To begin,
I do invite you to remove shoes and shoes and socks if you feel comfortable doing so.
It allows a different experience with having either stocking feet or bare feet upon the floor and recognizing that the soles of our feet are actually as as much of a sensory window of touch as the palms of our hands.
So taking a moment and again this is your your comfort level of removing shoes and socks if you so choose and feeling the floor in a different way through the soles of your feet.
And throughout this practice today choosing to be seated or standing whichever you find to be more preferable.
And either way in a standing or seated posture still inviting a comfortable rising up of spine from your pelvis and your base up through lumbar or mid-back through the thoracic or torso region of your back up through neck and up through skull with a gentle lifting or rising of spine from your base all the way up to sky.
And finding a comfortable resting place for your hands which may change as we do these different movements today.
So for now where you find a comfortable beginning place for your hands.
And eyes opened or closed whichever you prefer in this moment.
Lips either gently touching or slightly parted whichever you prefer.
And with a mindful movement exercise we begin in stillness.
Simple checking in sweeping your awareness from the very top of your head down across face,
Around back of head,
Spreading across shoulders,
Down into arms and hands and just checking in and noticing what sensations are found within these regions.
Moving awareness now down across chest and upper back,
Across belly and low back,
Just checking in.
Down into hips,
Crossing knees and the calves,
And arriving at feet and toes just to checking in in this moment.
And as a way of further arriving into body bringing your attention into body breathing where you find it easiest to make contact.
Perhaps the rise and fall of chest and belly or the movement of air through nose or mouth.
It is a deepening invitation of arriving into body in this moment.
At any time during this exercise when you find that mind is drifted away which it will it's okay.
Letting the breath be a invitation a calling to come back home once again in the body.
In this sense body breathing is our first movement that we're bringing our attention into.
Now bringing your attention to a head resting atop spine and shoulders and slowly gently allowing gravity to lower chin towards chest.
And with mindful movement it's not about arriving anywhere,
It's about tuning into body with the sensations that arise with movement.
And as your head comes to rest with chin towards chest just tuning in what sensations,
How is your body speaking to you in this moment?
Perhaps in some sensations and neck,
Down into shoulders and upper back.
And slowly bringing head back upright resting on spine and shoulders.
And now tending to shoulders inviting shoulders to remain lower and level and lowering your right ear towards your right shoulder.
Again breathing and tuning into sensations likely in the left side of your neck and shoulders.
We're not forcing anything here,
This is the body deciding where to find a resting place with gravity lowering right shoulder right ear.
And at your own pace bringing head back to an upright position.
And if you find it helpful you can tune the breath into these movements,
Again not a requirement,
You're what's comfortable for you.
Breathing in and then on the exhale lowering left ear down to left shoulder.
Tuning into how's your body speaking to you with this movement.
Considering this a act of kindness to body as we go through these simple movements checking in.
And then at your own pace coming back up head up to an upright position.
And now we'll move on to shoulders.
Now slowly raising both shoulders up and then rounding forward around and down.
So a few simple shoulder rolls,
Notice how that invites your shoulder blade or your scapula to slide in your upper torso freeing it up.
And as you complete this next cycle then we're going to reverse the movement and you may find it helpful if you haven't already having your arms rest on the sides of your thighs and sometimes scooting forward a little in the chair invites a little more opportunity for movement.
So now reversing shoulders up towards ears and then imagine squeezing the shoulder blades back towards each other around and down.
Noticing how this invites a opening of sternum and an opening of chest maybe even a fuller breath.
Also noticing any asymmetries between right and left.
Tuning into coming back home to body.
And then at your own pace coming back once again to a comfortable seated or standing in neutral posture.
Noticing how we don't come back to the same body really ever in life.
Our body is constantly shifting and changing and now coming back to this resting position after a few movements.
What's new?
What's different?
What do we find in body in this moment?
And now raising both arms up to shoulder level reaching out to the two sides of the room.
Noticing if you're hiking shoulders which is a very common thing to do inviting shoulders to loosen and lower.
And then continuing now hands coming up overhead all the way up overhead so we're reaching to the sky now.
Now we can do this gentle lengthening of body so you can begin on the right side and if you're seated sort of planting your right cheek into the chair and then a notice our reaching right up through the torso through the shoulder finally arriving at the fingers.
Inviting a lengthening of the right side of body.
If you're standing then you're grounding this through your heel all the way up.
And then coming back to neutral.
Shifting your weight over to your left side via your foot or your bottom of the chair and then the reach starts way down low and rises up through torso,
Shoulder and the reach actually ends in the fingers.
Doing a flow alternating them back to midline and a reach on the right side inviting this lengthening through the whole side of body.
Continuing side to side.
And then having come to rest in a balanced position once again arms still overhead,
Turning the back of hands together and imagining you're a great bird ready to take flight.
Inhale and then as you exhale arms coming down and two great big arcs out to the side like a great bird taking flight.
Feeling that extension.
Then arms coming all the way back resting by your sides maybe just a gentle shaking out from the shoulders down into arms,
Elbows,
Hands.
Letting go.
We'll do one more movement today.
Now arms coming back up,
Hands back up the shoulder height and now keeping knees,
Hips facing forward.
Breathing in and on the exhale inviting a turning of torso,
Shoulders,
Arms and hands and head to the right.
So a gentle opening of spine to the right and again you know your back better than I do,
Force that body being your guide.
Turning torso,
Shoulders,
Neck and head to the right opening up.
And then slowly coming back to midline.
And again it could be helpful to tune the breath in so inhale and on the exhale we're going to turn torso,
Shoulders,
Arms,
Head,
Neck to the left.
Opening spine to the left.
Again never forcing always letting body guide the movement.
And then slowly coming back to midline,
Arms coming back down,
Coming back into your home resting position be it seated or standing.
And in hands again to find a resting place maybe rest on your thighs or cupped in lap.
Checking in once again,
Body breathing and coming back home.
Inviting a kindness into body in this moment.
And then if your eyes were closed opening eyes and visually reconnecting with your surroundings.
What is it like connecting with the world from this place of having been kind to your body,
Some mindful movement?
This connection of body and mind is so powerful and how this invites maybe a new perspective.
To be carried into your day.
Maybe a moment of just gratitude for all that our body does through us day in and day out.
As we wrap up this simple moving meditation and enter into our day.
So thank you.
Appreciate you joining me and may you have a peaceful day.
Goodbye now.
