During this practice you're going to develop the feeling of complete relaxation throughout the whole of the body.
A little bit like that feeling just before you fall asleep.
For this practice today try and keep yourself awake.
Following my words,
Following my voice.
During this practice we're not trying to switch your mind off.
Just learning how to recognise any thoughts,
Any emotions,
Any feelings or sensations that arise.
Allowing them just to be noticed,
Allowing them to drift away without focusing or getting lost in the story of them.
So to begin this practice get as comfortable as possible.
You might want to be laying down,
Propping and supporting anywhere in the body that will help you find more ease.
Take any movements,
Shifts or adjustments that you need to allow yourself to settle deeply and comfortably into stillness.
Giving yourself the permission now to just be here.
In this knowledge that there is nowhere else to go.
There is nothing else to do.
Just follow my words and absorb this practice today.
So coming now to find this stillness.
Begin to feel that natural breath flowing through the whole of the body.
Be aware of the shape and the weight of the body in this space.
A sense of heaviness,
Of sinking and surrendering into the ground beneath you.
Release every bit of effort,
Every bit of strength,
Every bit of work.
Let everything go.
Take a moment now to set an intention for your practice.
A positive affirmation or statement.
Something simple.
A short statement in easy language.
It might be something like,
I am calm.
I am at peace.
Or I can rest.
Take a moment to find a statement that comes naturally to you.
Repeat it to yourself silently in your head three times.
Now we're going to move through a scan of the body.
Taking your consciousness through every part.
You don't need to move or do anything.
Simply let all of your awareness draw to that body part as I say it.
See if you can sense it,
Focus on it completely just for that moment.
Starting with the right hand.
The thumb,
The tip,
The nail,
The first joint,
Second joint and root of the thumb.
The first finger,
Its tip,
Nail,
First joint,
Second joint and root of that finger.
The middle finger,
The tip,
The nail,
The first joint,
Second joint and root.
The fourth finger,
The tip,
The nail,
The first joint,
Second joint and root.
The middle finger,
The tip,
The nail,
The first joint,
Second joint and root.
All of the fingers together.
The back of the right hand,
The palm of the right hand.
The right wrist,
Forearm,
Inside of the forearm.
The elbow,
The inside of the elbow.
The upper arm,
The shoulder,
The armpit.
The right side of the chest,
Right side of the waist.
The right hip,
Hamstring,
Knee and back of the knee.
The right calf,
The right shin.
The ankle,
The heel,
The arch of the right foot and the ball of the foot.
All of the toes,
The big toe,
The tip of the big toe,
The nail,
The joint and the root.
The tip of the second toe,
The nail,
The joint and the root.
The third toe,
The tip,
Nail,
Joints and root.
The fourth toe,
The tip,
The nail,
The joints and the root.
The little toe,
Tip,
Nail,
Joints and root.
Moving to the left hand,
The left thumb,
Tip,
Nail,
First joint,
Second joint and root of the thumb.
The first finger,
The tip,
Nail,
First joint,
Second joint and root.
The middle finger,
Tip,
Nail,
First joint,
Second joint and root.
The ring finger,
Tip,
Nail,
First joint,
Second joint and root.
The little finger,
The tip,
The nail,
The first joint,
The second joint and the root.
All of the fingers of the left hand,
The back of the hand,
The palm of the hand.
The left wrist,
The forearm,
The inside of the forearm,
The elbow,
The inside of the elbow.
The upper arm,
Shoulder,
Armpit,
Left side of the chest,
The left waist,
The hip,
Hamstring and thigh.
The left knee and the back of the knee,
The calf,
The shin,
The ankle and the foot.
The heel of the foot,
The arch of the foot,
The ball of the foot and the top of the foot.
The left big toe,
The tip,
Nail,
Joint and root.
The second toe,
Tip,
Nail,
Joint and root.
The third toe,
Its tip,
Nail,
Joints and root.
The fourth toe,
Tip,
Nail,
Joints and root.
The little toe,
Tip,
Nail,
Joints and root.
All of the toes together.
The whole of the left foot,
The whole of the left leg.
The whole of the front left side of the body,
The whole of the front right side of the body.
The right leg,
The right foot,
The right shoulder blade,
The right side of the back.
The right glutes,
The back of the right leg,
The back of the left leg,
The left glutes,
The back of the right side of the body,
The back of the left side of the body,
The whole of the back of the body,
The back of the head,
The crown of the head,
Forehead.
The right eyebrow,
The left eyebrow.
The space between the eyebrows.
The right temple,
The left temple.
The right eye,
Left eye.
Right eyelid,
Left eyelid.
Right cheek,
Left cheek.
Right ear,
Left ear.
The nose,
The tip of the nose.
The upper lip,
The lower lip.
Both lips together.
The tongue,
The throat,
The jaw.
The whole of the front side of the body.
The whole of the left side of the body.
The whole of the body.
The whole of the body.
The whole of the body.
In your body now,
Becoming aware of the flow of your breath.
Without changing the rhythm or the pace.
Let that breath just flow naturally.
There is no effort.
There is nothing to do.
Simply being aware of that breath.
Now watching the rising and falling of the belly with each breath.
That slight lift and lower.
The movement synchronised with the breath.
Rising on the inhale,
Relaxing on the exhale.
Allowing each round of breath to simply take its course.
Where else in the body is there movement with that breath?
How is each breath different?
Notice those subtleties.
Make each round of breath unique.
Come now to sense a feeling of heaviness throughout the whole of the body.
Through the head,
The arms,
The torso and the legs.
Heaviness through the bones.
Feeling so heavy that you're just sinking down through the floor.
Awareness of that heaviness.
Sinking and heavy.
Now sensing a feeling of lightness through every cell in the body.
Light and weightless.
So light that you're just floating up and away.
Light and weightless throughout the whole of the body.
Lifting,
Floating away.
Experiencing the sensation of cold.
Bitter,
Bitter cold throughout the body.
As if you were walking out in the snow with no shoes on.
Your feet are cold.
Your body is cold.
The whole of the body inside and out is cold.
Now awakening that feeling of heat.
Of heat and warmth throughout the whole of the body.
Feeling hot all over.
As if you were outside on the brightest summer's day with no shade.
Heat in,
Over and all around the body.
That full awareness of heat.
Now remembering the experience of pain.
Any pain you've experienced in your life,
Mental or physical.
Remembering and feeling that experience.
Feeling that pain throughout the body.
Now recollecting the feeling of pleasure.
Any kind of pleasure,
Physical or mental.
Feel and relive that pleasure.
Make it vivid.
Awaken it throughout the whole of the body.
Check in with yourself that you are still awake.
Repeating to yourself,
I am awake.
Listening to my words,
Following my voice.
Become aware now of that space behind the eyelids.
Imagining a screen as wide and as high as you can see.
Watch for anything that comes up on that screen.
Any lights,
Colours,
Images or shapes.
Continue to watch that space for the detached awareness.
Not controlling or getting involved in what you see.
Simply watching from a distance.
Observing and noticing.
Returning now to that intention that you set at the start of your practice.
Repeat that intention,
That positive statement.
Saying it to yourself in your head silently,
Three times.
Let the words of that intention wash over you.
Feeling it and believing it.
And then coming back to the feeling of that breath.
As it passes in and out of the body.
Returning to observing that rise and fall of the belly.
The coolness and warmth of each breath.
The coolness as you breathe in and the warmth of the air as you breathe out.
And as you stay with that awareness of the breath.
Just gently bringing awareness back into the physical body.
The shape and weight of the body as you lay here.
Feeling everything beneath you that the body is touching.
Feeling that spaciousness of the air above you.
Feel the heaviness through the body of everywhere it connects to the floor.
The back of the head,
The back of the shoulders,
The arms,
Hands,
Legs and feet.
Keeping the eyes closed,
Just visualising the room around you.
Very slowly,
Very gently just beginning to move into this space.
There is no rush or no hurry.
Slowly moving your hands,
Slowly moving your feet.
Then when you've awakened the breath,
You're going to feel the body coming to open your eyes.
