Allow this practice to be a jeweled invitation for your nervous system to completely come home to ground,
Rooted,
Secure,
Dappled with sunlight but anchored in the starry night of plenty,
Of safety,
Of health.
If it feels right and you are able,
I invite you to bring in the somatic component of this practice,
Which would be to lay on your belly,
On a yoga mat,
Or on your bed,
Maybe on a blanket on the earth.
Find a way to make yourself comfortable,
Perhaps a hand under the forehead or both hands.
And let's begin with a simple breathing practice to let the body know that we are here to calm the nervous system,
To push the pressure relief valve on any anxiety or sense of panic that may be flowing in the river of blood and energy through your mind,
Carrying unrest to your body rather than the soothing river of calm and love.
The practice of a calming breath is to extend the exhale,
To make it a bit longer than the inhale.
Don't worry about making it measured or counting breaths,
But rather just let your body come into a rhythm that fills and then the exhale that lets go and extends.
Inhaling,
Filling,
Exhaling and letting go as it extends.
And with each extension,
Imagine that you have root tips that are pushing into the dark,
Brittle humus of the soil.
As you breathe in,
Imagine that your nose is gently nudging into that very same rich humus,
Soaking in her rich fragrance,
Letting go into her arms,
Into her belly or breasts.
Know that you are held by her.
She is comforting you.
You might for a moment tense all your muscles and if you are on your belly,
Even reach out in opposing directions above your head and letting your toes reach in that direction,
Releasing and contracting them and then letting it all go into an exhale of relaxation.
And one more time,
A reach and a contraction,
A stretch and then letting go again.
Sinking into that mama belly,
The place of our origins,
A place of safety and protection where we can nuzzle in like a kitten pushing into the warmth of the litter mates and the belly of the mama.
Inhale nourishment.
Inhale the dream of calm,
The dark sparkling night of relaxation and surrender.
Feel the pelvic cradle,
Just like the cradle you are now being held in,
Imagining a beautiful woven wicker cradle woven with grasses and flowers extending out.
Every color of the rainbow and the inside is tucked with small downy feathers from birds and beasts that want you to have a soft landing place.
Settling your arm bones and leg bones,
Settling into the perfect position of comfort.
Let your jaw relax and tongue.
May the keys to that jaw hinge be available to you.
Feel your skull,
The bony cradle that is there as well,
Holding the glorious brain that is resting as well floating on a cushioned cloud of weightlessness.
Let your eye sockets be a pillowy place for those precious eyes to rest.
The particular beauty of the iris,
Your fingerprint of soul,
Resting now and gaining color as it circles and spirals around that portal to soul,
The entry point to your particularity.
Resting now with the curtains of your eyelids floating down over them.
Feel your lips,
The bottom and the top and the slide of your nose,
The entry points for air to travel into your nostrils,
The right ear and the left ear,
Nautilus shells welcoming the intricacy of the music of the spheres.
Awareness to the slope of your neck,
Water trickling down your spinal column,
The fluid pumps quietly like a drum through the spine from the tip of the tailbone all the way up to the occiput at the base of the skull,
A rhythmic movement,
Subtle,
Silent.
Feeling the arch of your right foot and the left,
The tip of each toe on each foot,
The space between each toe,
The backs of your thighs,
The small of your back,
The pockets of air in your armpits and the roof of your mouth,
Elegant architecture of your body resting now.
Allowing your breath to continue to calm your nervous system now contained within the safety of this moment.
In this moment,
In this time,
You are completely safe and held.
You have everything you need in this moment.
Your fingertips feel the truth of your breathing body on this planet earth rotating and revolving in a solar system of perfect order,
Orbiting a star we call the sun.
Cycles of dark and light,
Mirroring our own innate wisdom,
Daylight and nighttime within our bodies,
The calm necessary for replenishing and nourishing all systems of the body so that we can again walk our own innate light into the world.
Stretching our bodies up towards the sun while our toes sink into earth,
We are given life and love and a preparedness to face the world with wisdom and calm.
I invite another stretch of the body whether you are on your belly or on your back or seated.
Letting your fingertips and toes stretch in opposite directions,
Muscles contracting as they reach and then let go into a homeostasis of calm.
You are already loved.
You are already calm and more than enough.
May this practice carry through your day and night.
Peace.
