So let's start by finding a comfortable position,
And this can be anything,
And this is the most important step right now.
If you already feel like you're in a comfortable seat or position,
You can close the eyes.
And we're going to start to take some fuller breaths.
And I'm going to invite you to take a little bit of movement with the body.
So often we come to meditation traditionally to negate the body,
But we're going to try to get really grounded here.
So the first movements are just the fuller breath,
Stretching out the lungs and the ribs.
So a few slower,
Deeper breaths,
Reaching into the spine,
The lower back.
If it's comfortable for you,
You can reach both arms above your head like it's the morning and give yourself a big stretch.
Maybe the fingers interlace,
You might tip the ribs side to side,
And there's no correct way.
It's more just allowing a little bit of free movement,
The chin lifts up and down.
You might lower the arms and let the chin roll all the way down,
Stretching out the back of the neck and gently tipping the head side to side.
And I invite you to really start to slow everything right down as you breathe into the sticky spots appearing through the neck,
Back.
Might squeeze your shoulders all the way up to the ears,
Squeeze them back and down,
Inviting you not to neglect this part of the practice because you think meditation is about being a still statue.
Meditation is about relaxation as well.
So how can you relax here?
Giving a big roll of the shoulders and anything else that feels good for you in this moment,
Maybe a twist of the spine or an adjustment of the legs.
And even though we're online,
I'm going to invite you to really cut away the external space,
Cut away your device and start to really turn your gaze inward as you take your final movements and start to really settle in.
So at any point from here,
I invite you to take again a full clearing breath,
Take a full movement,
Allow the body to adjust.
Instead of wishing the practice was over because something doesn't feel uncomfortable in the physical body,
I invite you to really meet yourself here.
Maybe it feels nice to start with a palm on the chest or belly.
Again,
Cutting away the outside,
Your gaze turns inward.
We follow the breath in and down.
We make a commitment that in this short practice here,
We're going to allow ourself to slow down and meet ourselves.
Let it be simple.
Just the meeting of your breath and your heart space.
I invite you to take a slower breath,
Maybe to the count of four in and out for a few rounds and just meet your middle,
Meet your belly.
Take a little scan down the lower back.
You might take a slow,
Full breath into back and spine,
Meeting the tissues.
You might relax your thighs,
Calves,
And feet.
Relax your shoulders,
Your eyeballs,
Jaw,
And some full clearing breaths.
Relax your scalp.
Relax your arms and hands and allow a few breaths again to just carve a pathway down into the middle of the chest,
Into a point just behind your sternum,
Like you're connecting to your middle as you breathe in and out.
Of course,
Thoughts continue to arise.
We just allow them to be there.
Trust the process.
Our job is to scan our tissues,
Loosen off unnecessary tension with those fuller breaths,
Relaxing the skin,
The face,
The belly.
And now time for a check-in,
Asking yourself,
You're going to repeat the question a few times,
Just allowing material from the inside to show images,
Your mood.
We ask ourselves,
How do I feel right now?
How do I feel right now?
Keeping the breaths full,
Keeping the heart open.
In this moment,
Is there anything inside me that feels uncomfortable or feels like it has a need?
How do I feel right now?
And finally,
You could ask yourself,
What do I most want to receive from my practice?
How do I wish,
What do I desire to feel at the end or to have received at the end?
What's my system yearning for?
Let that inquiry continue.
How do I most want to feel?
What's the transformation my system would most desire to experience in this practice?
What do I really want?
What do I need?
Might not be words and just a mood.
See if you could offer that to yourself right now.
Breathing deeply through the heart,
Into the belly,
The spine.
Breathing your intention into every cell,
Embodying it.
Checking the breaths are still full.
We breathe slowly right to the top,
Sensing the short pause before exhalation and the gap of stillness between the breaths,
Between inhale and exhale.
Might notice that right here,
There's a background of stillness.
Body is charged with stillness.
And as we start to come to the final minute of our practice,
Allow yourself to really drop back in,
Check in with the physical body.
Is there any stretch that would feel good?
Would it feel nice to place the palm somewhere like the chest or the belly or even on the shoulder?
Might check in again with what you most need or infuse yourself with something that you know feels really nice.
Maybe it's love,
Gratitude,
Stillness,
Heartfulness.
Sensing what your intention is,
Not from the mind,
But what your system desires most for you as you move forward into the next part of your day.
Is it to be more embodied?
Is it to feel love,
To feel grounded,
To feel more awake or present?
Just offer yourself that experience right now with our final fuller breaths here.
