Hey,
It's Sally.
Welcome to this 10-minute deep relaxation practice.
You can do this sitting up or lying down.
Just try to find a place where you know you won't be distracted for about 15 minutes.
Even though this track is only 10,
About 10,
You're going to want a few minutes of silence just for yourself at the very end.
Wherever you are,
Find a comfortable seat or lying down position.
Take a deep inhale through the nose.
Fill your belly,
Your chest,
Your lungs.
Hold it at the top.
And then drop your jaw,
Open your mouth,
Exhale,
Sigh it out,
Let it go.
Two more rounds just like that.
Inhale,
Fully,
Deeply expand,
Hold.
Open your mouth,
Exhale,
Sigh it out and let it go.
Last one like that.
You can get loud.
Inhale,
Expand,
Extend,
Hold it at the top.
Drop your jaw,
Open your mouth,
Exhale,
Sigh it out,
Let it go.
When you get to the bottom of that exhale,
Dump out a little more stale air and then close your mouth.
Find your natural breath,
Inhaling and exhaling through the nose,
Maybe trying to smooth out any rough spots.
Looking to extend those inhales and those exhales.
Maybe soften your gaze or even close your eyes if it feels okay.
We'll take a full body scan and then we'll practice just for a few minutes of traditional breath meditation.
And then you'll hear my prompt to bring your awareness back to the room.
And we'll take a minute or two just to wind down and end the practice.
So beginning that body scan with the top of our forehead.
Are you frowning?
Maybe invite any tension you may be holding in your forehead to dissolve and melt away.
Moving down to your eyes and your eyelids.
Are they soft and heavy?
If your eyes aren't closed yet,
Maybe now it feels okay to close them.
And if not,
That's okay too.
Move down to your cheeks,
Your jaw.
Are you clenching your teeth?
Maybe open your mouth ever so slightly,
Wiggle your jaw a little left to right,
Releasing any tension you may be holding there.
And then allow the tip of your tongue to rest gently on the roof of your mouth.
And tip your chin in ever so slightly towards your chest,
Releasing any tension you may be holding in the back of your neck.
Checking in with your throat,
Maybe swallow a few times.
Are your throat muscles soft and open?
Take your left hand,
Place it on your belly,
Your right hand on your chest.
Send breath to those areas,
Creating more space and expansion.
Noticing if any internal muscles are tight or tense.
Sending breath to those areas.
Just allowing this rest and digest time to heal.
And then take your left hand and your right hand,
Place it back in your lap or by your sides.
Focus your attention on your legs,
Top of legs,
Thighs,
Hamstrings,
Knees,
Shins,
Calves,
Ankles,
Top of the feet,
Soles of the feet.
Moving back up to the top of your shoulders,
Biceps,
Triceps,
Forearms,
Wrists,
Top of the hands,
Palms of the hands.
And invite your attention to rest on your breath.
Are there the sounds of your breath?
Or feeling of breath?
Maybe noticing that your breath sounds very much like the ebb and flow of ocean waves.
Maybe visualize yourself at the edge of an ocean.
As you inhale,
You watch that wave draw back.
And as you exhale,
You see that wave curl and gently fall.
Stay with this for a few minutes.
Just try it.
And if your mind begins to wander,
It's okay.
Just invite your attention to rest back on the breath.
Remembering that this is a practice.
And gently dropping the attention on the breath,
Shifting it to the body,
How your body feels overall,
Maybe take one more cleansing breath in through the nose,
Filling,
Expanding,
Holding,
And then on the exhale,
Send it to any area in your body that is still holding on to tension.
Letting it all go.
Letting any mental,
Emotional,
And physical tension go.
And from this place of relaxation,
Maybe setting intention for yourself for the rest of the day or the week or times ahead.
Breathe that intention in.
Softly exhale out.
Use small movements to your body,
Maybe wiggle your fingers and your toes.
Maybe shift your head side to side as you crack your eyes open ever so slightly.
Keep a soft gaze.
Maybe stay here for a few minutes before you get up and move about.
Thanks so much for joining me.
I wish you a wonderful rest of the day.
