Welcome friends to the Essentials of Stillness.
Practices like this one have been found to significantly reduce stress,
Both cognitive and physiological symptoms of anxiety.
And we're essentially going to move through a 20 minute relaxation practice.
This practice should shift us from any worries or concerns of the day into a deep state of calm and ease.
This will happen both in the mind space or the head space and in the body.
These practices are associated with improved self-esteem,
Better sleep patterns,
And an increased sense of presence.
If that all sounds good to you,
Go ahead and get comfortable.
Lie down on your back.
Find a comfortable,
Relaxed position.
Heels a little wider than hip distance apart and your arms down by your side.
Make any last adjustments now so that you can be deeply comfortable.
Maybe find an eye pillow or place a bolster underneath the knees.
Make sure you're warm.
Let the eyes close.
Sense the weight of your body grounding down into the earth.
Give way.
Be present to the sensations you feel.
Your body is beginning to rest.
Your muscles give way to gravity.
Your bones are heavy.
Become aware of any sounds that you notice.
Observe the most obvious sounds.
Then effortlessly allow your attention to take in those sounds that are more subtle.
Resist the urge to label or judge what you hear.
Notice that you're creating a relationship with your surrounding that is effortless,
Both in the feeling relation with your surroundings,
But also within your body as you begin to move your awareness inwards.
Begin to notice the sensations of awareness itself.
Feeling the body breathe.
Begin effortless breath at a time.
Your belly is relaxed.
You notice that you're not sculpting the breath,
But just allowing it to be natural and complete with no resistance.
Just noticing the differences between inhale and exhale.
Exhale feels as though you're letting go more deeply as the layer upon layer of tension is released.
Your inhales wash the body with fresh energy,
Prana,
Brightening your sense of awareness.
Each breath brings you deeper into this moment,
Releasing any tensions of the day,
Any need to further figure out any challenges that exist.
Just being with the simple feeling of abdomen rising and falling.
Feel the pulse of your awareness.
Relax full on the exhale and expansive with the inhale.
And begin to sculpt just slightly your breath.
Allow the inhales to be just a little longer with the exhales matching.
Imagine the shape of an oval where there are no sharp ends,
Only a continuation as you breathe in without any changes or holds.
The breath hovers before exhaling and continuing the bottom of the breath.
Begin a hover and a stillness before beginning to breathe in again.
Just this breath.
The quality of this breath reflecting directly in the quality of our minds.
Soft,
Continuous,
Present,
Effortless.
Notice that the mind shapes the breath and the breath shapes the mind.
Just this next breath,
Just one breath of awareness at a time.
Now,
As you release any effort to shape the breath,
Notice that just these few moments of practice may have created a shift.
More calm,
At ease.
Just being just aware,
Neutral.
Just this next breath in and breath out.
Feelings being lit up by your consciousness of breath and of course of the entire body.
Things that are most notable and also those a bit more unique.
Can you sense any area of contraction or holding?
Move your awareness and your breath to these places and just allow a deep letting go.
Let go of all effort,
This is a time just to rest.
All the doing is done.
Notice that the more you let go,
The more support you feel.
And the more you're able to let go,
The more peace you feel.
The more you let go of effort,
The more peaceful,
The more restful you feel.
You are no longer the doer of your life.
You're taking rest.
Your mind releases as though moving into a deep sleep.
Allow the awareness to come back to the breath.
The subtle rise and fall of the belly.
Effortless,
Beautiful.
All the deep core muscles relaxed,
Pelvic floor relaxed,
Shoulder girdle relaxed.
The breath is neither too slow nor too fast.
Just right.
It isn't slow,
It isn't remains.
You are a loving awareness,
Conscious of breath,
Breathing through you,
For you.
Feel as though the body breathes naturally,
Effortlessly on its own.
You are a consciousness just observing sensations of breath,
Lovingly,
Openly,
Spaciously,
All sensations being drawn in.
You are a consciousness just observing sensations of breath,
Lovingly,
Openly,
And fully.
You are a consciousness just observing sensations of breath,
Lovingly,
Openly,
And fully.
You are a consciousness just observing sensations of breath,
Lovingly,
Openly,
And fully.
You are a consciousness just observing sensations of breath,
Lovingly,
Openly,
And fully.
You are a consciousness just observing sensations of breath,
Lovingly,
Openly,
And fully.
Bring your attention back to your breath.
Allow the breath to relax.
Two or three deepening,
Effortless,
Easy breaths.
With each breath in,
Your awareness reaches all the way down to the tips of the fingers and the toes.
With each exhale,
The body softens again.
When you're ready,
You can begin to stretch through the fingers,
Point the toes.
Eventually,
Drawing the knees towards the chest,
Rolling to one side,
Pressing up to a seated position,
Finding a tall spine,
Perhaps rubbing the hands together,
Gently cupping the warmth of your hands over your eyes,
Brushing down the body,
Coming back into the room.
Your practice is now complete.
