So today's technique is all about stepping back,
Calming the nervous system,
And just getting to a place of stronger equanimity.
So just be comfortable,
However that looks to you.
You could be seated,
You could be laying down.
Just give yourself permission to be 10 to 15 percent more comfortable.
And as you start to rest,
Allow yourself to step a little bit deeper into your body,
Noticing sensation on the surface of your skin,
Points of contact with clothing,
The temperature of the air on the exposed surfaces,
The points of contact your body makes with itself.
Now allowing your awareness to drop deeper beneath the skin,
What's going on inside of your body.
Depending on where you focus specifically,
You may sense tension or discomfort.
You might also feel some relief and openness.
It's likely a combination of both,
But just notice.
And whatever you're feeling in your body,
The good,
The bad,
The otherwise,
Just have compassion for the entire experience.
This body haven't brought you this far.
As you're aware of your body,
You'll notice the breath moving in your body,
The lungs filling,
The lungs emptying.
Inhale and exhale.
And as you're aware of the breath,
Notice where in the body you feel it expressed most.
For some it may be in the chest and ribcage.
For some it might be down in the abdomen.
You may also notice if your breath is deep or shallow,
Not needing to change it either way.
And in this practice of watching your body and watching your breath,
Notice your mind.
Where's your mind at right now?
Is it focused?
When it moves from focus,
Where does it go?
And when it moves from focus,
Can you bring it back each and every time without judgment?
To help deepen your awareness,
Bring your mind back to your abdomen or the movement of the breath in your abdomen.
Other regions of the body might be moving as well,
But just notice the navel expanding away from your spine on inhale and relaxing towards your spine on exhale.
And see if you can soften any efforting or holding your attention in your abdomen.
Maybe it's the front abs can soften a little bit,
Allowing the navel to expand further forward with each inhale.
Maybe the muscles that make up the pelvic floor or pelvic bowl can soften,
Allowing the breath to balloon downward with a little less effort.
And over the course of the next few breaths,
See if you can isolate the movement of your body to just the movement of your abdomen.
Inhale the navel expanding away from your spine.
Exhale the navel contracting back toward your spine.
And at a certain point,
The ribcage and chest barely move if they do at all.
Soft belly inhale,
Soft belly exhale.
And again,
If your mind moves,
Just bring it back each and every time.
So keeping your breath soft in your abdomen,
We'll engage the mind a little bit deeper by counting backwards on the breath from the number 27 all the way down to zero.
If you lose count during this practice,
Simply start over at 27.
If you get to zero before I name the end of the practice,
Start over at 27.
And lastly,
If you start counting upwards versus backwards at any point,
Just start over again.
The point isn't to complete it,
It's just to stay engaged each and every time.
So tuning into that belly breath,
Allow it to be inhale 27,
Exhale 27,
Inhale 26,
Exhale 26,
Inhale 25,
Exhale 25,
Inhale 24,
Exhale 24,
Inhale 23,
And continue on your own,
Counting backwards on the breath.
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Starting over if you lose count,
No shame in that,
No judgment,
Just practice counting backwards on the breath.
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Counting backwards on the breath.
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Wherever you're at and you're counting,
Go ahead and stop.
Feel the connection your body makes to the ground or the chair.
Feel yourself heavy through these points,
Drawn toward the core of the earth.
Feel the body heavy.
Then feel your body light.
As if gravity has been reversed,
You could float away.
Feel your body light.
Feel your body heavy again.
As if your body were made of lead,
You couldn't move if you tried.
Feel the body heavy.
You could float away again.
Feel your body light.
Then feel your body light.
If you were filled with helium,
You could float away again.
Feel your body light.
You could float away again.
Then feel your body heavy once again.
Rooted,
Grounded.
Feeling the body heavy.
Then once again,
Feel your body light.
Light as a feather,
Just resting on the earth.
Then feel the weight of the body normalize.
And just notice the part of you that in those dualities of heavy and light,
The part of you that was just observing,
That was unfazed by the changing perception of weight in the body,
That maintained equanimity,
The part of you that was all right no matter what.
From this perspective,
More than just the weight of the body,
You can view the landscape of your life,
Everything that's going on,
Highs and lows and otherwise.
And you can maintain a calmness,
A steadiness.
So allowing yourself to stay at least a little bit with this higher perception,
This grounded calmness,
That aspect within you.
Feel your breath moving in your body again.
And when you're ready,
Go ahead and take a deeper,
Deeper,
Fuller breath.
And as you bring the palms together,
You can rub them together,
Creating heat between them and stimulating the palms.
And take the heated palms over your eyes,
Pushing back over the top of your head and down your neck,
Gently bringing yourself back to the space around you.
Take your time as you head back out into your day.
Thank you so much for sharing in this practice.
I look forward to sharing with you again soon.
Until then,
Take care.
Namaste.
