This practice is a great way to recharge your day.
Perhaps in the afternoon when your energy may be a bit lower.
Consider this your afternoon snack.
Make any adjustments that you need to.
Get comfortable.
Wiggle and shift on your chair.
Have your feet on the floor.
Hands in a comfortable position.
Take a deep breath in.
Notice any tension in the shoulders.
As you breathe out,
Allow the shoulders to soften.
Moving away from your ears.
Repeat this.
Deep breath in and a longer breath out.
It might help to breathe in for the count of two and out for four.
At your own pace.
Notice on each out breath,
The connection to where you sit becomes softer.
Feeling of almost melting,
Becoming part of the surface.
You may even feel that you need to yawn.
Really noticing the tension leave as you breathe out.
And now,
As you're breathing,
Fall into its normal rhythm.
You may notice as you meditate,
Your breath will slow.
That is normal.
Let's begin.
Just scan the body from top to bottom.
And to do this,
We'll use our mind as a spotlight.
Just bringing focus to each place.
Starting with the very top of your head.
Notice any sensations.
Tingling,
Pulsing.
Pleasant,
Unpleasant.
Just notice.
With awareness at your forehead.
Is there a frown,
Furrow you can soften?
Allow your cheeks to soften.
Your jaw becomes slack.
Spotlights now on your neck and shoulders.
Breathing into each place in turn.
Encouraging it to let go of tension.
To feel softer.
Feel the weight of your arms,
Your hands and their position in space.
Notice the gaps between each of your fingers.
Moving the spotlight to the chest.
Feel the chest rise and fall.
See the upper ribs expanding and contracting.
Going even deeper.
Feel the movement of the lungs.
Perhaps you can even feel the beat of your heart.
Shift your spotlight down to the diaphragm.
Notice it move down as you breathe in.
Making room for the breath to enter.
Pushing up as you breathe out.
Shifting unwanted breath out into the atmosphere.
In your next breath out,
Allow your abdomen to completely soften.
Feel the gentle movement of the organs in your abdomen.
You may even notice them gurgling from within.
Because when we rest,
Our body can begin to digest.
Feel the weight of your buttocks against the chair.
Feel the back of your legs and your feet on the floor.
You feel the gap between each toe.
Notice the sole of the foot.
Can you feel where your foot comes in contact with its shoe?
All the points of pressure and other areas,
Relative ease.
Check out your body as a whole and how it feels.
When you relax,
Your body usually feels heavy,
Still,
Perhaps even numb.
Don't be surprised.
Your thoughts still come.
If there's something really persistent,
You can label it,
Acknowledge it and let it go.
Feel with it later when you've had this time for you.
Go a little deeper.
Notice where in the body you feel the breath most clearly.
Is it in the back of the nose,
Throat,
Chest,
Abdomen?
Go to where you feel the breath and notice the flow of the breath to this place.
Focus on its movement in and its movement out.
Catching the moment the breath stops and the moment that it starts.
Notice the beautiful silence,
The space after you breathe out and before you need to breathe in again.
Don't force the breath.
You might see your breath as a light moving in and out,
Just watching.
Notice how your body is feeling.
Any sensations you notice,
Tingling,
Pulsing,
Warms.
Just notice so that you know what it feels like when you are relaxed,
What you're aiming for.
Your mind will choose to be more focused if it's familiar with this lovely feeling.
So just spend a few moments to focus on anything.
It could be the breath,
The pulse,
A part of the body,
Could even be pain.
It could be anything as long as you focus on something.
And now,
As we come to the end,
Just bring some awareness to where you're sitting.
Just bring some movement to the fingers and toes.
And when you are ready,
Just stretch.
And now you can move gently back into your day.
Thank you.
