Welcome to our balance practice.
This is a great practice if you're feeling a little tired and sluggish,
Or a little over-activated,
A little bit wired maybe.
We'll be balancing out right and left side body.
So the right side is seen as being more active,
More energetic,
And the left side is seen as calming and relaxing.
The left side is seen as the moon,
The right side the sun.
We'll be balancing right and left side,
First through nadi shodhana,
Alternate nostril breathing,
Which we'll do seated,
And then we'll move on to a body scan,
Which you can do either seated or laying down.
So first finding that comfortable seated position,
Whatever that looks like to you,
Maybe that's seated in a chair,
Or cross-legged,
Or kneeling,
Maybe supporting your seat with some cushions.
Try to make your seated position sustainable,
So somewhere comfortable.
Your spine can be upright,
But not rigid here,
So you're still sitting like yourself.
You might invite the face to soften,
Maybe the eyes gaze down or they're closed completely.
Let the mouth be gently closed,
Softening the jaw and cheeks.
See if you can feel gravity resting on the shoulders,
The hips and legs too.
Finding your own breath,
Moving through the nose.
You might notice if you're breathing through one nostril a little more than the other.
We naturally breathe through one nostril more than the other.
This changes throughout the day,
Every few hours.
If it's not very clear,
You could bring your hand under your nose and see if you can feel more air coming out of one nostril.
Once you notice whichever nostril you're breathing from,
Just make note of it.
Then we'll bring the right hand towards the face,
Letting the first and middle finger rest on the space between your eyebrows.
Your thumb will come towards your right nostril,
Your ring finger towards the left.
Close your right nostril by pressing your thumb into it and inhale through the left nostril.
Close your left nostril,
Lift the thumb and breathe out through the right.
Inhale through the right.
Exhale left.
Inhale left.
Switch the grip and exhale through the right.
Inhale right.
Switch the grip,
Exhale left.
Inhale left.
Switch the grip and exhale right.
Inhale right.
Switch the grip and exhale left.
Inhale left.
Switch the grip and exhale right.
Once you've got the hang of it,
Do it on your own.
Maybe lengthening the breath,
Any amount that feels comfortable to you.
If you get a little lost between sides,
You can visualize you're almost tracing a wishbone shape.
In through left,
Out through right,
In through right,
Out through left.
And as you continue this,
You can always start to find those natural pauses at the top of the inhale.
Gently pausing in that fullness,
Just for a count or two.
Inhale right.
Switch the grip and exhale right.
Switch the grip and exhale right.
Switch the grip and exhale right.
Switch the grip and exhale right.
Inhale right.
Keep breathing for another few rounds here.
Next time you breathe in through the right nostril,
Release your hand and breathe out through both nostrils.
Maybe noticing how good it feels to breathe without any restriction in the nose.
Take a few rounds of your own breath here.
We'll move into our body scan practice next.
So for this,
I invite you to lay down,
Making sure you're nice and comfortable there.
If laying down isn't serving you or you don't have the space,
You can do this seated,
But just make sure you're super comfortable.
If you need more time to get comfortable,
Feel free to pause this recording.
Otherwise we'll move through our body scan.
So for this,
We're simply moving the awareness around the body.
You don't need to move the body at all.
Just follow along to the sound of my voice.
And if your mind wanders,
Just walk it back to this practice and that place in your body.
We'll start at the right hand.
First finger.
Middle finger.
Ring finger and pinky.
Palm.
Back of the hand.
Wrist.
Forearm.
Elbow.
Upper arm.
Shoulder.
And shoulder blade.
Feel the whole right arm.
The skin.
Any fabrics touching the arm,
The hand.
The inside of the arm.
The whole right arm and hand.
The left hand.
Thumb.
First finger.
Middle finger.
Ring finger and pinky.
Palm.
Back of the hand.
Wrist.
Forearm.
Elbow.
Upper arm.
Shoulder.
And shoulder blade.
The whole left arm.
The skin of the left arm and hand.
The inside of the arm and hand.
The whole left arm and hand.
Bring your awareness to the right arm.
Then left.
Can you feel both at the same time?
Equal awareness between right side and left.
Feel the space between the collar bones.
Center of the chest.
The rib cage.
Upper abdomen.
Navel.
Lower abdomen.
The pelvis.
Right side seat.
Right side hip.
Thigh.
Knee.
Lower leg.
Ankle.
Heel.
Top of the foot.
Sole of the foot.
Toes.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
The whole right foot.
The whole right leg.
Left side seat.
Hip.
Thigh.
Knee.
Lower leg.
Ankle.
Heel.
Sole of the foot.
Top of the foot.
Toes.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Whole left foot.
Whole left leg.
Whole right leg.
And left leg.
Aware of both legs at the same time.
Low back.
Mid back.
Upper back.
Neck.
Scalp.
Forehead.
Brows.
Eyes.
Cheeks.
Tip of the nose.
Jaw.
Mouth.
Lips.
Teeth.
Tongue.
The right ear.
The right inner ear.
The left ear.
Left inner ear.
Right side brain.
Left side body.
Left side brain.
Right side body.
Aware of the whole body.
Aware of the whole body.
Feel the back of your body.
The front of your body.
The left side.
And right side.
Take one more breath in.
Breathe out,
Let the whole body melt.
Bring your hands over your heart,
Feeling your heartbeat in your hands.
And send gratitude to your heart for beating.
And to yourself for carving out this time in your day to practice.
I hope you're feeling a little more balanced.
Thank you.
