Thank you for arriving just as you are.
My name is Monique and I am honored to share this time with you.
This practice is a short body scan.
Just start or end your day.
Or maybe as a midday reset.
Find a position where your body can be completely still.
Lying down is best,
But you can also be seated.
As long as you are supported.
Let your arms rest a little away from your sides,
Palms turned up.
Let your feet fall open.
If you need a cushion under your head or your knees,
Do that now.
Cover yourself with a blanket or a sweater if you tend to cool down.
Nothing about this practice requires effort,
So make comfort your only task here.
Lay your eyes closed.
Notice the sounds around you.
Sounds that are far away.
Sounds that are in the room.
Let them come and go without naming them.
Feel the surface beneath you.
Feel where your body meets it.
Your heels,
The back of your legs.
Your hips.
You're back.
Shoulders.
The back of your head.
Let the surface hold your full weight.
You do not need to hold yourself here.
You Now bring your attention to your breath.
Do not change it yet.
Just feel it move.
On your next breath,
Let the exhale grow a little longer than the inhale.
Breathe in through your nose.
Breathe out slowly,
As if fogging a window.
Again,
Breathe in.
.
.
And a long,
Slow breath out.
One more.
And and out,
Letting the body soften on the exhale.
Now let your breath return to its own rhythm.
Your body knows how to breathe.
In a moment,
I will guide your attention to 61 points through your body,
One at a time.
At each point,
Simply rest your attention there for a breath.
You might sense warmth.
Tingling.
I'll sing.
Or nothing at all.
Nothing at all is a perfectly good answer.
There is no way to do this wrong and no way to do it right.
If your mind wanders,
And it will.
Just return to my voice at whatever point we have reached.
You have not lost anything.
Stay still.
Stay awake if you can.
If you drift,
The practice continues without you.
And your body still receives it.
We begin.
Bring your attention to the point between your eyebrows.
The hollow of your throat.
Your right shoulder.
Your right elbow.
Your right wrist.
The tip of your right thumb.
The tip of your first finger.
Your middle finger.
Your ring finger.
Your little finger back to your right wrist.
Your right elbow.
Your right shoulder.
The hollow of your throat.
Your left shoulder.
Your left elbow.
Your left wrist.
The tip of your left thumb.
The tip of your first finger.
Your middle finger.
Your ring finger.
Your little finger back to your left wrist.
Your left elbow.
Your left shoulder.
The hollow of your throat.
Now your attention drops to the center of your chest,
Your heart space.
The right side of your chest.
Back to your heart space.
The left side of your chest.
Your heart space once more.
Your navel.
The center of your pelvis.
Your right hip.
Your right knee.
Your right ankle.
The tip of your right big toe.
Your second toe.
Your third toe.
Your fourth toe.
Your little toe.
Back to your right ankle.
Your right knee.
Your right hip.
The center of your pelvis.
Your left hip.
Your left knee.
Your left ankle.
The tip of your left big toe.
Your second toe.
Your third toe.
Or fourth toe.
Your little toe.
Back to your left ankle.
Your left knee.
Your left hip.
Center of your pelvis.
Your navel your heart space.
The hollow of your throat.
And finally,
The point between your eyebrows.
Rest here.
Now let your attention widen to hold your whole body at once.
The whole body.
Lying here.
Breathing.
Feel your body as one complete field of sensation.
Still.
Heavy.
Called.
There is nothing to do.
Nothing to fix.
Nothing to reach for.
You are already here.
Begin to notice your breath again.
Let it deepen a little.
Notice the sounds in the room.
The surface beneath you.
Temperature of the air on your skin.
Begin to move in small ways.
Fingers,
Those.
A slow stretch if your body asks for one.
When you are ready.
And only when you are ready.
Let your eyes open softly.
Take a moment before you rise.
Notice how your body feels now,
Compared to when you began.
Your body did the work here.
All you did was rest.
That is the whole practice.
And it is enough.
Together we rest.
Together we rise.
Together we remember.
Namaskar.
