Go ahead and close your eyes and bring your attention to your breath.
Just start noticing your breathing and how it feels as you breathe.
Breathe in through your nose.
Notice the air on the back of your throat moving downward,
Filling up your lungs.
And as you breathe out,
Notice your shoulders dropping slightly,
Your lungs compressing back towards your spine.
Breathe in,
Pull the air down into your torso and experience the sensation of your stomach expanding,
Filling up like an accordion from the bottom to the top.
Let everything go and relax.
Empty out from the top back down to the bottom.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Start to bring your awareness to your senses as you breathe in through your nose.
Notice what you can smell.
Perhaps laundry detergent or shampoo,
Smells of the space around you.
Breathe out and notice the sensations of the air passing through your nose.
Breathe in.
Notice the temperature of the air in your nose as it moves through the back of your throat and downward into your chest,
Into your stomach,
And let it all go.
Breathe out.
Breathe in again,
Noticing smells,
Aromas,
Scents.
No need to identify what they are.
Just observe and breathe out.
Breathe in,
This time noticing what you can taste,
The combination of smell and taste on the back of your tongue.
Breathe out,
Perhaps opening your mouth in a sigh as you do.
Breathe in,
Noticing the sensations in your mouth as you keep your mouth closed and pull the air down through the back of your throat.
Breathe out.
Breathe in,
This time noticing what you can hear,
The sound of my voice,
The sound of the music.
Notice.
Breathe out.
Breathe in,
Listening to any sounds from the space you're in,
Perhaps even sounds from outside the space you're in.
Breathe out.
Breathe in and notice,
Even with your eyes closed,
What you can see.
Is there light coming from the other side of your eyelids?
If you turn your head,
Can you see different colors or shadows,
Brightnesses?
Breathe out.
Breathe in and notice what you can feel,
The sensations on your skin,
The surface you're sitting on or lying on,
Perhaps.
Pieces of clothing touching your skin.
And breathe out.
Breathe in,
And as you do,
Maybe try flexing your feet,
Pulling your toes back towards your shins.
And as you breathe out,
Let them go.
Relax.
Breathe in,
This time as you do,
Squeeze your calves,
Flexing your ankles,
Bringing your attention to your lower legs.
And as you exhale,
Let everything go.
Relax.
Breathe in,
Perhaps straightening your legs,
If they're bent,
Or bending them if they're straight,
Using your knees as a hinge.
Gently.
Breathe out and let go,
Settling back into a comfortable position.
Breathe in,
And as you do,
Squeeze your glutes,
Flex your hamstrings,
Create some energy in the muscles in the upper area of your legs.
And breathe out,
Relax,
Let everything settle.
Breathe in,
This time focusing on your hip space,
Maybe adjusting your hips ever so slightly in whatever way feels comfortable,
Pulling the air down into the lower part of your body,
Focusing on your hips,
And let all the air go.
Relax,
Back into a comfortable position.
Breathe in,
This time focusing on your stomach,
As you pull the air down,
Feel your stomach expand outward.
And let it go,
Perhaps putting your hands on your stomach as you do,
Feeling it contract.
Breathe in again,
This time observing your hands rising as your stomach expands,
Pulling the air down into the diaphragm,
Down into the lower torso.
And then let everything go,
Moving your hands up to your ribcage as you exhale,
Feeling your ribs move towards your spine.
Breathe in,
And as you do,
Feel your ribs expand outwardly as oxygen fills your entire torso.
And let it out.
Breathe in,
Feeling your chest expand wide,
Feeling the oxygen circling your heart space,
Perhaps lifting your shoulders slightly,
Perhaps raising your arms slightly.
And then let everything go.
Relax,
Letting your hands drop back down into your lap,
Or on your stomach,
Or wherever feels comfortable.
Breathe in,
This time feeling the air in your chest expand wide,
Perhaps lifting your chin slightly,
Feeling what it feels like to be fully expanded,
Perhaps pointing your toes as you raise your chin.
And then let everything go,
Relaxing back down.
Breathe in,
Concentrating on your throat space,
Feeling the air as it passes through,
And back out as you let everything go.
Breathe in,
And as you do,
See if you can amplify the sound of the air on the back of your throat,
Hear the air as you breathe.
And maybe open your mouth wide and let everything sigh out.
Breathe in,
This time feeling your entire body,
From your toes all the way to the top of your head,
Fill with air.
Extend,
Expand,
And hold there just for a moment,
Just to feel what it feels like to be fully expanded,
Perhaps stretching your arms out wide to the sides.
And then let everything go,
Dropping back down into the most relaxed position you can be in.
And as you continue to breathe in and out,
Nice and slow,
Start to do a scan of your body,
Starting at the feet and working your way up,
Noticing the sensations,
Noticing any stiffness,
Any tightness,
Any sharpness,
Any discomfort.
And if you come across any spots that feel tight or uncomfortable,
Breathe in,
Envisioning the oxygen that you pull into your body going directly to that space,
Letting it fill up,
Letting it saturate.
And then as you let all the air go in a relaxing sigh,
Allow those areas,
Those muscles,
To relax even more.
Come back to your sense of smell,
Notice.
Come back to your sense of taste,
Notice.
Come back to what you can hear.
Come back to what you can feel on your skin.
Release all the air in your body now,
Compressing down until you're completely empty,
And hold there just for a moment,
Perhaps to the count of eight with no air,
Resting completely empty.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight.
Breathe in,
Pulling the air down,
Expanding back up,
Filling to the top,
Holding there for a moment,
Perhaps to the count of eight.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight.
And breathe out.
Continue to breathe at your own pace,
Perhaps wiggling your toes,
Wiggling your fingers,
Starting to bring your mind back online,
Back to a neutral state,
Perhaps tapping gently on your legs or your stomach,
Perhaps tapping on your chest,
Perhaps tapping on your forehead,
Giving acknowledgement to your body,
To all of your senses,
Acknowledging those dials that you can turn up or down whenever you want.
And when you're ready,
Open your eyes.
