Beginning lying on the back,
Bringing attention to the whole body and relaxing as much as possible.
Noting briefly any areas that may be tense and allowing them to relax.
And when the body is relaxed,
Bringing awareness to the sensations of the breath.
And when you feel in touch with the breath,
Wherever the attention is drawn,
Perhaps the air moving in the nostrils or the throat or a movement in the belly.
Then,
Directing attention to the sensations in the toes.
It may help to feel as if the breath is being directed all the way to the toes.
Breathing in all the way and breathing out all the way from the toes.
Noticing whatever sensations are present,
Which may be not much or may be quite noticeable.
Letting go of any expectations and simply noticing the sensations that are actually present.
And anytime you notice that the mind has wandered off,
Gently calling it back.
And simply attending to the sensations in the toes.
And on an out-breath,
Purposefully letting go of attending to the toes and shift the attention to the soles of the feet.
Noticing just what is there.
And again,
Whenever the attention wanders off,
Simply notice thinking,
Gently let it go.
And calling awareness back to the soles of the feet.
And when you are ready,
On an out-breath,
Letting go of awareness of the bottom of the feet and shifting attention to the tops of the feet.
Staying with whatever sensations may be present.
And now letting go of awareness of the feet and shifting attention to the ankles.
Noticing what is there.
Perhaps feeling the potential to move without actually having to move.
And now letting go of the ankles and shifting attention to the calves and the shins.
Sensations on the skin,
Awareness of the muscles on the bones.
Letting go again and shifting attention to the knees.
Using the breath to stay present.
Letting go of the knees and shifting attention to the thighs.
Calling the attention back over and over.
And on the out-breath,
Letting go of awareness of the thighs and shifting attention to the hips.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
And on the next out-breath,
Letting go of the hips and bringing awareness to the whole pelvis.
Feeling the connection between the hips through the bones of the pelvis.
Noticing just what is present and letting go of any thoughts that may arise.
On the next out-breath,
Letting go of awareness of the pelvis and drawing awareness to the genitals.
Noticing just what is there.
Staying with the breath.
And on the next out-breath,
Letting go of awareness of the genitals and bringing awareness to the buttocks.
Feeling contact with the floor.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
And on the out-breath,
Letting go of awareness of the buttocks and bringing attention to the lower back.
And the belly.
Perhaps noticing the sensations of breathing in the belly.
And now drawing awareness to the organs.
There may be noticeable sensations or maybe just a sense of the space taken up by the organs.
And with the next out-breath,
Letting go of awareness of the lower trunk and shifting awareness to the ribcage.
Middle of the back.
The upper back.
Aware of the space taken up by the lungs and the heart.
Perhaps there is a place where you can feel the pulse or perhaps just a sense of the space occupied by the heart.
And on the next out-breath,
Letting go of awareness of the chest and bringing attention to the shoulder blades and the shoulders.
Feeling the connection across the back and the collarbones.
And now shifting attention to the fingertips.
Noticing how precisely we can feel the fingertips.
And then expanding that space of awareness to include the fingers.
And now including also the thumbs and the hands.
With each breath,
Expanding that space of awareness now to include the wrists.
And with the next in-breath,
Including in your awareness the forearms.
Using the breath to stay present.
And now expanding that space of awareness to include the elbows.
And including now the upper arms and the shoulders.
Holding in awareness the entirety of the arms and the hands and the fingers.
With the next out-breath,
Letting go of awareness of the arms and shifting attention to the neck.
Beginning with the back of the neck.
Feeling the connection to the chest and the head.
Shifting attention to the throat.
Perhaps feeling the breath moving in the throat.
Now shifting attention to the jaw and the chin.
Aware of just the sensations.
And now including the lips and the cheeks.
Drawing attention to the tongue.
Feeling the teeth and the gums and the roof of the mouth.
Shifting awareness to the nose.
Perhaps feeling the breath in the nostrils.
And now bringing attention to the sensations in the ears,
Including the sensation of hearing.
Aware of any sensations in the eyes and the eyelids.
Also aware of light coming through the eyelids,
The sense of sight.
Shifting awareness to the brow and the forehead.
And now including the temples and the scalp.
Staying with the breath.
And now expanding your awareness to include the whole body.
Sensing the breath coming into the whole body and breathing out with the whole body.
And now letting go of the focus on the breath and simply being aware of whatever arises,
Whatever presents itself to your awareness.
Sensations,
Sounds,
Perhaps thoughts or feelings.
Perhaps silence.
And staying with whatever comes up.
Noticing how you react to any impulses to go elsewhere.
Thoughts,
Memories,
Plans may arise.
No need to push them away.
Just observing them without rejecting them or pursuing them.
Just watching and letting go.
Just lying here with no agenda other than to be present.
And when you are ready,
Allowing awareness to come back into the room.
Perhaps beginning by moving the fingers and toes,
Noticing how it feels to start moving again.
Perhaps opening the eyes.
And gradually increasing movement until you are ready to sit up.
And finally,
Acknowledging the work you have just done to take care of yourself in this way.
