Begin by finding a comfortable seat or lying down if that feels like a better option for you.
Whatever position you are in,
Sink in.
Let yourself be fully held and supported.
Close your eyes or lower your gaze.
Take a deep breath in,
The deepest breath you've taken all day,
And out.
Let go.
We'll begin a short body scan.
Connect to your forehead.
Breathe in to this top part of your head where we hold so much.
Soften.
Breathe out and let go.
Move down to your eyebrow area.
Breathe into your eyes.
And as you breathe out,
Can you soften and let go a little bit more?
Let's move lower down in our face to our cheeks,
Our jaw,
Our chin area.
Breathe into those muscles that work so hard for you.
Breathe out and release.
Moving to the inside of our mouth,
Feel your tongue.
Let it rest.
Rest it on the roof of your mouth.
Begin to notice your teeth,
Your gums,
The inside of your mouth.
Breathe into them.
Soften and release.
Note any sensations you might be experiencing in your mouth.
What are you noticing?
Note them without judgment.
Let's move lower.
Moving down to your neck.
Our neck is another area that holds so much for us.
It's our center of expression,
Our voice.
Can you breathe into your neck?
And as you breathe out,
Let it soften a little bit more.
Moving down to our shoulders.
You can track your shoulders,
Kind of pull them up by your ears,
And then gradually release them.
Let your shoulders be held by your chair,
By the floor,
By the earth.
Breathe in.
And as you breathe out,
Sink a little bit deeper and feel yourself held a bit more.
Moving down to our chest,
Our heart center.
Breathe love into your chest.
When you breathe out,
Release fear.
Let's do that one more time together.
Breathe in,
Breathe in love.
Breathe out,
Release fear.
Place a hand,
A pillow,
A yoga block,
A blanket,
Anything that feels accessible to you on top of your upper abdomen.
Kind of the area right under your breastbone.
You can place two hands there if that feels more comfortable as well.
Breathe into the hand or object.
Feel your belly expand and press into the object or hand.
As you breathe out,
Soften,
Feel contraction,
Let go.
Let's do that one more time together.
Breathe into that object.
Feel your belly expand and breathe out.
Let go,
Contract,
Soften.
Are you noticing any sensations in your abdomen?
Tightness,
Bubbling,
Emptiness,
Fullness,
Whatever you notice,
Let it be there.
It is an observation.
Next move your hand or object lower to your lower abdomen,
The area under our belly button.
Another area where we carry so much.
Breathe into the hand or object.
Feel that expansion in your lower belly.
Breathe out,
Contract and soften.
Next we'll move down to our pelvic floor.
Like our job,
The pelvic floor can hold so much of our tension.
Breathe into that space and as you breathe in,
Can you imagine your sits bones pulling apart just a little bit?
Breathe out and let them contract back in.
Breathe in again,
A little bit of expansion and breathe out,
Contraction.
Moving down to the tops of our legs.
Take a deep breath in and as you breathe out,
Can you let your legs be held more by the chair or by the earth?
Feel your body supported.
Moving down to our feet.
Your feet may be planted firmly to the earth if you're sitting,
Or you may feel your heels planted firmly on the ground if you're lying down.
Notice how they are supported,
Held and connected.
Feel them pulled down by gravity.
Can you contract your feet a bit as you breathe in?
And when you breathe out,
Release.
Let them go.
Next we're going to continue to breathe in and out at your own pace and start to do a really gentle body scan on your own.
If you notice any sensations in your body,
Observe them,
Note them and come back to the breath.
I will cue you when it's time to tune back in.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Let's come back to our breath.
As you scanned your body,
What did you notice?
What is your body asking for in this moment?
Rest,
Hydration,
A nourishing meal or snack,
Movement,
Grounding,
More release,
A hug.
In the next 10 minutes,
What is something you can do to honor your body and what it is requesting?
Take one more deep breath in and out.
And when you're ready,
Slowly open your eyes.
