Let's start with the body,
Giving yourself permission to be really comfortable,
To choose a pose that will support you and allow some ease,
That may be sitting in a chair or lying on a mat on the floor or even lying on the sofa or on your bed,
Taking a moment or two to really tune into the body,
Noticing what's going to be most helpful for your sense of comfort and rest for the next little while.
You may even like to sigh out on a couple of deeper,
More deliberate breaths,
Inviting the body to rest as best you can,
Bringing your awareness now to what's holding you in the room,
In this space,
What support is the furniture offering you,
What support is provided by the floor and the sense of connection all the way down from the building down through into the earth.
You may like to become aware of gravity and the way you are held with no effort on your part.
You're not sinking down through the floor and you're not flying off into space,
So perhaps you can allow just a slight sense of ease or softening into being held.
You may become aware as the body begins to still of the rise and fall of breath,
Of the body breathing itself with no effort on your part,
Perhaps noticing the rise and fall of your chest or the expansion and contraction of the abdomen as the lungs fill and release.
You may like to be curious about the sensations of the out-breath,
Really noticing the release of breath,
The release of muscles that follow.
How would it be to allow the body to soften even just a little on each out-breath?
You may notice how quickly your mind is drawn away from the breath,
Is drawn to other things and that's okay.
That's what minds do and noticing what happens when you notice the mind has become distracted.
What happens in the body?
How would it be to invite a softening again on the next out-breath?
Wherever the mind has wandered,
Simply allowing the body,
Allowing the breath,
Inviting your awareness to return to the process of breathing out,
Perhaps noticing how the body automatically breathes in,
Takes the next inhalation and every time you notice the mind has wandered,
Simply inviting it to return to rest in the out-breath,
To soften the body.
And how would it be to let go of trying to do anything?
Just in this moment,
How would it be to not try to do anything better or fix anything or get somewhere but simply being here in this moment where you're not trying to improve anything,
Not trying to improve yourself,
Not trying to have better thoughts or different thoughts,
But simply allowing in this moment whatever arises as best you can.
And in this process of noticing,
We can offer ourselves the possibility of just letting things be as they are,
Just in this moment.
And you may become aware of something that you're trying to let go of,
Noticing what happens in the body as you bring it to mind,
Perhaps becoming aware of any sense of tightness or contraction of muscles,
And if it feels okay,
Simply allowing that invitation to soften as you breathe out,
Even if it's just around the edges,
Sometimes telling ourselves to relax,
That's the opposite effect.
And the same with telling ourselves to let go of something,
And it may be that you're simply trying to let go of a certain amount of stress or anxiety,
Or perhaps there's a specific thought process or an emotional state attached to a thought process,
Something that feels uncomfortable,
Something that feels really unpleasant even.
And how would it be just for these few minutes to not even try to let anything go,
To notice with softness in the body when the mind returns to the thought or the feeling,
The anxiety,
The worry,
Whatever it is that you would like to let go of but really feel you can't,
How would it be to simply let go of trying to let go?
And if that feels too complex,
Perhaps inviting your awareness to return to the out-breath,
Inviting a sense of softening,
Bringing the awareness to the body,
A sense of tightness or holding in the muscles and perhaps inviting that sense of being held by the floor,
By the furniture,
By the space.
And whatever's here in your experience right now,
Perhaps a persistent thought pattern or an emotional state,
Perhaps that doesn't even seem attached to anything but just hangs around or that you keep returning to.
You may like to offer yourself this thought,
This too is part of my experience in this moment,
This too.
You may not like it,
That's okay,
It's natural to not like what feels uncomfortable,
What we want to get rid of but how would it be to simply allow whatever's here in this moment as being just a part of your experience,
A part of your experience that changes moment by moment.
And again perhaps softening the body on the out-breath,
Connecting with this thought,
This too,
This too is here in this moment.
To simply allow whatever's here,
Just on this breath,
No need to let anything go,
Simply being with whatever's here,
Feeling the rise and fall of breath,
Noticing what's here in the body,
In the mind,
In the heart,
Simply letting it be just as it is right now.
And as we come towards the end of this practice together,
Reconnecting now with the sense of the body in contact with the space,
The feet on the floor,
The spine against the cushions or against the mat,
All the places where your body is held,
Simply allowing yourself a few moments of rest,
Simply being as you invite some small movements to return to the body,
Perhaps wiggling the fingers and toes,
Allowing the eyes to gently open,
Noticing the space around you,
Perhaps offering yourself a small thank you for taking this time to attend to your well-being,
For taking some time to simply let yourself be.
As we come to the end of this practice,
