Find a place where you can sit comfortably with a straight spine,
If on the ground,
Perhaps seated on a pillow,
With your legs crossed,
Or in a half lotus,
Or in a chair,
Whatever is available to you,
Just as long as the spine is straight.
Take a moment and begin to become aware of your breath,
Its speed,
Its depth,
Without trying to change it,
Just notice it.
If you haven't been already,
Begin to inhale and exhale through the nostrils.
Place your hands gently on the stomach,
And on the next breath,
Aim to pull in a little more air,
Feeling the stomach expand on the inhale,
And feeling it deflate on the exhale.
Take a few more breaths like this,
At your own pace,
If it feels comfortable to you,
Shut down the eyes,
And rest your arms gently,
In your lap,
In gyan mudra,
Or by your side.
If the mind begins to wander,
Use the breath to anchor yourself in the present moment,
Noticing the air passing in and out of the nostrils,
Or focusing your attention on the stomach as it expands on the inhale,
And deflates on the exhale.
Take a moment to bring your awareness to your facial muscles,
And notice if you're able to relax them just a little bit more,
Releasing any tension in the eyebrows,
Fully relaxing the jaw,
Letting it hang but keeping the mouth closed,
And trying to relax the entire face.
Remember to keep focusing on your breath,
Inhaling deeply and slowly into the belly.
Next,
Bring your awareness to your shoulders,
And try to relax them just a little bit more.
On your next inhale,
Lift the shoulders up towards the ears as high as you comfortably can,
And as you exhale,
Release while you push them back and down along the spine.
Once more,
Inhale and lift the shoulders up towards the ears as high as you comfortably can,
And on the exhale,
Push them back and down along the spine.
Next,
Take your right hand and massage your left forearm from elbow to wrist.
Once more.
Then,
Massage the left hand,
The palm,
And the fingers.
Now,
Using your left hand,
Massage the right forearm from elbow to wrist,
And again,
Once more,
And then massage the right hand,
Palm,
And fingers.
Next,
We will take five deep breaths using the three-part yogic breath,
Inhaling slowly and deeply into the belly,
Ribs,
And chest,
Holding for a few seconds at the top,
And then releasing even more slowly on the exhale,
Feeling the chest,
Ribs,
And belly deflate.
Take five deep breaths like this at your own pace.
If you are familiar,
Feel free to implement the ujjayi breath,
Constricting the back of the throat while continuing to breathe through the nose.
At the top of the next inhale,
We will hold the breath and apply mula band,
The root lock,
By squeezing everything at the base of the spine,
And hold the breath as long as comfortable,
And when you need to,
Gently release.
Come back to your regular breath without trying to control it or force it in any way.
Focus on the breath passing in and out of the nostrils,
Or noticing the belly rise and fall with each inhale and exhale.
Place the hands together in front of the heart and rub your palms together,
Generating some warmth.
Place your hands over your eyes,
Applying some gentle pressure,
And then massage your face with the palms across the forehead,
Cheeks,
Along the jawbone,
And then perhaps opening the mouth wide to stretch the jaw and gently move it side to side.
Feel free to sit here as long as feels comfortable.
My name is Philly,
Thank you for sitting with me.
