Find a comfortable position whether that's sitting,
Standing or even lying down.
I invite you to remain relaxed yet alert in your posture.
Whatever it is that you choose feels best for you right now.
Close your eyes if that feels comfortable to you.
You can also just soften the gaze in front of and slightly below you if that feels better.
Let's start by taking some deep breaths in through the nose down into the belly and breathing out through the mouth with a slight sigh.
Breathing in through the nose filling the belly up with air and breathing out through the mouth with a sigh.
Breathing in feeling the fullness of the air as it enters your belly and breathing out feeling the breath as it leaves the body.
Maybe you want to imagine on your next inhale that your breath can pick up any worries or anxieties or fears you might currently have.
Breathing out letting them go on the exhale.
Breathing in picking up what you don't need right now and breathing out letting them go feeling as they leave.
A few more breaths in and out.
And now let's use our awareness to bring some relaxation into the body starting at the top of the head.
Bring your awareness to your forehead.
Noticing any tension and inviting relaxation to enter,
Soften.
And coming to your eyes,
Your eye sockets,
Noticing any tension and letting the relaxation wash it away.
Your cheeks,
Noticing your mouth,
Your lips,
Even your tongue.
Sending relaxation to any tension you see in these areas.
And then coming to your jaw and the muscles around the jaw,
Noticing any tension and inviting relaxation to soften everything.
Coming down to your neck,
All the muscles in the neck,
Noticing any tension and letting that tension melt away.
Scanning over the tops of your shoulders,
Releasing tension as you move to your upper arms,
Down into your lower arms.
And noticing your hands,
Any tension that might be in the hands and the fingers.
Letting relaxation enter and relax your entire hand.
Moving to your chest,
Notice any tension in the chest area.
Let your awareness sink down into the heart area as well,
Noticing the muscles in and around the heart and inviting some relaxation to soften.
Moving down to the abdomen,
The stomach and all the organs in the abdomen,
Inviting relaxation to soften and release any tension.
Next,
Coming to your hips,
Your pelvis,
Your seat,
Releasing and relaxing.
Moving to your upper back and watching the tension melt away as you scan to your lower back.
Moving to your upper legs,
Your lower legs,
And then into your feet.
Notice any tension in the feet and send some relaxation to soften and loosen all the muscles in each toe.
And come to bring your whole body into your awareness now,
Just sitting for a second to notice how your body feels in this moment.
Where do you notice relaxation?
Maybe there are areas where you're not relaxed,
Whatever's here,
Just noticing,
Becoming aware.
Now I want you to bring to mind an image that brings you true joy.
Maybe it's a child,
A loved one with a smile on their face.
Maybe it's a puppy or kitten playing around.
Maybe a beautiful scene in nature.
Whatever comes up for you,
Let this be an uncomplicated,
Unconditionally joyful image.
Start to let the details of this image fill your mind.
See all of the different aspects of it.
Let it flood your senses.
Really let yourself be affected by these joyful images.
You might also play around with repeating a word or a phrase that brings you joy,
Maybe lyrics to a song,
A prayer or an affirmation you like,
Even a single word that feels positive for you.
Playing around with what feels good to you in this moment,
What you can relax into that brings you joy.
And you're welcome to stick with this image or word or phrase if it's working for you,
Or bring another image or phrase to mind.
Let yourself continue to explore what brings you joy and continue to let these images and phrases create a loop of positivity throughout your body.
Notice and maybe enjoy the sensations as they come up in your body.
Where do you feel joy?
What feels good to you right now?
You can let these images and phrases go and bring your body back into your awareness,
Taking another scan just to see what's here now after allowing these joyful images,
Words and phrases to fill your mind,
Fill your body.
How do you feel now?
Is there any warmth,
Spaciousness,
Open-heartedness that you can notice?
Whatever it is,
Just pay attention.
You can start to take some gentle movements to wake the body back up.
And whenever you're ready,
You can open your eyes.
