A warm welcome to you.
During today's practice together we will relax our bodies and our minds and from this state we shall invite in a greater sense of perspective.
Through mindful awareness we will come to understand something with fresh eyes.
Inviting you now to close down your eyes,
Letting the tasks,
Conversations and activities of the day move gently into the background of your awareness.
Nothing to do,
Nothing to be.
It's okay to take this time for yourself.
Just taking a moment now to scan your body.
Noticing any aches and pains,
Any spots of tension or tightness.
If you notice parts of you that are sore or carrying tension,
Can you try and breathe into these places?
Imagining your breath soothing these aches and softening any tension.
Offering yourself a gentle smile now for your ability to soothe your physical body.
Drawing your awareness now to your breath.
No need to change your breath in any way.
Just noticing the qualities of your breath as it is for you right now.
Perhaps your breath feels deep,
Shallow,
Smooth,
Warm,
Cool.
Noticing the feel of the air as it enters your nose.
The feel of the air as it leaves your mouth.
Noticing the gentle rise and fall of your chest as you breathe.
Noticing the soft expanse of your belly as the air flows in and out.
Can you allow yourself to soften a little on each exhale?
Almost as if your breath carries tension out of your body.
Together let's direct this sense of softening and awareness to our entire body.
Beginning now with your feet.
Noticing their temperature,
Any sensations.
Relaxing your feet,
Your lower legs.
Noticing sensations.
Allowing your lower legs to relax.
Your knees.
Noticing the front and the back of your knees.
Your upper legs.
Noticing sensations.
Contact with the chair or the ground.
Relaxing your upper legs.
Allowing your entire legs to fall heavy.
To let go into the ground below.
Your pelvis and hips.
Imagining the bone softening.
Your stomach.
Can you take a deep breath into your tummy and as you exhale letting go of tension or worry.
Relaxing your heart,
Lungs and chest.
Feeling the area soften and spread.
Taking a deep breath into your heart.
Your shoulders.
Imagining both shoulders relaxing from the inside out.
Noticing the length of your entire spine.
Relaxing.
Softening your neck.
Softening your skull.
Feeling a sense of relaxation spread across your whole head.
Relaxing your jaw,
Your tongue,
Gums and teeth.
Letting the landscape of your entire mouth become soft.
Relaxing your eyes.
The space above your eyes.
Relaxing your brain.
Your thoughts.
Allowing a soft rhythm and flow.
Allowing your whole body now to bask in this felt sense of relaxation.
Can this sense of relaxation seep further into your body?
Picturing your organs relaxing.
Your bones softening.
Your blood moving gently around your body.
Resting here in this felt sense of relaxation.
From this state we are ready to see something in our lives with fresh eyes.
Drawing your awareness now to your inhale.
Noticing that as you inhale your chest expands at the front,
The back and the sides.
Can this sense of physical expansion also encourage a sense of expanded awareness within you?
With each in-breath inviting in a sense of broadened perspective.
I'm curious,
Is there a situation,
Circumstance or relationship that you could seek to understand with this sense of perspective?
Is there something or someone you could see with fresh eyes today?
No right or wrong here,
Just being open and curious to whatever naturally emerges for you.
Breathing into this reflection.
Allowing it to move between your mind,
Body and heart.
With each breath enabling this sense of perspective to grow within you.
You may wish to offer yourself a gentle commitment now in relation to your reflections.
Sealing this commitment with one deep breath.
Offering yourself a little smile,
A gentle recognition of your desire to cultivate calm in your life so that you can see things with fresh eyes and an open heart.
Gently finding movement through your fingers and toes.
And opening your eyes to the space you are in.
May you move through your days with a greater sense of calm and perspective.
