I invite you to take your time to get set up for this systematic relaxation practice today.
A rolled blanket under your knees or under your neck if you wish,
Cover with a blanket if you need to since your body temperature will likely drop as you rest and take your time getting set up.
If possible,
Balancing the sides,
So your left side and your right side,
Feel balanced as much as possible,
That you have the support that you want,
That you need for your body today and take a few deep breaths,
Quite smooth,
Peaceful breaths and if you want to for this initial few breaths,
You could exhale through your mouth,
Nice and slow,
Having the sense that we,
As we breathe out through the mouth,
We can just release any excess tension,
Let it out,
Allowing your body to settle and then if it's comfortable for you,
Return to breathing in and out through your nose,
Let go of the deep breathing practice and begin to kind of listen for or feel for your body's natural rhythm of breath,
Watch you to sense your hands,
The palms of your hands,
The backs of your hands,
Your fingers,
Notice the sensations in your hands,
You might even kind of bring in the imagery or the visualization of a color like perhaps a rose color or a lavender,
Peaceful blue or green,
Whatever you're drawn to and could imagine that color kind of infusing your hands,
You could kindly breathe comfortably as you sense your hands,
Just honoring the aliveness,
The energy that's living,
Expressing through your hands right now and now please include your arms from your wrists right up to the shoulders,
Sense your arms,
Maybe there's some tingling or sensations there,
If you want,
Again,
You can bring in the same color that you may have chosen,
This peaceful color that infuses your arms,
Notice where your arms connect to your torso through your shoulder joints,
Sense your shoulders,
Bring in the same color if you choose and sense across the top of your shoulders and to your neck,
The connecting point between your torso and your head,
Breathe and sense your neck and your throat,
Perhaps,
Again,
Infused with a peaceful color.
Now bring your awareness to your head from your occipital ridge right at the base of the skull,
Through the sides of the ears,
Sides of your head,
Back of your head,
Middle of your brain,
Top of your head,
Forehead and eyes,
Your face,
Nose,
Cheeks and jaw,
And gently flow your awareness down from your head through your neck and shoulders into your upper torso,
Your chest area,
Your underarms,
Your upper back and shoulder blades,
Bring this peaceful color in,
Feel the rhythm of the breath,
Sense down to the connecting place from your upper torso towards your solar plexus,
The lower ribs,
Where your upper back becomes the middle part of your back,
Sense your navel,
Your side waist,
And sense your lower torso,
Your lower back,
Sacrum,
Buttocks,
Pelvis,
Lower abdomen,
Pelvic floor,
Again,
Bringing in this color that you've chosen,
If you'd like a lavender,
A peaceful green,
A rose,
Feeling that this color really saturates your whole torso all the way down to your lower torso and hips,
And become aware of your hip joints,
The connecting place between pelvis and legs,
Sense your thighs,
The front,
The backs of your thighs,
Inner and outer thighs,
Bring this peaceful color down into the knees,
Into your lower legs and shins,
Include your ankles,
Your feet,
Tops of your feet,
Your heels,
Bottoms of your feet,
And toes,
Expand your awareness now to include your whole body,
The front,
The back,
Your limbs,
Your torso,
Spinal column,
And either bring this compassionate presence and sensing awareness into your whole body,
You can include this color if you're working with a color,
Just having a sense that this compassion and the infusion of this healing or peaceful color can really permeate your whole body,
All the layers,
Including your emotional body,
Your mind,
Your whole physical body,
Your spirit or soul,
Which infuses your body,
Let yourself just gently breathe,
Gently rest,
As effortless as possible,
Here,
Your breath,
And the breath just a minute,
Feeling the aliveness,
Maybe your inner body movements,
And that can become body movements,
As in wiggling of fingers or toes,
Noticing if there is a stretch,
You want to reach into the limbs,
The arms,
The legs,
When you feel ready,
Bend both knees,
Roll to a side,
Take your time to come up and find a seat,
Your eyes could be open or closed,
And take a moment to orient to sitting,
Feeling the ground below your hips,
The length of your spine,
The openness through the crown,
The width across your shoulders,
The depth of your body from the front,
The middle to the back,
Bring your awareness into your heart center,
Please join your palms together there at the heart center,
And take a moment to appreciate the mystery of our bodies,
So much complexity.
Namaste.
Thank you for joining me today.
