Find a comfortable position,
Sitting,
Standing,
Or even lying down.
Whatever feels most supportive to you and your body in this moment.
I do invite you to remain relaxed yet alert in your posture.
And if you are sitting or standing,
Bring some attention to your spine and creating a straight upright spine.
Close your eyes if that feels comfortable,
Or you can also just soften the gaze in front of and slightly below you if that feels better.
We're going to begin by using our awareness to bring some relaxation into the body.
Starting at the top of the head,
Using your awareness to notice if any tension is present in the areas of the body as we scan.
Coming to the forehead,
Noticing any tension that might be present in the forehead,
And inviting in some relaxation,
Some ease to the tension,
Letting it melt away.
And coming to your eyes,
Melting and relaxing any tension.
Your cheeks,
Your mouth,
Your lips,
Your tongue releases and relaxes.
Coming out of your jaw,
The muscles,
Bones in your jaw,
Releasing and relaxing.
Just moving to your neck,
The front,
Back and sides of your neck,
Noticing any tension and letting relaxation melt that tension away.
Tops of your shoulders,
Releasing and relaxing as you continue to bring your awareness over your arms,
Upper arms,
Lower arms,
And down into your hands,
Bringing relaxation into each finger,
Letting any tension melt away.
Coming now to your chest,
Noticing any tension in the muscles in the chest,
And sinking all the way down into the heart space,
The muscles around the heart,
Noticing any tension,
Any anxiety that might be here,
And offering some gentle relaxation to fill this area,
Softening and letting go.
Coming down to your abdomen,
The stomach and all the organs in the abdomen,
Working right now,
Seeing if you can soften and release any tension that might be here.
Moving next to the hips,
The pelvis,
The seat,
Inviting in relaxation to release any tension here.
And then coming to your upper back,
Noticing any tension and letting it melt away as you continue to scan through your mid-back and your lower back.
Moving to your legs,
Tops of the legs,
The bottoms of the legs,
And now looking all the way to the feet,
Noticing any tension,
Any holding,
And letting it go.
Taking a few breaths,
Bringing your whole body into your awareness,
Noticing any lingering tension and sending a breath or two to any of these areas to invite some more relaxation.
Let's come to focus on the belly area where you can feel the rise and the fall of your breath right now.
We're going to practice square breathing or four-part breathing,
Where we'll be breathing in equal parts.
To start,
Let's breathe in for a count of four.
Breathing in one,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Hold the breath for a count of four.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Exhale the breath for a count of four.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four.
And hold the breath at the bottom for a count of four.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four.
We're going to continue this pattern.
Breathing in one,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Breathing in one,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Exhaling one,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Holding at the bottom one,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Continuing on your own,
Feel free to expand or extend the breathing to counts of five or six if you'd like.
You can also shorten it to three or two if it feels too intense.
Just continue to practice equal parts.
Breathing in.
Holding.
Breathing out.
Holding.
Breathing on your own.
As you continue this breathing pattern,
Let your mind start to slow down to the pace of this breathing,
Letting all of your tension and anxiety melt away as you rest in this breath.
Breathing in one,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Hold one,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Exhale one,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Hold one,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Let the pace of this breathing continue to slow the mind down and relax and release the nervous system,
Continuing on your own.
If your mind wanders away and you lose count of where you are,
Just simply start over.
Breathing in,
Holding,
Breathing out,
Holding.
You can let this breathing pattern go and come back to bring your whole body into your awareness.
Noticing here if anything has shifted after doing this breathing pattern.
Is there more relaxation,
Less relaxation,
More tension,
Less tension?
There's no right or wrong,
Just noticing the effects of this practice on your body.
You can take some gentle movements to wake the physical body back up,
A stretch,
A neck roll,
Whatever feels good to you in this moment.
And whenever you're ready,
You can open your eyes.
