Welcome to this four-part Drew Foundation relaxation.
This practice can be done lying down or you could sit in a chair if lying down isn't suitable for you.
You might like to gather everything that you need to be comfortable to lie down or be in a chair,
Maybe a bolster,
Cushion,
Eye pillow,
A blanket,
Depending on where you are.
And if you're going to come to lie down,
Lying down on your back,
You might like to keep your knees bent to ease any lower back pain now or anytime during this relaxation.
Otherwise maybe having the legs extended,
Feet about two hip widths apart,
Toes roll outwards,
Arms are down by your sides,
Palms facing up.
Just checking and feeling in,
Is the body evenly aligned and resting on the surface you're resting on.
Then bring your awareness to the breath.
You breathe in through the nose,
Maybe feel the abdomen expand a little.
As you breathe out,
Slowly exhale through the mouth.
The next time you breathe in,
You might like to extend that breath a little up into the chest as well.
And as you breathe out through the mouth,
Reversing this belly and chest softens time.
As you take a third breath in,
The belly,
Chest,
And maybe the upper chest,
All the way to the collarbones rises.
And as you breathe out through the mouth,
Reverse this belly,
Chest,
Collarbones,
Soften.
And let the breath just return to its regular easeful pattern.
You might even like to add the word peace on your in-breath,
Calm on your out-breath.
And then for this next stage of the relaxation,
I invite you to relax the physical layer of your body.
You may like to firm or tense parts of your body on the in-breath and release and soften them on the out-breath.
If that doesn't feel right for you today,
You might prefer to just visualize that part of the body or take your awareness there as we get to it.
And then soften and release on the out-breath.
So let your awareness travel all the way down to the toes on both feet.
As you begin to curl the toes on both feet under on an inhale,
And then letting the toes,
The underside of the foot,
Soften and release on the exhale.
Doing that a couple of times.
Then letting that movement go as the awareness comes up to the ankles.
Keeping the heels on the floor,
Rotate or circle both ankles one way and then the other.
Feeling into the ankle joint and then letting that movement go.
You might like to then alternate between pushing the heels of both feet away and pointing the toes of both feet away.
Pointing and flexing.
Feeling a little bit of tension come up the front of the leg,
The back of the leg,
And then letting that movement go.
As you breathe in next,
You might like to draw the backs of your knees down towards the mat or bolster.
Tensing lower legs,
Upper legs.
And then on an exhale,
Let both legs soften and release.
Let your awareness rise now to the hips.
You might like to squeeze the buttocks gently together on an in-breath.
And on an out-breath,
Let them release and soften.
Awareness up to the soft front part of the body as you breathe in,
Taking a deep yogic breath.
Belly fills with breath,
Chest.
And then a long slow exhale through the mouth or the nose as the whole front of the body softens.
Awareness now to the back body.
As you breathe in next,
Draw the belly button down towards the spine.
Feel your lower back flatten a little bit onto the floor.
And then as you breathe out,
Let the gentle curve of your lower back return.
Next breath in,
You like to squeeze the shoulder blades together.
Feel the upper chest rise.
A bit of tension in the upper back.
And on an out-breath,
Could you let the shoulders relax down and away.
Let them slide away.
Upper back,
Mid-back,
Lower back.
A little bit more released onto your mat.
Let the awareness come all the way down to both hands,
Fingers and thumbs.
You might like to create a soft fist,
Giving your thumbs a bit of a squeeze with the fingers.
Maybe then lifting the arms gently off the floor,
Rotating through your wrists,
Elbows,
Shoulders one way and then the other.
Like you could wring out any tension in the arms.
Or you might prefer to stretch the fingers wide.
Put a bit of tension through the fingers,
The thumbs,
The palms,
The arms.
And then on an out-breath,
Let the arms come to rest down by your side.
A little away from the body,
Palms facing up.
If it feels more nourishing,
You might have the hands resting on your front.
Let your awareness come up to the shoulders.
If you can feel the little bit of tension in the shoulders,
You might like to lift them off towards the floor,
Off towards the ceiling.
We might like to hug them up towards the ears.
And then on an out-breath,
Let the shoulder girdle release and soften.
Bring your awareness up to the neck.
If there's remaining tension in the neck,
You might like to gently roll your head one way,
Come back to centre.
Gently roll the other way to centre.
You might prefer to tuck the chin in slightly,
Lengthening the back of the neck against the mat.
And then let the head return to a centrally balanced position,
Nose lined up with your navel.
As you bring your awareness now up to the mouth,
The jaw.
You might like to move your jaw from side to side or open the mouth wide.
Maybe see if you can bring on a yawn,
Seeing if that yawn can release tension in the jaw,
The throat.
As you let the mouth be gently closed,
Tongue relaxed,
The teeth slightly apart.
Bring your awareness to the rest of the face.
You might gently squeeze all the muscles of the face in towards the centre on an in-breath.
And then on an out-breath,
Let the whole face soften from the centre to the edges.
Keeping the eyes closed,
You might like to alternate between raising the eyebrows and frowning.
And then on an out-breath,
Let your forehead,
Scalp soften.
You might even like to gently push the back of your head into the mat or the cushion.
And then on an out-breath,
Let the whole head relax.
Let your breath awareness be at the top of the head as you breathe in.
And as you breathe out,
Can you scan down through the body,
Making any adjustments to be 10,
20% more comfortable.
And the second stage of this relaxation is to relax the subtle body.
No need to move the physical body,
Just using the power of your breath to soften and release all the tissues,
The muscles,
The bones of the body.
So awareness back down to the soles of the feet,
Breathing in as you can breathe in through the soles of the feet.
Warm breath comes up through the toes,
Foot,
The ankles.
And as you breathe out,
Let both feet soften even more.
Toes just flop out to the side.
Breathing that warm breath up through your lower legs,
Knees,
Upper legs.
Feel the breath softening the tissues,
The muscles,
The bones of the legs.
And on an out-breath,
Let both legs soften and release a little more.
Warm breath is drawn up into the torso,
The abdomen,
The chest,
The back.
And as you breathe out,
Can you let the whole front body relax,
Let the rest release down to the back body.
Let the whole back body release,
Surrender,
And yield a little more to the surface you're resting on.
Maybe even visualising the earth below that.
Awareness then comes down to the fingers,
The thumbs,
The hands.
Breathing that warm breath in up through the fingers,
The thumbs,
Palms,
Wrists.
And as you breathe out,
Let the hands soften and relax even more.
Let there be a gentle curve in the palm of your hands.
Then breathing that warm breath up through the lower arms,
The elbows,
Upper arms,
Shoulders.
Feeling that warm breath soften the tissues,
The muscles,
The bones of both arms.
And as you breathe out,
Letting both arms relax and soften a little more.
Breathing that warm breath across the shoulders,
Up the neck,
And up into the face.
Let the nose soften,
The mouth,
Let the eyes soften to the back of the head.
The whole head soften into the cushion or the mat below.
Right,
Begin to notice each part of your body gently expanding on the in-breath and softening,
Relaxing,
Yielding on the out-breath.
Might even like to visualise or notice or be aware of the whole body feeling heavy and grounded.
It was resting safely,
Securely on the earth.
You might like to visualise or experience the whole body feeling light,
Weightless.
It's floating,
Being aware of the vast sky above you.
And then return to the sensation of the whole body resting in peace,
Comfort,
And safety.
I'd like to bring your awareness back to the centre of the chest,
The heart space,
As you rest in stillness.
I'd like to bring to mind a heartfelt or intention or sankalpa in a positive tense and maybe repeat it three times silently to yourself.
Might be something like,
I choose joy,
I'm happy and healthy.
And resting in silence and stillness for a couple of minutes and then you'll hear my voice again.
I now invite you to begin to re-energise all the layers of your being.
You might like to imagine a golden light just like the sun above the crown of your head.
You might like to imagine this golden light flowing down from above like a river of gold.
Feeling the light drawing down into your physical body from the head all the way to the toes.
Feel that light filling your breath,
That gentle golden light balancing your emotions and settling your mind.
I'd like to take some slightly deeper breaths as you draw your awareness back to the physical body as it rests here.
The surface that you're resting on,
Clothing or blankets against your skin.
And bring your awareness to and welcome back any sounds,
Sensations as you begin to bring a little bit of gentle movement back into your body.
Maybe beginning by reeling the fingers and toes.
I'd like to rotate the wrists and the ankles.
And then invite you to begin to stretch and move your body in a way that feels right for you today.
An overall body stretch,
Arms overhead,
Stretching,
Reaching.
You might prefer to hug your knees into your chest and gently rock from side to side or circle,
Easing any tension in the lower back.
There's no hurry.
And then in your own time you might like to come to roll onto your right side,
Pausing,
Resting there for a few breaths.
Just letting the body adjust in this in-between stage.
Taking a few more breaths while the heart,
The lung,
Circulatory system,
Nervous system adjust.
And then when you're ready,
Pushing yourself up kindly and gently to sitting.
You might keep the gaze soft or the eyes closed.
As I invite you to palm your eyes.
So beginning by just gently rubbing the palms together,
Letting this bring you back into the physical sensation of your body.
As you feel the skin rubbing together,
The energy and warmth that that creates.
When they feel nice and warm,
Placing those warm hands over the closed eyes.
The head rest in the hands.
And then maybe opening the eyes into this warm space.
Letting the eyes drink that warmth in.
And then when you're ready,
Letting the hands lower down,
The light filters back in between your fingertips.
Like to give yourself a bit of a massage on the temples or a gentle tap with the fingertips on the crown of your head.
And you might like to draw the hands down,
Palms united,
Left and right.
Sides of the body and mind united at the heart in Anjali Mudra.
You might like to bow your wise mind to your compassionate heart.
May all beings attain happiness.
May all beings be free from suffering.
May all beings never be separated from joy.
May all beings abide in equanimity.
Namaste.
