Standing up straight.
Feet hip width apart.
Feeling a string pulling your spine all the way up to the ceiling.
Close your eyes for a few seconds.
Feel into your body.
Notice which areas feel tight or in pain.
Notice how your chest feels.
Are you able to take a deep breath in and release it completely up?
Just notice not trying to change anything.
Now we're going to start swaying from side to side.
Allowing your shoulders to drop down to the left and right.
Allow your fingertips to trace a line up through the outsides of your thighs.
Just like you're swaying in the breeze.
Relax your head and neck.
Allowing your head to move to the side very last.
And if you're comfortable,
You can start deep in this movement by reaching your head further down the side of your leg to your knee.
Moving slowly,
Gently and softly.
Like you're a young sapling tree swaying in the breeze.
Deep breaths here and start to deepen your movements.
Feel the stretch through the side of your body from your hip up to your ribs all the way up to your shoulders.
And just enjoy the feeling,
The sensation of your fingertips on your skin.
And last few bends.
And coming back up to your center.
Now we're going to work through the front of our body.
Straighten your knees and drift your arms up to the ceiling.
Wrists nice and soft.
And exhale,
Bend your knees.
Drift your arms down.
Looking down to the floor.
Inhale.
Straighten your knees.
Energy moving up.
Stretch the front of your chest and now exhale.
Moving in slow motion.
Knees bent.
Bring your energy down.
Deep breath in.
Moving up.
Stretch your chest.
Exhale down.
Continue breathing and moving.
Notice how your chest expands when you move upwards.
Invite space into your lungs and heart.
And allow your body to melt with each movement.
Close your eyes.
Feel the stretch moving all the way down to your hips and quads.
Wrists and neck completely relaxed.
And last one.
Bring your arms all the way up.
Feel that stretch here.
And now release your arms and breath out sideways.
Opening up your chest and feeling that expansion.
And again,
Arms up all the way.
Exhale.
Pull your shoulders and arms back.
Forming a big circle with your hands.
Stretching through your shoulders.
Opening up your chest.
And one last circle all the way up.
And let your arms drop down.
Come back to your center.
Take a few seconds to notice the spaciousness and openness in your chest and shoulders.
Few deep breaths here.
Feeling the changes in your lungs.
Noticing how your breath moves easier.
And now start to move your wrists in a figure eight motion.
Flipping your palms up and down.
This movement should come very naturally to your body.
And we're going to mimic this same figure eight movement with your head.
Allow your eyes to follow along to the movement of your wrists.
This movement is great for anyone suffering from tension or stiffness,
Arthritis,
Through the wrists and the fingers.
And now we're going to make our movements a little bit bigger and a little bit slower.
Allow your body to follow your hands.
Your hands guiding the movement.
Transfer your weight from side to side.
And as you become more comfortable with this movement,
You can widen your feet and start to float in big figure eight movements.
Circular movements like these have a very calming effect on the nervous system.
Follow your hands with your eyes and your head.
And imagine you're flowing in the breeze.
Working through your feet,
Your ankles and your knees.
Moving your spine very gently.
Full body movement.
And this movement always makes me want to smile.
You can do so if you like.
And now make your figure eight movements even bigger.
Moving up and down,
Allowing your hands to guide the movement of your full body.
Moving that energy,
Unblocking any stagnant energy.
And last one.
Come back to center and we're going to ground our energy down to the floor.
And push your energy down.
Standing up straight.
We're now going to move into a seated position on the floor.
Sitting cross-legged.
We're going to start tracing through the heart and lung meridians.
Using a soft touch,
Start at your fingertips.
And slowly start to trace all the way up,
Through your inner arm,
Up to the shoulder.
And to the side of your chest.
Other side,
Up through the inner arm.
To the shoulder.
To the chest.
And continue tracing this meridian,
Closing down your eyes and focusing on the feeling of your own soft touch,
Your skin.
Breathe in through your belly and send love to your body as you do this.
These soft touch movements are extremely powerful for calming the nervous system.
They're especially useful if your system is stuck in freeze mode.
Allow yourself to become completely absorbed by this feeling.
Moving slowly and gently.
Allow your eyes to relax.
Your forehead to relax.
Relax your belly.
And invite in the feeling of peace.
Of love.
Of softness.
And last pass.
Relax your arms.
We're now going to trace through the triple burner meridian.
Place your fingertips over your eyelids.
Drag your fingertips outwards to your temples.
Allow your fingertips to trace around the back of the ear.
And down through the front and sides of your neck.
Stopping at the collarbone.
Again,
From the eyelids,
Out to the temples.
Around the backs of your ears.
Down through the sides of your neck.
To your collarbone.
Continue tracing this pattern.
Imagine your fingers brushing away any tension and stress you're carrying in your head and your eyes.
Gently bringing it down the body.
So that it can be released.
And how are we going to release?
Through the breath.
And one last pass over this meridian.
Hands palms up on your knees.
And we're going to do three.
We're going to inhale.
Inhale.
And come back to your normal breath.
Humming stimulates the vagus nerve.
Signaling to your body.
That it's safe to relax.
Deep belly breaths.
As you inhale.
Picture your diaphragm moving downwards into your belly.
Giving your organs a little massage.
And as you exhale.
See your diaphragm relaxing back up into your ribcage.
Allow your belly to expand with absolute ease.
Enjoy the feeling of the air moving in through your nostrils.
Down through your throat into your lungs and your belly.
Appreciate how good it feels to be able to take a deep breath.
Some people don't have that luxury.
Allow your eyes to roll back in your skull.
Allow your face to express whatever emotion you're feeling.
Whatever emotion needs to come through.
And now to close this practice.
Allow your body to lead whatever movements it's craving.
Whether that be tears,
A yawn,
A stretch,
Shaking.
Allow it to release.
And when you're ready,
You can open your eyes.
