You Namaste and welcome to your practice Start by taking a moment to allow your body to relax To soften any unnecessary tension held anywhere in your body Focusing on your belly and your shoulders Finding a posture that feels relaxed and alert As you find this comfortable position either seated or laying Consider your level of comfort Consider whether or not you will be able to be alert Trying to avoid falling asleep Remaining alert,
Remaining aware And once you have found this comfortable position Close your eyes or look downwards or towards a particular object of focus Rest your hands in an effortless way Take a few moments to scan your awareness through the sensations of the body Touch whatever your body is touching Maybe your back or your legs on a chair,
A cushion,
Perhaps on a floor A sense of smell,
Are there any smells in the air?
Your sense of hearing,
Are there other noises in the background?
Your sense of taste,
Perhaps you can taste what you had for lunch And your sense of sight,
If the eyes are open,
Just observing things around you And as you bring your awareness to the sensations of the body Wherever possible allow yourself to soften and release Softening and releasing any obvious areas of physical tension Aware of your body now,
Aware of your body breathing,
Your chest rising and falling with each breath As you bring your focus,
Your attention to your breath and your natural breathing process Follow the breath in through the nose,
Down the back of the throat Into the breathing tubes,
Into the lungs,
Filling up the chest and the belly And as you exhale,
Releasing the belly and the chest Allowing the air to leave the lungs,
Travelling up through the bronchial tubes,
The trachea,
And back out through the nose You might like to pay special attention to your breath and your natural breathing process Just noticing whether your breath is long or short,
Fast or slow,
Shallow or deep And just continue to focus on your natural breathing process And now imagine standing in the street outside of your house with two heavy suitcases And know that one of those suitcases is full of worries about the future The other suitcase is full of regrets about the past Take a moment standing there in the street,
Holding these two heavy suitcases and reflecting upon each Reflecting about the future,
How the future will come on its own accord whenever it comes And whatever will be,
Will be.
Most of what we worry about will never actually happen Standing out there in the street,
Reflect upon the past,
Reflect upon the other heavy suitcase Consider how the past cannot be changed.
All we can do in the present moment is to learn from it To put whatever corrections make sense into place,
To become more skilful,
To become a better person And to move on Continuing to focus on your breath and your natural breathing process Standing there in the street,
Feeling the weight of these suitcases And absorbing the wisdom of your own reflections right now Make a conscious decision Do you want to drop the suitcase full of worry about the future?
If so,
Simply drop it.
Simply let go.
It's not hard.
Drop the suitcase.
And then,
Standing there in the street with the other suitcase so heavy,
So full of the past Make a conscious decision Do you want to drop it?
Do you want to let go of the past?
If so,
Just drop it.
Drop the suitcase and let it go And soon,
You will have dropped the two suitcases Feeling lighter,
Feeling freer Standing out in the street,
It's now time to walk home Take your seat right where you are,
Plop down,
Completely relaxed Like somebody coming home from a long trip,
Dropping their suitcases and just relaxing Resting in the present moment Just breathing Resting in the natural wellbeing of the parasympathetic nervous system Resting in the fundamental wellbeing of awareness itself Awareness which does not worry or regret Resting as if this is meaningful for you Allow yourself to simply rest,
Feeling a sense of peace,
Of joy,
Of wellbeing A natural happiness,
Always your true home Without carrying heavy suitcases of worries about the future and full of regrets about the past Simply rest here in your body right now With total relaxation With total relaxation throughout your body and your mind With total relaxation throughout your body and your mind Allow yourself to very slowly and very gently bring your awareness back to your body on your mat In your chair,
On the floor,
Wherever you may be Starting to notice the rise and fall of the belly and the chest with each breath Noticing how your body feels Noticing how your mind feels And whenever you feel ready,
Ready to take on the rest of your day Begin to wriggle your fingers and your toes,
Bringing back gentle movement to your body You might like to stretch the tips of the fingers up above you All the way down to the tips of the toes And whenever you feel ready,
Gently blinking the eyes open,
Ready to take on the rest of your day
