Now the first thing is to be comfortable.
Arrange your seating so that you are supported in a quiet area if possible,
Sitting comfortably and being supported.
Now to bring the body back into a place of deeper calm and stillness,
We'll begin by focusing on our breath.
Now in all instances,
Breathe according to your own body's balance.
Nothing rushed,
Nothing forced,
Whatever it is that is comfortable for you.
But I would ask that your incoming breath be a full breath,
And by that I mean sitting with a straight back and neck,
Not slouching,
Because we rarely take a full breath.
And to maximize the opportunity to bring stillness and balance and presence into our body,
Ideally we are going to be breathing in and filling our lungs.
So now that we're sitting with a straight back and neck,
Breathing in from the belly,
Breathing slowly,
A long,
Slow,
Deep,
Relaxed breath.
Then at the top of the breath,
Pause for a moment,
And then slowly exhale,
Again,
Slowly,
Relaxed,
And you'll notice as you exhale,
The chest will begin to just relax as the air leaves your lungs.
Now endeavour the length of your outgoing breath to be longer than the length of your incoming breath.
Then,
Again,
At the bottom of the breath,
Pause for a moment,
And bring all of your focus,
All of your awareness,
To simply following your breath.
Now breathing in again,
A long,
Slow,
Deep,
Relaxed inhalation,
With a sense of expansion as your chest region opens to allow the lungs to expand fully.
Then at the top of the breath,
Pause again,
Then exhale,
A long,
Slow,
Relaxed,
The chest and the bottom of the breath,
Pause again,
Ready to inhale again.
So this is the rhythm when you are consciously wishing to bring the body and the mind and the senses into a deeper state of stillness,
Of quiet,
Where the mind is less likely to be busy in thinking,
You are directing your focus to your breath.
And if thoughts arise,
And they will,
That's no problem at all,
Recognise that they are there,
But do not attach yourself to them,
Ignore them,
And keep your awareness on the flow of the breath as it comes into your lungs,
Breathing in deeply,
Pause,
And then exhale.
Some sense of deepening relaxation,
Some sense of lightness,
When the focus is purely on the breath.
Now the reason that we have a longer exhalation,
This stimulates the vagus nerve,
And this activates the parasympathetic nervous system.
Now this simple,
Simple rhythm of breathing is so potent in helping you quieten the mind.
And because we generally spend our time in beta brainwave frequency,
Which is where all the decisions are made.
But when the parasympathetic nervous system is activated,
Then that area of the brain is neutralised,
And what is stimulated is the theta,
Delta,
Gamma,
Schumann,
Lambda,
Those areas of your brain then become stimulated.
And that is when the feel-good hormones are released into your body,
And there's a natural sense of ease.
Everything becomes a little softer,
A little quieter,
And the body relaxes fully.
And just be here in this awareness,
Following this rhythm of breathing.
Now we've all heard at times when someone is upset or something is,
Someone will say,
Just take a deep breath.
Now when you take a deep breath,
You are then bringing into the body more oxygen,
And oxygen is the healing element of the body.
So automatically the whole body has a supply,
An extra supply of healing,
Vital energy which just surges through every cell of the body.
And that's why you might feel just a little bit of a lightness,
A tingling.
It's so simple,
But so effective.
A long,
Slow,
Deep breath in.
Pause at the top.
And then exhale.
This is all you are doing.
This is where your attention is being focused.
Just being here,
Still and relaxed,
In the body.
We tend to be always elsewhere rather than present in the body.
Well here there are no projections.
Everything is turned back,
So we're focusing on our own breath.
And not only the breath,
But the subtle sensations,
The senses.
What are you feeling in the body,
Now with this new rhythm of breathing?
Do you feel a lightness?
Do you feel there's a sense of letting go?
Do you feel a sense of openness?
A sense of expansion?
Be present.
Be here.
This focus is the discipline that the mind needs.
Because it's used to projecting.
But here we're not engaging the mind.
We're putting the mind to one side,
Because we are no longer in the beta brainwave frequency.
So automatically there's that deeper sense of well-being and balance.
Maintaining this breathing rhythm.
Let us now do a body scan,
Where we will start from the top of the head.
Again,
This is a slow,
Relaxed,
Relaxed technique that allows any tightness or stiffness,
Or areas of resistance,
Or soreness,
To be infused by the breath,
The energy,
The softness,
The gentleness,
And the expansion that the body is feeling.
We can now direct it to specific areas.
So we start with the top of the head.
And direct your awareness to only the top of the head.
Now with practice,
For those of you who have done vipassana retreats,
You will be aware that you will be able to feel the pulsing of the blood in the capillaries of the skin over the skull.
That's how sensitive our awareness can become.
How totally in tune we are with the body.
But here,
Whatever it is that you sense,
Is perfect in this moment.
So,
From the top of the head,
Slowly imagine an energy field just gradually moving downwards.
Now it reaches the forehead.
And here,
Any tightness,
Any frowning,
Any worries,
Any concerns that may be held in the muscles of the forehead,
Breathe into that space and let it go.
Feel the muscles in that region just relax.
Even if it's only a small amount,
Whatever you perceive is perfect.
Down to the cheeks.
Now down to the jaw,
The muscles in the jaw.
There can be tightness held in the jaw,
A tension.
And people who maybe grind their teeth of an evening hold tension in those muscles.
Often,
Tension or worry or anxiety is held in these regions.
So once again,
Direct your energy,
That lightness,
That sense of expansion,
Direct it to this area,
To the muscles around the jaws.
Now come a little lower,
To the lips,
To the chin.
Now to the neck,
Another area commonly associated with tension and tightness,
Particularly in association with the shoulders,
With the energy points in that region.
So nice and slowly,
Down through the neck.
And just for a moment,
Pause at the throat.
Now the throat is another area where tension can be held.
People who may be feeling insecure,
Not confident.
Artists who are having difficulty with blockages,
Their inspiration isn't as strong as it used to be.
People who like to express themselves but now feel shy or unwilling.
Singers,
Musicians,
Breathe into this area.
This is a common area where energy,
Limiting energy,
Can be held.
Now to the shoulders themselves,
To the pressure points at the back near the shoulder blades.
That area too.
And with the muscles of the jaw relaxed,
You may notice that the jaw actually does relax and the mouth slightly opens.
So spend some time in the shoulders.
Rotate the arms in the shoulder region.
Feel the movement there.
Bring your breath to this region,
This lightness,
This sense of expansion,
Releasing.
Whatever stiffness may be present,
Let that pass out with your outgoing breath.
How is the body responding to this scanning?
Are you feeling a lightness in the areas already scanned,
A relaxing,
An openness,
A joy?
Down to the chest,
Any tightness there,
Any soreness,
Any pain?
Again,
Direct your breath energy to this region.
Just slowly relax with this.
You may have a sense that the body is sinking even deeper into where you're sitting.
As the body begins to let go,
All of those subtle energies that have been tight and stiff begin to relax.
Down to the lower back,
Another area where tension can be held,
Frustrations,
Anger.
These lower energy centers,
They too can be released.
Direct your breathing,
Healing energy there as well.
To the stomach.
Down through the arms,
To the elbows,
To the forearms.
Quietly and gently just open and close your wrists,
Your fingers as they move slightly.
Down to the thighs.
There might be some tightness there from exercising,
Some soreness.
Let it all go.
Slowly scanning.
Be patient.
Be still in this process.
Down to the knees.
To the calves.
To the ankles.
To the feet themselves.
Now move your feet on the surface where you are.
What feeling is there that you are experiencing?
How is the body responding to this sense of touch?
Is it light?
Is it warm?
Is it cool?
Be here with this sense.
Because it's an area we rarely focus on.
But as we know in acupuncture,
So many areas of the feet are directly connected to the organs of the body.
Pressure points,
Acupuncture points.
Feel the ground beneath you.
And feel the energy of the earth rising up through your feet into the body.
And feel that energy continuing to the top of the head and then out through the crown chakra.
One field,
One conscious field of calmness,
Of stillness.
How is the body responding?
What do you feel in the body?
Be here for a moment.
Be the witness.
If you need to,
Open and close your fingers.
Roll the shoulders.
Move the neck.
Move your feet on the surface where they're touching.
Take a long,
Deep inhalation.
How is the body feeling?
Is it feeling quieter?
More rested?
Still?
Open?
Be here.
Be aware.
The body is the temple.
Be present.
In the body.
All the little subtle energies that you're picking up.
The subtle movements.
The waves.
Some areas are quieter than others.
Whatever it is.
It's perfect in this moment.
Any lingering tension or stress,
It's okay,
You're aware of it.
But know that behind every sense or every experience,
Behind every emotion,
Behind every breath,
There is a vast,
Still consciousness that is aware of all of these sensations.
Is aware of all of the experiences you have every day.
And it itself is unmoving.
It is spacious and whole.
It is one's true essence.
Just be here in this stillness,
This open awareness.
How is the body feeling?
Is there a sense of gratitude?
Is there comfort?
Is there a sense of self-love,
Deeper appreciation for your temple?
For its quietness.
As you sit,
Supported.
And now together,
We're going to do some humming.
And I will begin and you follow if you would like.
It's more a mm than a hum.
It's mm.
Now,
Whatever tone,
Whatever frequency that you have is perfect.
And the important thing again is to relax.
Let this be quiet and gentle.
Now this resonance,
This frequency that you'll be activating is even in further support of the body.
And this will be felt in every single cell.
Now,
If you prefer just to listen,
That's fine.
Again,
Allow the frequency,
The sound of the vibration to simply enter your being through your incoming breath and allow it to expand and travel wherever it will.
You will feel it in the throat.
You will no doubtedly have a sense of it in the heart chakra region.
But you will also feel it beyond these areas.
So I will start and then follow in when you're ready.
In your own pace,
In your own rhythm.
You don't have to follow with me.
Remember a long breath out.
Fill the lungs.
One more time.
Remain here.
Remain with this resonance as it travels as a wave through your entire being.
From the soles of your feet to the top of your head.
Out through the fingers.
Out through the body itself.
Now,
This frequency,
This harmonic tone cannot be contained within this body.
It is universal frequency.
That is right now at the furthest point,
If there is such a thing,
The furthest point in this universe.
It is instantaneous.
So this connects you instantly to your own infinite presence.
This helps you recognize it's a pointing,
A pointer back to the recognition of their own true self.
The field of resonance in which this body is activated.
And manifests.
And breathes.
Be still.
What is the body feeling?
Long,
Deep inhalation.
Pause at the top.
And then exhale.
And again,
In your own rhythm.
Is the body feeling stiller?
More relaxed?
Lighter?
More open?
More allowing?
More forgiving?
More peaceful?
The deeper sense of calm.
A rising of joy.
Connecting to a deeper knowing.
