Begin by making yourself comfortable.
Sit in a chair or cross-legged on the floor,
Allowing your back to be straight as possible.
Comfortable,
Shoulders back and relaxed,
Neck relaxed,
Head facing forward.
Your hands could be resting gently in your lap or on your thighs,
Palms facing up,
Or in Chin Mudra,
Thumb and index finger touching.
Allow your eyes to close or find a soft gaze and then take several long,
Slow,
Deep breaths,
Breathing in fully and exhaling slowly,
Breathing in through your nose and out through your nose.
Begin to shift your attention from outside to inside,
Turning your attention inwards.
If you're distracted by sounds in the room or any other sensations around you,
Simply notice this and with calm,
Kindness,
Bring your attention back inwards,
Back to your breath.
Now,
Slowly bring your attention down to your feet,
Whether they're resting on the floor or crossed under you.
Begin to observe any sensations in your feet.
Just notice without judgment,
Without labeling.
Maybe imagine sending your breath down.
With each inhale,
As if it's traveling through your nose,
To the lungs,
Through the abdomen,
All the way down to your feet,
And then back up again as you exhale from your lungs to your nose and out again.
And perhaps,
If you're not observing or feeling any sensations at all,
And that's fine too,
And you're ready,
Allow your feet to dissolve in your mind's eye and move your attention up to your ankles,
To your calves,
To your knees,
And to your thighs.
Observe any sensations you are experiencing throughout your legs.
Breathe in and breathe out of your legs,
And if your mind begins to wander,
Gently notice this.
Without judgment and with kindness,
Bring your mind back to the sensations in your legs.
If you notice any discomfort,
Pain,
Or stiffness,
Don't judge this.
Simply notice it.
Observe it.
Observe how all sensations rise and fall,
Shift and change moment by moment.
Observe how no sensation,
Whether pleasant or unpleasant,
Is permanent.
Just observe and allow the sensations to be in the moment,
Just as they are.
And then on the next out-breath,
Allow your legs to dissolve in your mind's eye and move your awareness to your lower back and pelvis.
With each breath,
Soften and release.
You often hold a lot of tension in our lower back and our pelvis,
Taking extra time with the breath to observe and relax this area.
And then moving your attention up to your mid-back and upper back.
And again,
Observing any sensations here,
Becoming curious about the sensations.
Maybe you become aware of the sensations or the feelings in the muscle,
The temperature,
Your weight in the chair,
The feeling of your clothing.
With each out-breath,
Let go of any tension,
Of anything unnecessary that you may still be carrying or holding onto.
With each out-breath,
Release and relax.
And then shifting your attention to focus on your stomach and all the internal organs in the abdomen.
Perhaps you notice the feeling of the belly rising and falling with each breath.
Continuing to breathe slow and rhythmic,
Bringing your awareness up gently to the chest and the heart region.
Noticing your heartbeat and then beyond the heartbeat,
Noticing that emotional space of infinite love,
Goodness.
You can bring your hands to rest over the center of the chest just for a moment,
Feeling the warmth and comforting touch of the hands.
And with each breath,
Feel yourself relaxing,
Feel yourself releasing,
And feel your heart opening.
Bringing the hands back down to rest again on your legs or in your lap.
On your next out-breath,
Shifting your focus to your hands and fingertips,
See if you can channel your breath directly into this area,
Breathing in and out from the centers of your palms.
And if your mind wanders,
With kindness,
Gently bring it back to the sensations in your hands.
And then on the next out-breath,
Shift your focus,
Bringing your awareness to your arms,
The full length of the arms,
The wrists,
The forearms,
The elbows,
The upper arms,
And observing any sensations or lack of sensations that may be in your arms in this moment.
As you exhale,
You may begin to experience the softening and releasing of tensions in the arms,
And then continuing to breathe,
Moving the awareness up to the shoulder,
The neck,
The throat region.
In this area,
We also often hold a lot of tension that we're unaware of,
Which each breath,
You may feel tension rolling off your shoulders,
Taking your time and being patient with yourself.
And then on the next out-breath,
Bringing your focus and awareness and attention to the scalp,
To the head,
To the face,
Observing all and any sensations there,
Any sensations across the forehead,
The cheeks,
The lips,
Across the scalp,
Across the head,
Noticing the movement of the air as you breathe in and out of the nostrils.
And with each exhale,
Maybe you notice the softening of any tension you may be holding.
And now,
Let your attention expand out to include the entire body in your mind's eye as a whole.
Bring your awareness into focus from the top of the head,
Across the face,
Across the chest,
The arms,
The fingertips,
The back,
The legs,
The feet,
All the way down to the toes.
Be aware of the gentle rhythm of your breath as it moves freely and in a relaxed way throughout the body,
Taking a few moments here in silence to observe all areas,
All levels,
All parts of being.
And slowly,
Slowly,
Let's begin to draw our attention back,
Back towards the external world.
Begin to deepen the breath.
It likely became more subtle during our practice,
Taking a few more gross,
More deep,
More full breaths into the belly.
And from here,
Grounding down into the body in a little more solid way,
Engaging the perineum and opening up to the awareness and the sensations of the space around you.
And together,
Closing our practice for today,
Sending a wish out.
May all be happy.
May all be healthy.
May all be well.
Om Peace,
Peace,
Peace,
Peace,
Shanti,
Shanti,
Shanti.
Thank you.
