Begin to prepare yourself for rest.
Find a comfortable location,
A comfortable seat.
And when you find yourself in a steady place,
Begin bringing your awareness to your breath.
Before we begin our practice,
Take a moment to send gratitude to your body for all it has done for you.
Take another moment to set an intention for the remainder of this practice.
Feel your breath beginning a circle through the body.
If you find yourself ever holding your breath at any point,
Allow yourself to release and take another inhale.
On the next inhale,
Really fill the lungs completely.
And right at the peak of your inhale,
Begin to release for a complete exhale.
Slowly begin to release all that has happened today and bring yourself to this present moment.
Offer yourself gentle affirmations that I am present.
I am safe.
And just for a moment,
See if you can allow yourself to be fully supported by the chair,
By the floor.
Allow gravity to weigh down on the body just for a moment.
When any thoughts arise of what you have done today or perhaps things that you have to do,
Breathe them gently and allow them to pass.
In this moment,
It is enough to focus on your breath.
In this moment,
It is enough to rest.
Bring your awareness back to your breath and the inhale filling the lungs and the belly.
And on the next exhale,
You can release through the mouth.
Feel your body softening with a cleansing exhale and allow yourself to invite in fresh energy with the next breath.
Continuing to gently guide yourself back to the present moment,
Back to the breath,
And allowing the body to soften with each exhale.
This practice is a balance between ease and effort.
Take a moment to acknowledge all the effort that you have given today.
And allow yourself a moment of ease.
Rest is necessary.
Now,
Let's take a moment to recognize all the effort that you have given today.
Continue bringing your awareness to your breath.
Softening the body on each exhale.
Shift your awareness to your feet.
Acknowledge all they've done for you today and offer them the gift of rest.
Bringing your awareness up the legs.
Release any additional tension that is still holding on.
Shift your awareness to your hips.
Release your muscles in the pelvic floor.
Find some softness here.
Shift your awareness to your abdomen.
And release any abdominal muscles that are still holding on from the day.
In this part of the body,
We have all of our digestive organs.
And allow them the space to rest.
Continue to use your breath to find expansion.
And even extending that softness into the low back.
Bringing your awareness slightly higher to your heart.
Send your breath to this space to open the lungs.
And release anything we're carrying on the exhale.
Just for a moment that we're allowing ourselves rest,
Allowing ourselves peace.
All of our worries,
Our challenges will be there when we're ready to pick them up again.
Offer yourself this moment to put it down and allow yourself to be supported by the air,
By the earth beneath you.
Slowly shift your awareness up to the shoulders where we carry so much.
And offer this area a nice deep cleansing breath,
Filling the lungs completely and exhaling out through the mouth.
Sending gratitude to this part of the body.
And gently offering at a moment to release and to find rest.
There is nothing to carry here.
Slowly shifting your awareness up to the neck.
Softening the back of the neck.
And beginning to soften all the facial muscles.
Releasing any tension in the jaw.
Releasing the eyelids.
Allowing the eyebrows to drop and rest in a natural position.
Releasing any tension in the forehead.
And using the breath to guide you into a deeper state of rest.
I invite you to place your hands anywhere on the body that needs additional warmth and attention.
Feel the warmth from your hands permeating through the skin,
Into the muscle,
And even visualize it touching the bone.
Offer yourself this gentle,
Loving touch as a way to acknowledge all of your efforts and as a way to find ease.
Continue offering yourself complete inhales and complete exhales.
If ever your attention wavers,
Gently guide it back to this moment.
This moment is for your rest.
I invite you to place your hands anywhere on the body that needs additional warmth and
