Welcome,
This practice is designed to support you in holding space for yourself,
Releasing what is ready to go so that you can emerge fresh and focused.
You can be lying down or seated,
Either way be supported and in a position where your belly can be completely relaxed and your throat open.
I recommend lying all the way down.
If you're concerned about falling asleep,
Set an alarm.
First we'll begin by acknowledging the stress.
You're welcome to place your hands on your body to support you,
Perhaps if you're feeling stress in your chest,
You place your hands there on your heart center,
Or sometimes I like to have one hand on my belly and the other on my chest.
Breathe for a moment,
Feeling your breath flow into your body.
And if you know the source of your stress,
Name it as though you're speaking to yourself.
I see that you're stressed about blank.
If you don't know the source,
That's completely fine.
You can say,
I see that you're stressed,
I don't know exactly why,
But I'm going to take care of you anyways.
You can say this out loud or just in your heart,
Acknowledging your stress.
And now let's also give gratitude to the problem solving mind.
It does a lot to take care of you.
And say to your problem solving mind,
You have been doing a lot and I'll need you again.
So for now you can rest and let the body take over.
Give your problem solving mind this gratitude and acknowledgement so that it can rest for the remainder of the practice.
And if it does come up,
You can once again say thank you.
You can rest.
And now to help you fully feel your body,
We'll continue with the body scan.
Beginning by feeling the crown of your head,
The very top of your head.
And now your face and your mouth,
The back of your head,
The throat and the back of the neck.
The tops of the shoulders,
Continuing down the arms,
The upper arms together.
Both elbows.
Both lower arms.
Both wrists.
The palms of both hands and the backs of both hands.
All 10 fingers together,
Full of sensations.
Turning to the inside of the shoulders,
Resting the attention on the heart center and the upper back,
The rib cage and the middle back.
Feeling the belly full of sensations,
Allowing the breath to flow into this space.
And feeling the low back,
Continuing down into the hips and the pelvis and the glutes.
And down to both thighs and the backs of the thighs.
Feeling both knees,
The space behind the knees,
Both shins and both calves.
Feeling both ankles together,
The tops of both feet,
The bottoms of both feet.
All 10 toes together.
And now feeling the whole body at once.
Breathing into the whole body at once.
Now we'll begin the breath work.
I'll offer you two options for the breath.
Begin by breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth.
Try blowing out the air through pursed lips as though you're blowing out through a straw.
This pursed lips breath helps slow down the exhale and calm your system.
Breathe in through the nose and out through pursed lips.
Allow the exhales to be long.
Feel your weight anchoring into the earth with each exhale.
I suggest beginning your breath practice with this calming breath.
And now I'll offer a second option.
Try breathing in and out through the mouth.
Feel fresh air fill your belly.
I suggest that you switch to this open mouth breath when you feel ready to leave the calming breath.
Please listen to your body.
If you feel yourself panicking or hyperventilating,
Return to your natural breath and care for your body however you feel is best.
The open mouth breath increases oxygen in the system and some people experience numbing,
Tingling or cramping sensations.
It's safe to continue breathing or these symptoms will subside when you return to your natural breath.
During breath work,
You may also experience temperature changes,
So I recommend having a blanket nearby.
Emotions may arise and as much as you feel comfortable,
Please allow them to flow and transform.
You can make sounds and move.
You can cry,
Scream,
Hum,
Shake your body,
Place a comforting hand on your chest,
Whatever supports you.
This is your time.
Please listen to your body and be gentle.
You do not need to push or strive to experience the benefits of this practice.
Beginning with the calming breath,
In through the nose,
Out through pursed lips,
Like you're blowing out through a straw.
Letting the breath flow in and out of your body.
Giving yourself,
Giving your body all of your attention.
I'll begin the music to accompany breath work and while the music is playing,
I'll offer more limited instructions.
Beginning to breathe and with each exhale,
Feeling excess energy release into the earth.
Seeing whether you might like a vocal release to transform energy.
You can make any sound.
Beautiful.
Listening to your body again and again is a sacred act and deeply healing.
Continuing to feel your energy and feel any emotions that may be arising.
We have about two minutes of active breathing left.
If you haven't tried it already,
I suggest you try the open mouth breath in through the mouth and out through the mouth,
Flushing the body with fresh air.
Releasing the active breath,
Continue to lay in your comfortable position while we continue with a protection practice.
Begin by feeling the energy deep in your low belly.
You can place your hands on your belly to help you feel this space and feel your breath.
Allow your breath to flow down into your low belly.
As you breathe into this space,
This powerful energetic center often associated with creativity and passion and wants,
Feel your energy and feel what color it is today.
You can pick any color.
Imagine your low belly filling with this color,
Your vibrant life force.
As you breathe deep into your low belly,
Imagine you're drawing up energy from the earth into your low belly to support you.
And now imagine energy from the universe is showering down and into your low belly,
Building your life force.
As you breathe,
Now allow this energy to expand up through your torso,
Reaching your heart center.
And from here,
Allow the energy to flow down through your pelvis,
Through your legs and your feet,
Infusing your lower body with this vibrant energy.
And now returning to your heart center,
Allow this energy to flow out through your arms and your hands,
Through your fingertips.
And now allow this energy to flow up through your throat,
Filling your whole skull and the crown of your head.
And now breathe into your entire body,
Feeling your life force energy.
On the next exhale,
Imagine that you're pushing this energy out to create a protective shield as far as you would like.
Maybe it's only a millimeter,
Maybe it's out much further,
Creating your protection as your own energy,
Feeling your own energy and staying in your own energy,
Choosing what you take on and what you do not.
Bask in this energy,
Bask in your protection.
Thank you for practicing with me today.
