In today's practice,
We'll start with gentle movement and breath work to prepare the body for stillness.
We will open the body mindfully,
Slowly inviting tension to relax into its sweetest gesture possible today.
Always make yourself comfy on a chair or a cushion and support the architecture of your body in a way that allows you to move freely.
If seated in a chair,
Scoot your seat forward a bit and eyes are open,
Closed or simply softer,
Hands resting somewhere in your lap.
Simply begin to breathe deeper.
Allow your inhales to be a bit longer than normal,
Your exhales as well.
Allow any audible exhales to happen as needed.
Use your breathing to bring you into presence.
Notice where the breath moves freely and sense where the breath feels more shallow or less smooth and just notice.
Continuing with this simple breathing pattern,
Begin to circle the arms overhead,
Interlace your fingers,
Flip the palms skyward and link them upwards from your seat.
Leave your arms stretching up and shift to lengthen the right side more,
Now the left and maybe shift side to side a few more times.
Release your arms but let them pause halfway at a T position.
Inhale and point the fingers skyward,
Acting as if you could press the walls away from you.
Exhale point the fingers downward,
Stretching the tops of the hands.
Inhale fingers point skyward.
Exhale fingers point down.
Inhale fingers point skyward.
Exhale fingers down.
Hands back to neutral and now just relax your arms,
Place your hands in your lap and let the weight of your arms help relax the shoulders.
Feel the back of your neck lengthen once again.
Soften your jaw and then open the mouth wide and close,
Relax the mouth.
Take the tip of your tongue to the inside of your right cheek.
Begin making circles along the inside of the mouth,
Tracing inside and below the lower lip,
The inside of the left cheek,
And the inside of the upper lip just below the nose.
Now reverse left cheek,
Lower lip,
Right cheek,
And just below the nose above the upper lip.
Come back to neutral and relax the whole inside of the mouth.
Soften your eyes,
Especially in between the brows to quiet any overthinking.
Feel the eyes settle back into their sockets and then broaden.
Breathe in,
Breathe out.
Keep the pace of your deeper breath and roll your right shoulder forward and then roll it up and back.
Left shoulder forward,
Up and back.
Right shoulder,
Left shoulder.
A few more rounds while mindfully breathing,
Going at your own pace.
Now reverse,
Shoulder rolls back,
Up,
And forward,
Back,
Up,
And forward.
Several rounds each side.
Begin with rolling both shoulders forward,
Then rolling up,
Back,
And back to forward.
Just three to four times until you feel yourself sit more upright and come to stillness.
Breathe in,
Breathe out.
On your next inhale,
Lift your chin,
Stretching the front of the neck.
Exhale chin to chest.
Back of the neck long,
Chin lifts.
Exhale chin to heart.
Follow the pace of your breath and continue for a few more rounds,
Resting your hands where it feels supportive.
After your next exhale,
Inhale and bring the head to neutral.
Exhale turn the head to the right.
Inhale through center.
Exhale head to the left.
Inhale to center.
Exhale right.
Inhale center.
Exhale left.
Inhale center.
And exhale chin to chest.
Inhale lift the chin as you did before.
Rest the heart center as well.
Exhale chin to chest and round the back as well.
Continue in this way,
Arching and rounding the back.
Three to four rounds.
Come back to neutral in your own time.
Find a position that's comfortable yet alert for meditation.
Notice any remaining spots of tension.
Send some breath there to soften.
Breathing in.
Breathing out.
Again.
One more,
And let the exhale grow a little longer.
Feel yourself relax a bit more.
Once again,
And can you feel yourself relax maybe 5% more.
Find your stillness self.
Find yourself in space and time.
Welcome yourself exactly as you are.
Let's explore what it's like to be in this moment.
Outside and inside.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
With eyes closed or softly open,
Feel and see yourself in this space.
Feel your seat relaxed and grounded into the support underneath you.
Notice temperature and the contact it makes with your skin.
Is it warm?
Is it cool?
Maybe a subtle breeze from a nearby fan or the wind outside if that's where you are.
What sounds do you hear?
Notice sound from far away.
Notice sound from closer in.
What about the sound of your own breath?
Listen.
Listen as the inhale brings your lungs and organs nourishment.
Hear how the exhale whispers an invitation to let go and surrender.
Out.
This rhythm and dance of aliveness within you.
This aliveness connects us all.
Notice where you feel the breath make contact as it enters and fills your body.
Feel the exhale as your body makes space for the next inhale.
You might have some awareness of how the yin and yang relationship occurs between the two.
Feel your clothes touching your skin.
Notice your hands.
Wherever they are,
What's the texture of what they're touching?
Feel the edges of your body.
See and feel the architecture of your shape.
Welcome yourself exactly as you are.
What's it like inside?
Listen to the areas of tension that are speaking to you with kindness.
Let them know you hear them.
Like us,
Maybe they just want to be seen and heard.
Listen to the neutral parts of your body.
Listen to the parts that feel open and relaxed.
Hold yourself with care.
Become aware of your whole body.
Feel into the front side.
As you exhale,
Relax the front side of you.
From the top of your head,
Down your face and ears,
Front side of your shoulders,
Arms,
And tops of hands and fingers.
Feel into the front side of the heart,
Belly,
Front side of your pelvis and hips,
Thighs and knees,
Shins and ankles,
And the top of your feet and each and every toe.
Feel into the back side of you.
On an exhale,
Relax the top of your head,
Back of your head and neck,
Shoulders,
Upper back,
Middle,
Low back and pelvis,
All the way to your seat.
Relax your hamstrings,
Back side of the knees,
Calves and ankles,
To the bottoms of your feet.
Slow and gentle breath in and breath out.
Can you feel yourself settle here?
Feel into your whole self.
Notice anything that shows up with kindness,
Like listening to an old friend be right here.
If useful,
Place your hands on your heart with gentle pressure or hold your arms to represent care and support for yourself.
As we enjoy some space here,
Offer any words of comfort as you practice being present and grounded in yourself.
I'll watch the time.
Notice if you've drifted and come back to yourself again with kindness.
Just for today,
Remind yourself of this gift of presence you've given yourself,
However it showed up.
You might love yourself more on some days than other days,
But the practice of coming home to yourself is one of bravery and even more so,
Love.
Be a light for yourself and decide today to give yourself the treasure of your absolute awareness and then do the best you can.
Take good care.
