So let's start by just becoming present,
Allowing ourselves to be fully connected to the present moment.
So become aware of your body.
Feel the weight of your body.
And allow the full weight of your body to be completely supported.
This allows us to really let go of the body,
Allowing it to come to rest in the present moment,
Fully present and fully relaxed.
And be aware of the space around your body,
The space around your body,
So the space of the room you're in,
For example.
So feeling the presence and the location of your body and the context of space around the body.
And then to get a nice easy awareness of the wider open space all around you,
Listen out for the quietest and most distant sounds that you can hear.
So listening out to the sounds of your wider environment.
So throughout this breathing exercise,
Which we'll begin now to really help us relax more deeply,
The mind and body,
So you can keep your awareness nice and open and present,
Allowing the body to be in the center of your open space.
Allowing the body to be in the center of your open awareness and aware of the space around the body and the sounds around the body.
So let's take our first deeper,
Slower conscious in-breath and then simply release,
Let go of the whole out-breath,
Maybe like a big sigh.
Continue with that longer,
Deeper,
Slower,
Gentle in-breath,
Consciously breathing into the body.
Always simply releasing,
Letting go,
Relaxing out the exhale.
Start that in-breath with the diaphragm,
With the belly-breath,
And then just gradually fill the lungs as much as is comfortable,
With a nice long,
Slow,
Gentle in-breath.
As we release the out-breath,
Releasing the body into the present moment,
Remembering to allow the full weight of the body to be supported and held.
As we're breathing in,
We're becoming more present with and in the body.
And as we breathe out,
As we release the breath,
We release the body,
Allow the body to relax.
If there's any agitation or discomfort,
Or if there's lots of thoughts or emotions,
I recommend for this practice not to try and change them at all.
Just leave them exactly as they are.
You can be aware of them,
Welcome,
Allow them into our open awareness,
Into this present moment.
Don't acknowledge them,
Don't try and move away from them or change them in any way,
Accepting thoughts,
Emotions,
Sensations,
Whatever they are.
And whatever's happening in this present moment,
Internally and externally,
Within our open awareness,
We're just going to choose to continue to breathe,
Continue to take in that nice,
Long,
Slow,
Gentle in-breath from the belly up into the chest,
Releasing and letting go of the out-breath.
Allowing yourself to be fully present and completely open to everything that's happening in this present moment with every in-breath.
And allowing everything to flow,
Everything to be just as it is as we release and relax the out-breath.
And although our intention is to deeply relax the mind and body,
We're not going to make any effort to attain that and we're not even going to expect that.
All we're going to do is continue with each in-breath,
Long,
Slow,
Gentle,
Conscious in-breath.
Everything else,
Including the out-breath,
We're just releasing and allowing and letting go.
The in-breath is doing all the work for us.
All we need to do is relax into the present moment and just be with ourselves and with our environment just as it is.
The more present and the more connected we feel,
The more relaxed we will become automatically.
And the more we release,
Let go and allow,
Also the more relaxed we'll become in mind and body.
Not trying to change anything or move away from anything.
Being aware,
Allowing,
Accepting and letting go.
Allow yourself,
Mind and body to become fully present,
An integral part of this moment.
Allow all your sensations and emotions and thoughts to flow freely within this spacious present.
Gently,
Gradually slowing,
Lengthening that in-breath.
Really feel the breath as it enters the body,
Really become present with the breath,
With the body,
With this moment.
And however much you've released and let go into the present so far,
With your next out-breath,
Release and let go of that bit more.
Letting go of any temptation to make any effort to relax,
To make any effort to change your thoughts or how you feel in any way.
Accepting everything of this moment just as it is.
Any attempt to change anything brings about a degree of conflict which will prevent us being completely whole and completely relaxed.
So be aware,
Accept,
Allow and let go.
Letting go of any temptation to make any effort to make any effort to change anything.
Letting go of any temptation to make any effort to change anything.
Letting go of any temptation to make any effort to change anything.
Now we've been consciously taking those deeper in-breaths for a while.
You can perhaps notice the breath can continue pretty much on its own without too much attention and effort from yourself.
The momentum of those longer,
Deeper breaths taking care of itself.
You can maybe even start to feel as if rather than you breathing,
Your body is being breathed by your breath.
And you can surrender completely to that breath.
Allow yourself to really enjoy the breath.
Enjoy being breathed by the breath,
Surrendering to the breath.
Feeling the breath like a wave rising and falling in the body.
And allowing the body to float on that wave of the breath,
Rising and falling.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
Allowing the mind and body to float free and drift on this wave of the breath.
