And make sure that you've got everything that you need to be warm and comfortable for the practice.
So you can take as many pillows and cushions as you need,
Whatever kind of support,
Blankets,
And just see how comfortable you can make your body.
Maybe you can make your body so comfortable that you might even be able to forget about it.
And once you find your comfortable position to rest in,
Just close your eyes and feel the feeling of your body resting into that support beneath you.
And just bring your awareness to your breath now.
And notice how each exhalation gently encourages tension to release from your body.
And with every exhalation,
All of the muscles very naturally become more relaxed.
And you see the breath flowing over your body like a wave.
As you breathe in,
The wave washes from your feet up to your head.
And as you breathe out,
It washes from your head back to your feet.
And with every exhalation,
Feel that wave washing away any remaining tension.
Feel that wave washing away any thoughts,
Any concerns or worries that you don't need to bring into the practice.
And just turn your awareness outwards now and notice any sounds that you can hear in your environment.
And just observe the sounds without getting too involved in any one particular sound.
And just notice that they're there.
And know that they are not going to disturb you.
They can only help you to relax even more deeply.
Now see yourself in a safe,
Comfortable,
Peaceful environment.
Somewhere where you feel completely secure,
Completely at ease.
If you like,
You could remember a place,
A situation that makes you feel safe and secure and well.
Or you could imagine a situation that has everything you need for your absolute safety and security and well-being.
As this safe place arises all around you,
Welcome the feeling of safety and security into your body.
Notice where you feel it,
What it feels like.
And now feel that feeling of safety intensify.
Feel it spreading into every part of your body.
Welcome it into every cell.
This is your feeling that you have created for yourself.
And you can always come back to it at any time if you need to.
Safety and security and feeling of absolute peace.
If there is something in your life that you wish to cultivate some inner strength,
Some courage for,
Just very gently bring that into your awareness now.
You don't need to think about it too much or overanalyze it.
Just acknowledge that area of your life that you want to feel more courageous for,
That you want to feel stronger for.
And just take a moment of acknowledgement.
And we're going to take a journey around the body.
As I name each body part,
See a golden ray of sunlight shining onto that part of your body.
Warming and illuminating that part of your body.
Beginning at the eyebrow center,
See warm golden sunlight illuminating the eyebrow center.
And the throat,
Golden sunlight illuminates the throat.
The right shoulder,
Warm golden sunlight shining onto the right shoulder.
The right elbow,
The right wrist,
The tip of the right hand thumb,
The tip of the right index finger,
The tip of the right middle finger,
The tip of the ring finger,
The tip of the little finger.
And the right wrist,
The right elbow,
The right shoulder,
The throat,
The left shoulder.
The left elbow,
The left wrist,
The tip of the left hand thumb,
The tip of the left index finger,
The tip of the left middle finger,
The tip of the ring finger,
The tip of the little finger,
The left wrist,
The left elbow,
The left shoulder,
The throat,
The center of the chest,
The left side of the chest,
The center of the chest,
The right side of the chest,
The tip of the right index finger,
The tip of the right middle finger,
The tip of the right index finger,
The tip of the right middle finger,
The right knee,
The right ankle,
The right big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe,
The right ankle,
The right knee,
The right hip,
The lower abdomen,
The left hip,
The left knee,
The left ankle,
The left big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe,
The left ankle,
The left knee,
The right hip,
The left hip,
The lower abdomen,
The navel,
The center of the chest,
The throat,
The eyebrow center,
The top of the head,
Golden sunlight illuminates the top of the head.
Peel into your body and invite the feeling of strength to arise.
You could recall a time where you felt very strong,
Very empowered,
Or you could just invite the feeling to arise by itself.
Notice what you feel inside your body with the feeling of strength.
Feel it vividly.
The feeling of strength.
The feeling of strength.
And the feeling of weakness.
Now invite the feeling of weakness to arise.
Perhaps recalling a time when you felt very weak or just inviting the feeling to come.
Welcome the feeling of weakness.
Intensify the feeling.
The feeling of weakness.
And now strength and weakness together.
Invite the feelings of strength and weakness to arise together.
To coexist inside your body at the same time.
Welcome them and feel them vividly.
The feelings of strength and weakness together.
Strength and weakness together.
And the feeling of fear.
Now invite the feeling of fear to arise.
Notice the sensations that come up in your body with the feeling of fear.
Intensify the feeling.
Feel it vividly and welcome it.
The feeling of fear.
And the feeling of courage.
Invite the feeling of courage to arise.
Feel the sensations that come up in your body with the feeling of courage.
Feel it vividly.
The feeling of courage.
The feeling of courage.
And the feeling of fear.
Strength and courage together.
Welcome the feelings of strength and courage.
As they coexist inside your body at the same time.
And they move the awareness to the navel.
Resting the awareness at the navel.
See a golden flame burning at the navel.
Watch the flame growing into a warm burning fire.
Rest the awareness here.
The fire at the navel.
Let the fire expand into the rest of your body.
Let the warm glowing fire expand into your legs.
Into your chest.
To your arms and hands.
Up to your head.
The whole of your body glows with warm golden fire.
And now you just invite an impression to arise of yourself.
Going back into the world.
Back into your life.
Carrying this inner fire with you.
See yourself moving through your life with strength.
With courage.
With the capacity to confront any obstacles.
And if there's a particular area of your life that you are looking to bring more strength and more courage into.
See yourself moving into that part of your life.
Into that situation.
Into that activity.
Into that conversation.
Carrying the warm glowing fire with you.
And see yourself navigating that situation with ease.
With confidence.
With grace.
And now very gently begin to turn the awareness back outward.
And just become aware of any sounds that are present in your environment.
Let the awareness move from sound to sound.
Without getting too involved in any one sound.
Just acknowledge that those sounds are there.
And feel into the feeling of the breath.
Flowing in and out of your body.
Feel the breath entering and leaving the nostrils.
Notice how every exhalation continues to unwind tension from the body.
Every exhalation serves to release the tension.
And to allow the flow.
Notice where the breath flows to as it enters your body.
See the breath flowing all the way down into your fingers and your toes.
And start to make some small movements with the fingers and the toes.
And begin to circle the wrists and the ankles.
Slowly reawakening the body.
Give yourself a stretch in any way that feels good for you.
Taking your time.
There's no rush.
When you're feeling sure that you are wide awake again,
Slowly blink your eyes back open.
And this brings us to the end of the practice.
