this presence rests in the background of our experience in every moment.
A presence that is our refuge in any moment of agitation or stress,
Anxiety.
Feeling fully connected,
Embodied and alive.
Open and allowing,
Whole and complete.
Maybe setting the intention to remember and also explore this feeling of presence in your day.
Especially when there's moments of anxiety or stress or feeling a bit low.
Try simply closing your eyes and remembering that presence is there behind your eyelids.
By opening yourself up to the energy and aliveness in your body with awareness.
And see what difference that makes.
