Hi,
I'm Victoria,
A UCLA trained mindfulness meditation teacher and founder of Head into HeartSpace.
Let's get started.
In this practice,
We'll be inviting in relaxation throughout the whole body.
Start by laying down in a comfortable position on your back,
Perhaps letting your hands rest on your belly or lay softly beside you.
When you're ready,
Allow your eyes to softly close.
There's no need to try to force yourself to do any part of this practice.
Relaxation and ease will come to you when they will.
Simply allow yourself to be present for whatever arises.
Let's start with a rhythmic breathing practice.
Breathing in for six through the nose and out the mouth for six.
Taking a deep breath in first and sighing out through the mouth.
Breathing in two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six.
Out two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six.
In two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six.
Out two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six.
Now let's start to invite in ease to specific parts of the body to dissolve tension and promote relaxation.
Begin to notice your eyebrows and see if you can notice the spot in between your eyebrows that sometimes you wrinkle when you're looking too hard at something.
See if you can invite some softness into your eyebrows and into your whole forehead.
And from there,
Bring awareness up into your scalp and into the crown of your head.
And here in the crown of your head,
See if you can feel any sensations as you let your awareness rest here for a moment.
Notice your eyes and eyelids.
And let your eyes rest more deeply in their sockets.
If you can,
Notice where your eyelids are touching.
Sweeping your awareness down your face to the tip of your nose and feeling the air in your nostrils and as you breathe out,
Letting it flow freely.
Allowing your lips and your tongue to be soft.
Inviting relaxation into your jaw.
Letting your ears just soften.
Then noticing the entirety of your face.
Just being with whatever is here now.
Giving permission for lightness to enter.
Not forcing and not making it a problem if there are parts in your face that feel tension.
And then letting your awareness come down into your throat now.
Feeling into the front of your throat,
The back of your throat,
The sides of your throat.
And noticing now if there's a part of your throat that feels constricted.
Oftentimes in a body scan,
As we direct our awareness to a particular place,
It begins to soften on its own.
Give your throat permission to soften,
To open,
To relax.
Letting your awareness sweep down into your neck.
Noticing any tightness or tension here.
And seeing if you can breathe into it and allow it to soften.
Inviting in relaxation.
As you come down into feeling the sensations in your shoulders,
Notice any places of discomfort,
Heaviness or tightness.
We often carry the weight of the world on our shoulders.
So perhaps in this moment you can invite in some ease,
Some relaxation through deepening the breath and sending it directly into your shoulder.
Letting that ease and relaxation now come down the length of each arm.
Feeling your upper arms,
Your elbows,
Your forearms,
Your wrists,
Your hands,
The tips of your fingers,
And the palms of your hands.
Feeling how your body feels now.
Letting that awareness come inward into the expanse of your chest.
Taking a few slow,
Deep breaths in here and inviting in some settling.
Then sweeping down into your belly.
And just being with the breath there as it flows in and out,
The belly expanding and contracting,
Rising and falling.
Notice if perhaps somewhere in your abdomen you feel some holding and send your deepened breath there.
Deep breath in.
Slow breath out.
Intending for ease and relaxation.
Feeling with curiosity what your breath is like now.
Noticing if you can feel the expansion on the in-breath and the contraction on the out-breath.
Feeling whether it's subtle or distinct.
This is being with whatever arises,
With curiosity,
With openness,
With compassion.
So inviting this sense of presence now into every cell in your body.
And then sweeping awareness now into the back body.
Noticing the weight of your back body on the bed.
And scanning down from the back of the neck,
Down the length of the neck,
Down the length of the back,
All the way to the end of your spine.
And just being aware of the places in your back that have been holding tension and tightness.
And send the deepened breath there.
Noticing as stories arise,
Noticing if you suddenly want to start wiggling or shaking or moving because it feels too uncomfortable.
And if that happens,
Seeing if you can nurture yourself and ask whatever sensation that is arising,
What it has to say to you,
What it has to teach you.
Giving a permission to be exactly as it is.
And letting the entire back body find ease as it will.
Not trying to fix or make anything happen.
Instead,
Just simply allowing yourself to feel held up and supported.
Then gently draw your awareness down now into your hips,
Your glutes,
And your pelvis.
Feeling the weight of gravity holding you up,
Supporting you throughout this region and your entire back body.
Letting the deepened breath invite in even more relaxation.
Gently shift your awareness down the length of your legs,
Noticing your thighs,
Noticing your knees,
Noticing your lower legs,
Your ankles,
The tops of your feet,
The bottoms of your feet,
And your toes.
Bringing in relaxation down the length of your legs.
Letting your awareness move slowly from your feet all the way up to the crown of your head and resting here in relaxation.
Inviting every cell in your body to find relaxation,
To be at ease.
Staying here for as long as you need.
And when you're ready,
Wiggling your toes,
Wiggling your fingers,
Wrapping your hands together and blinking your eyes open.
