As we begin the practice,
Let's allow your eyes to close.
Just finding the most comfortable position for your body in this moment.
And as you find yourself settling in,
Invite your body to begin to relax and to soften.
And as you invite that to continue,
Bring your attention to the breath.
Inviting yourself to breathe deeply into the abdomen.
As you breathe out,
Draw the belly button back towards the spine.
You're allowing your body to settle into this present moment more fully and completely.
Keep in mind that if at any point you become uncomfortable,
Simply adjust your posture without disturbing any sense of relaxation that you've already created.
As you continue this elongated breath,
Allow the awareness to begin to encompass your whole body,
Inviting yourself to relax internally.
And slowly,
Gently now draw the awareness and attention down to your legs and your feet.
Just tense the legs,
The feet,
Contracting and squeezing the muscles just for a moment.
And then allow a deep relaxation to wash over you as you now soften your legs and your feet.
And encourage yourself to relax more fully the ankles,
The calves,
Your knees,
Your thighs,
Your hips.
As you now draw the attention up higher to your glutes,
The pelvic floor,
And your torso.
And gently begin to tense these areas.
Contract the glutes,
Lift your pelvic floor,
And just squeeze the muscles in the belly ever so slightly.
And now relax them.
Allow a deep softening to wash over the abdomen,
To wash over your glutes,
And fully release the pelvic floor.
It's as if a wave of relaxation were washing over the glutes,
The lower belly,
The lower back,
The chest,
The back of the heart center.
And you now draw your attention to your arms,
Your hands,
And fingers.
Make gentle fists with your hands.
And then begin to tense the hands,
Squeezing the fists,
All of those interesting arm muscles.
And notice how that sense of tension goes right up and into your shoulder girdle.
With an out breath,
Allow the arms,
The hands,
The fingers,
And your shoulder girdle to relax once again.
Breathing in,
And breathing out.
Beginning to scan the whole body now.
Invite a deeper sense of relaxation to unfold.
And as this relaxation washes over you more fully,
Invite it to move upwards.
Allow it to come from the shoulders and up the neck.
Allow it to float into the jaw and your mouth.
Bring it up into the cheeks,
The eyes,
The forehead.
Even into your ears and your scalp.
