Hi and welcome to your practice.
Today we are going to do a short exercise that helps to downregulate our nervous system and move us closer to a sense of ease.
And this is a great way to sort of prep your meditation practice,
Especially on those days where we find ourselves rushing around,
Going from task to task,
And it's hard to pause and actually sense ease in our body.
So we'll move through some progressive muscle relaxation of the hands and then a breathing practice where we elongate our inhale and exhale longer than we typically do.
During the practice you can have your eyes closed or open,
Whatever feels comfortable for you,
And you can always exit the practice at any time.
Breathing naturally or even tuning me out completely.
You have full control over how you engage.
I'm offering just a suggestion as we go through this.
So go ahead and find a posture that helps you to be still.
That might mean sitting or standing or lying down.
You might roll your shoulders around a little bit or turn your head from side to side,
Just to sort of get any wiggles out that you need to.
And let's start by taking a deep breath in together to signal to ourselves this beginning of the practice.
Inhale big,
And a big exhale,
Let it go.
Let your arms rest in a effortless way,
But flip your palms to face up.
Stretch your fingers wide,
Like you're giving a high-five,
But with wide fingers.
Stretch your fingers so far wide that maybe you can feel the space between your fingers.
And then soften that energy just a little bit,
So it's just a degree less intense.
Take a big breath,
A big breath out,
And now squeeze your hands really tight.
Ball them up into fists.
See if you can squeeze the tips of your fingers.
See if you can squeeze through the palms.
Notice your wrists,
Your forearms.
Maybe you even engage your biceps a little bit here.
Take a big breath in and option to hold it or not.
Exhale when you're ready,
And as you exhale,
Relax your hands.
Spread your hands wide again,
Fingers reaching.
How much space can your hand take up?
Option to take a breath,
Holding it at the top or not.
And then when you exhale,
Relax your hands.
We'll do that two more times.
Squeeze your fists.
Ball up your hands tight.
Engage through the fingertips.
Feel your fingers pressing into your palms.
Maybe you notice your forearms engage,
Your biceps engage.
Notice what else turns on as you engage.
Option to take a breath,
Maybe pause,
Hold it.
As you exhale,
Relax the tension.
Open your hand wide.
Spread your fingers across.
Reach through the tips of your fingers.
Option to take that deep breath,
Holding it at the top.
And when you exhale,
Relax the tension.
One more time,
Squeeze your hands,
Squeeze your fists.
Maybe your arms engage too.
Maybe your whole body starts to engage.
And then when you breathe out,
Relax the tension.
Open your hands wide.
This is the last time.
Spread the fingers wide.
Notice the space between them.
Reaching,
Expanding.
Maybe you breathe in and hold.
And when you breathe out,
Relax the tension.
Pause there.
Start to notice what you feel.
Maybe there's tingling in your hands.
Now open your mouth really wide,
Like you're trying to stretch through the face.
And maybe you squeeze your eyes.
Maybe you wiggle your jaw around.
Maybe you wrinkle your nose.
See if you can get some movement there in your face.
Now scrunch up your face really tight,
Like you just ate something really sour.
Squeeze,
Squeeze,
Squeeze,
Squeeze,
Squeeze.
Eyebrows squeeze.
Eyelids squeeze shut.
Lips purse.
And then relax your face.
We'll do that just one more time.
Squeeze your face.
Squeeze everything tight.
Maybe you take a deep breath and hold.
And then as you exhale,
Release the tension.
Okay,
Now we're going to pause here.
Notice what's happening inside.
Applying some curiosity to what's here.
It could be nothing.
It could be something.
Either one works.
Now we're moving to some breathing practice.
We'll inhale for a count of six and exhale for a count of six.
We'll do that for six rounds.
Take a normal breath in to start,
And a normal breath out.
Inhale for five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Exhale,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Inhale,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Exhale,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Inhale,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Exhale,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Inhale,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Exhale,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Inhale,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Exhale,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Inhale,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Exhale,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Slow breath in.
Feel your belly.
Soften your belly.
And then open mouth exhale.
With eyes open or closed,
Check in with your body.
Can you soften your shoulders a little bit?
Relax the sides of your neck.
Soften your face.
Notice where your body touches the floor or where you're sitting or lying down.
And can you soften the parts of your body that make contact?
Notice your breath moving naturally without changing it or forcing it.
And the movement that your body makes as you breathe.
For the next 30 seconds,
We'll have silence.
And I'll let you know when that time is up.
During that time,
Notice the effects of your practice.
Taking a pause to look around anytime that you need to step out of it.
Take a deep breath in and an open mouth exhale.
You can softly open your eyes if they're closed.
Bring your palms together to touch in the universal sign of gratitude.
You might stay with the stillness that you're in or conclude your practice here.
Thank you for joining me.
