So I'd like to invite you to begin by finding a comfortable seated position and gently close your eyes.
Feel yourself seated comfortably in your chair and plant your feet firmly on the floor.
Place your palms up in your lap and just start to bring awareness to your breathing.
And we're not trying to change it or alter it in any way.
Just starting to draw awareness to your breath.
Slipping down from the mind space into your body,
Inviting you to relax for just a few minutes and take a few deep breaths.
Feel your spine tall and relax your shoulders down away from your ears.
Feeling the chair beneath you supporting you and giving yourself full permission to relax.
And noticing your breath now as your chest gently rises and falls with every inhale and exhale.
And notice how your abdomen also rises and falls.
On your next inhale,
Noticing your chest rise and then your abdomen.
On your exhale as your abdomen falls and then your chest.
Just feeling and noticing your breath.
And on your next inhale,
Feel the air entering your nose and notice the feeling of coolness as it touches the back of your throat and filling your lungs with oxygen.
And as you exhale slowly,
Noticing the feeling of warmth as it passes back through your throat and your nostrils.
Taking another deep breath in,
Feeling the temperature of the air and exhaling,
Noticing any shifts.
And now I'd like you to notice the temperature in the room around you.
Perhaps it's warm or perhaps it's cool.
Noticing the sensation of the air touching your skin,
Perhaps your face,
Noticing the temperature on your fingertips.
And see if you notice any sensations on the surface of your skin.
Perhaps you notice a tingling or a gentle vibration.
Just noticing.
And if your mind starts to wander,
Not a problem,
Just bring it back.
Bring your attention back to your breath and the sensations you're noticing on the surface of your skin.
Perhaps even noticing a gentle movement as your heart pumps blood in your veins,
Nourishing you from the inside out.
It's incredible.
There's nothing we have to do.
It works like this just on its own.
So just bringing awareness to how our bodies feel in space,
Noticing that gentle movement,
Vibration,
Tingling,
The feeling of being alive.
And now bringing your attention back to your abdomen.
And for a moment,
Place your hands to either side of your lower ribs.
And on your next inhale,
See if you can bring your air from your breath down past your lungs into your abdomen so you feel it expand and hold it for a moment.
And then exhale,
Letting go,
Feeling the air flow freely back out,
Passing back through your chest and through your nose.
Taking another deep breath in,
Feeling your abdomen expand outward and exhaling,
Letting go,
Feeling your abdomen contract,
Almost like a balloon.
As you continue to breathe here gently,
I'd like you to quietly count up to five to yourself on the inhale,
And I'll practice with you to begin.
Just noticing your abdomen,
Feeling your breath,
And on the next inhale,
I'd like you to count up to five.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
And exhaling,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Just gently allowing this pattern as you quietly inhale and exhale on your own here,
Counting up to five and back down to one.
For just a few moments here on your own.
And if your mind starts to wander,
Not a problem,
That's what the mind does.
Just gently bring your attention back to your breath and the counting up to five and back down to one.
Feeling yourself sinking a bit deeper into your chair now,
Allowing your breath to support you as you continue to count.
Seeing the gentle rise and fall of your abdomen.
Just one more time on your own.
Good.
And now I'd like you to release that.
Place your hands back facing up in your lap,
And you can breathe normally now.
Trying to adjust or change your breath,
Just noticing any subtle shifts in your body.
Perhaps a feeling of more relaxation or groundedness centered and calm.
And on your next inhale,
Silently say to yourself,
I am.
And on your exhale,
Silently say to yourself,
Relaxed.
On the inhale,
I am.
On the exhale,
Relaxed.
Bringing your attention back.
On the inhale,
I am.
And on the exhale,
Relaxed.
Breathing here for just a few more moments on your own.
Gently quietly saying to yourself,
I am relaxed.
And as you do,
Noticing any stress or anxiety,
Just leaving your space as you've made room here in a loud space for relaxation and ease.
Gently bringing awareness now back to your breath.
And just begin to wiggle your fingers and wiggle your toes,
Bringing awareness back into your body.
And when you're ready,
You may open your eyes and return to the room.
