So making your way onto the back side of the body or into your cozy chair,
If you'd prefer to be seated.
Setting up your body for comfort.
So your Shavasana tonight,
Maybe a traditional pose,
Laying flat on the back,
Legs extended,
Hip width apart,
And arms by the sides,
Palm up.
Where your Shavasana might look more like a restorative pose.
You might take one or two pillows underneath the knees.
And you might have,
Even the knees resting open in a reclined butterfly position.
You might like to place a pillow behind the neck.
Or even having a yoga bolster or a longer pillow supporting the length of the spine,
Creating a very gentle backbend for your resting pose.
Finding that space where you can go deep within yourself.
And as you find that position for rest,
Noticing the connection points between your body,
The props that support you,
Perhaps the floor,
The chair,
The bed,
The chair,
The pillow,
The floor,
Just noticing that connection.
Welcoming in that very literal sense of support.
Now,
Could you welcome the idea of support,
Of feeling held,
Of feeling safe and comfortable in your space,
And being held in community,
In this moment,
In this shared practice.
And sensing into that support,
Perhaps there's a sigh of relief.
Sigh.
I am not in this alone.
So if it feels good for you,
I invite you to take a deep breath in through the nose and sighing it out through the mouth.
Sigh.
Sigh.
Sigh.
And that sense of relief,
That feeling of sighing it out,
What would it be like to feel that through your whole body?
Not just the breath,
But feeling it in your muscles.
Sigh.
Releasing down into the support beneath you.
Sigh.
Allowing your body to receive.
Receiving sounds and sensation from the space around you.
Receiving the nourishment of breath.
And welcoming in a personal intention.
What do you need to receive?
What do you want to say yes to?
And allowing that to come to you through this practice.
Knowing that it may come as a sensation,
An image,
A word,
A prayer.
Opening ourselves to receive.
May we find peace together as community.
And may we cultivate peace within ourselves.
And I invite you to imagine this energetic channel through the center of the body,
Shashumna Nadi,
Connecting from the center of the body Shashumna Nadi,
Connecting from our root chakra all the way up to the crown.
Start to visualize this channel as perhaps a riverbank and this breath and energy within us,
Free flowing like water.
Beginning to imagine this flow of energy drawing up through the spine,
Holding at the top of the body and releasing it back down as though it's flowing as a river and like a waterfall cascading back down and through the body.
And with each inhale,
There's a sensation of breath and energy rising up and each exhale cascading back down.
And as we breathe and as we visualize,
Perhaps the breath could become very,
Very smooth as if there was no transition between in and out,
Just continuous flow of breath.
Drawing that breath up the column of the spine and let it pour flowing back down through the body.
And with the next inhale,
Let your awareness stay at the top of the head.
Now guide us through a rotation of awareness through the body.
And as I name each body part,
You might imagine breathing in and out from that part of the body,
Starting with the top of the head,
And moving to the center of the forehead.
Imagine the breath flowing in and out here.
And the tip of the nose,
The tip of the tongue,
The tip of the chin,
The base of the throat,
The center of the chest,
And the solar plexus,
The point where the ribs come together,
The navel center,
The low belly,
The center of the pubic bone,
The center of both hip joints,
The center of the thighs,
The top of the knees,
And the center of the ankles,
And the tip of each of the toes,
The big toes,
The second toes,
Third toes,
Fourth toes,
And the small toes.
In the center of the soles of the feet,
Both of the heels,
In the center of the calf muscles,
The back of the knees,
And the top of the feet,
And the back of the knees,
And the tip of the tailbone.
Awareness glides up the spine,
And sensing into the shoulder blades,
And the center of the shoulder joints,
The elbows,
The wrists,
The back of the hands,
The tip of the thumbs,
First fingers,
Second fingers,
Third fingers,
And the little fingers,
In the center of the palms,
Returning to the center of the chest,
Our energetic heart center,
Welcoming our breath into the center of the chest,
Letting all of our awareness condense here in the heart,
And allowing that personal intention to be amplified so that you can hear it clearly,
Turning up the volume of your inner wisdom,
And your inner voice,
Sitting with your heart,
And listening to what it needs.
You might even move your hands to layer them on top of the heart,
To really help you feel that connection,
Open to receiving wisdom from within,
And you might drop one hand to the belly so that you're touching your heart and your belly,
And we'll begin to bring ourselves out of meditation by returning to the breath,
So breathing into the belly,
Into the heart,
And into the chest,
And into the belly,
Into the heart,
And exhaling through the nose or mouth,
Into the belly,
Into the heart,
And out,
Into the belly,
Heart,
And out,
And beginning to quicken our pace,
Belly,
Heart,
Out,
Bringing a little more energy,
And releasing that breath.
If you feel called to stay here longer and rest,
You are very welcome to do that.
It's a beautiful opportunity to honor your own wisdom and honor what your body needs.
If you are feeling ready to conclude this practice,
You can begin to bring some movement back to the hands and feet,
Perhaps touching the thumb to each of the fingers,
Making fists and then squeezing your feet and stretching those toes,
And beginning to let that movement come up the body,
So maybe you're stretching your arms up and over,
Maybe you're stretching them to the side or offering yourself a hug,
And maybe you are drawing those knees up toward the chest to give yourself a squeeze,
Or perhaps you are stretching the legs out a little bit longer,
Or maybe even lifting the feet up toward the ceiling,
Just bringing some warming movement back into the body,
And letting that movement roll onto one side,
Coming into a fetal position,
Marking this transition between rest and waking,
And as you feel ready,
Pressing back to a comfortable seat,
And again,
If there's any stretches you're called to do,
You can do that,
And offering a prayer of peace,
I'll end with three chants of Shanti for peace,
Shanti,
Shanti,
Shanti,
Peace,
Peace,
Peace,
Peace for ourselves,
Peace for our beloveds,
Peace for our community,
And peace for the greater world,
Thank you so much for being here,
I truly appreciate you all.
