So finding a position where you don't have to manage your body too much.
You could lie down.
That's great.
But if sitting is what feels okay today,
That's enough.
And you might let your eyes close,
Soften,
Or stay open.
And just allow everything to just be a little less effortful than it was a moment ago.
And right now there's nothing to fix,
Nothing to get right.
It's more like setting down what you've been carrying,
Even just a little while.
And if it feels okay,
You might start by noticing the contact between the places where your body is meeting its support.
May be also noticing the weight of you being held.
There's no need to change anything about this.
Just noticing is enough.
And if the breath is available and comfortable,
Let that breath be simple.
Make no efforts on shaping or improving,
And if the breath is shallow,
Let it be shallow.
It might be uneven,
And that's fine.
And if focusing on the breath feels like too much today,
You can just soften your attention instead toward the feeling of being here.
Or you can just pay attention to the sound of my voice.
Or you could just pay attention and notice the space around you.
There's no requirement to track anything closely.
And you might find that you want to let the jaw loosen a little.
Let the tongue feel like it's resting.
And even feel a softening behind the eyes.
And if it's helpful,
You might even imagine that you're putting down small invisible weights.
Expectations.
Effort.
The sense of needing to be on.
There's nothing to do with them right now.
And now we'll move through the body in a very gentle way.
There's no need to concentrate hard.
And if you drift,
That's okay.
You can always join back whenever you land.
So starting by bringing attention to the forehead.
Letting it be smooth.
And the space between the eyebrows.
Feeling it soften.
And now the eyes.
Feeling the sockets just softening.
With no need to hold on to anything.
And the cheeks,
Letting them relax away from expression.
And the jaw.
Unclenching in its own time.
The throat,
Soft,
Open,
And unguarded.
The collarbones gently widening like they're smiling.
The shoulders,
Allowing them to drop in whatever way they already know how.
The upper arms,
The elbows,
Then the forearms,
All the way down to the hands.
Fingers resting and not holding.
Now the chest,
Noticing the gentle rise and fall of the breath.
Or maybe noticing stillness.
In the back from the upper back to the mid back and the lower back.
Letting all of it be supported.
The belly softening without effort.
The pelvis heavy,
Grounded,
And held.
And the hips releasing.
The thighs,
Letting them be heavy.
The knees softening.
Lower legs,
Ankles,
Feet,
All the way down to the toes,
Resting.
And for a moment just feeling the whole body at once.
Not as something that you're managing,
But something that is here,
Already breathing,
Already supported.
And if it feels right,
We can introduce a very simple intention.
Nothing big,
Or nothing to strive for.
It could be something like,
I can rest without earning it.
And let that sit quietly like a soft echo.
With no pressure to hold on to it tightly.
And we'll move gently through the parts of the body again,
Moving our attention throughout.
And you don't need to follow perfectly.
You can think of it more like being invited than instructed.
This is the rotation of consciousness.
Right hand,
Right wrist,
Right forearm,
Right elbow,
Upper arm,
Right shoulder,
Left hand,
Left wrist,
Left forearm.
Left elbow.
Upper arm.
Left shoulder.
Back of the body.
Right shoulder blade.
Left shoulder blade.
The entire backspace.
The front of the body.
The chest.
The belly.
Right hip.
Right thigh.
Right knee.
Right lower leg.
Right foot.
To the left,
Starting with the hip and the thigh,
The knee,
The lower leg,
And the left foot.
The whole body.
Held by the surface beneath you.
Being on its own terms.
Next we'll shift into some gentle opposites.
You don't need to force anything,
Just noticing what shows up.
The feeling of heaviness.
And the feeling of lightness.
Is there one that is clearer than the other?
The feeling of warmth.
And the feeling of coolness.
Where it could be neither or just something neutral.
The feeling of tension.
And the feeling of release.
Even a tiny sense of either one is enough.
The feeling of tiredness.
And the feeling of resting.
Letting those words land without judgment.
And now you might imagine a place where nothing is required of you.
It doesn't need to be perfect or detailed,
It can be somewhere real or somewhere imagined.
Maybe it's somewhere quiet.
Somewhere where things are slow.
Somewhere where your body doesn't have to anticipate anything.
And notice what it's like to be there,
Even for a moment.
With the air.
The colors.
Or maybe the lack of color.
The sense of time maybe loosening a little.
And you're not doing anything in this world either,
Just being.
And if you'd like to stay here,
Please allow yourself to do so.
Or you could gradually begin to sense the body again as a whole.
The support beneath you.
And the space around you.
The fact that you are here.
In this moment.
There's no rush to move.
Or no need to change anything quickly.
And if it feels right,
You might start to deepen the breath slightly.
Or simply feel the natural rhythm returning to awareness.
You might begin to wiggle fingers and toes.
And slowly let your energy come back online.
Knowing that there is nothing to achieve after this,
Just the next small thing at your own pace.
And if there was anything at all during this practice that felt unsettling,
Please reach out to a trusted person or do something that feels grounding for you.
I'd like to thank you for taking the time today to take care of yourself.
