Welcome.
It might be helpful to name at the outset of this practice that in unsettled times,
It can really take some time to put the busy,
Sometimes highly charged thoughts and emotions aside.
So be gentle with yourself here as you settle in without judging yourself.
Simply being the sponge here,
Allowing my words to wash over you and through you as you settle into this practice.
Taking a moment to make any adjustments that could help you feel even more comfortable.
For example,
This could be adding supports like pillows,
Blankets,
An eye pillow,
Favorite clothing,
Favorite pet,
Whatever can support a little more settling in you.
This starts the process of listening to what it is the body really needs in this moment.
As you stretch and readjust,
You might even consider rotating wrists or ankles if it feels right,
Rubbing or tapping,
Squeezing arms or legs.
Getting a sense for what feels supportive and helpful through the body in this moment.
Taking a deep and comfortable inhale.
Letting go perhaps with an audible exhale.
Taking three such conscious breaths now at your own pace.
Each exhale letting go a little more into your ground.
Entering a little bit more into the now of this moment by simply anchoring into any sounds around you.
And as you ride the rhythm of your breath,
Allow some scene or memory,
Real or imagined to bubble up.
Something supported by a tactile,
Pleasurable sensation.
Perhaps feeling the sand massage the bottoms of your feet.
Or your hand moving through or over the fur of your favorite pet.
The warmth of the sun as it meets your face or your chest.
Hearing the waves as you nap on the beach.
Welcoming in whatever scene that you feel resonates somewhere deep in the body,
A sensation.
Entering this perfect daydream and looking around.
The beautiful colors and lighting that meet you in this place as if you are seeing it for the very first time.
Letting that sense of awe develop and especially refreshing about this scene.
And the beauty of this place is supported by the comforting or hypnotic sounds that are present.
Fully marinating in the perfect temperature that meets you.
Allowing this warmth or coolness to permeate your clothes,
Your skin.
And washing over every cell and muscle of your body.
With the felt sense of calm and security that greets you here.
Taking a slow and comfortable inhale of any fragrances that meet you in this place.
And on the exhale,
Feeling them wash over every part of your body on the exhale.
As you slowly count your breaths backwards from five to one.
Inhaling five.
Exhaling.
Inhaling four.
Exhaling.
Continuing counting at your own rhythm.
And giving up counting with no need to reach one.
Simply becoming aware of what increasing calm and ease feels like in your body.
Your own unique inner resource place of calm and security.
Perhaps a heaviness.
A flowing or a stillness.
Whatever it is for you.
Naming any sensations of calm that are alive in your body in this moment.
Becoming more familiar with the idea that sensations in the body are messengers with a story to tell.
And in this grain,
Allowing the whole body to be welcome.
Starting by noticing any sensations at the jaw,
Inner walls of the mouth,
The teeth,
And the tongue.
Full mouth as sensation.
Left cheek.
Left inner ear.
Right cheek.
Right inner ear.
Right ear.
Both ears together.
Vibrant with sensation.
The nose.
Sensing the air.
Enter and leave the nostrils.
Both eyes together.
Animated with sensation.
Perhaps sensing the breath at the inner walls of the throat.
Online as sensation.
Letting go of any tension between the neck and the shoulders.
At the upper traps with each exhale.
Left shoulder.
Left upper arm.
And fingers.
One,
Two,
Three.
From shoulder to fingers.
Alive with sensation.
Right shoulder.
Right upper arm.
Elbow.
And fingers.
One,
Two.
Alive with sensation.
And sensing both arms together.
And where they meet at the upper chest.
Lower back.
The whole torso now.
The whole torso.
Flowing with sensation.
Sensing the fields and flows of the breath on the exhale as it meets the hips.
Knees.
Ankles.
Feet.
And toes.
Three.
The whole left leg.
From hip to toes.
From hip to toes.
Sensing both legs together.
Pulsing with life.
Nothing to do or change.
And on the expanse of each inhale.
Noticing that space even out beyond the physical body.
This place of rested awareness.
Vague yet familiar.
This floating place that holds you.
Your observing self.
Full of wisdom.
A place that guides you.
Connects you.
And protects you.
Simply resting here a moment.
In awareness itself.
And as you ride the rhythm of your own breath.
That appears as this trusted place.
Character or animal.
To spontaneously bubble up.
This that feels sometimes like the missing resource in life.
Is right here with you.
What does this image look like?
Familiarizing yourself with any colors.
Postures.
Gestures.
Or phrases.
Of meeting.
This authentic self.
You and this image.
Merging as one.
Perhaps feeling the strength or safety of.
Merging with this sense of awareness.
Somewhere in your body.
Perhaps gaining a sense of.
Gratitude.
For being able to.
See.
And feel.
This observing self.
Within you.
A gratitude perhaps.
For reconnecting.
With this vital part of yourself.
Welcoming in.
This sense of gratitude.
Or really.
Any one or thing.
That brings a sense of gratitude.
Noticing its own.
Sensation fingerprint in your body.
Perhaps a warmth.
Or an expansion.
Somewhere in you.
And as you inhale.
Your sense of gratitude and contentment.
On the exhale.
Allowing it to wash.
Through your whole body.
Inhaling contentment.
And well-being.
And allowing it to flow down through the legs and feet.
On the exhale.
Once again inhaling gratitude.
And contentment.
And allowing it to wash out through the arms and hands.
On the exhale.
And one more comfortable breath in.
And feeling contentment move up.
Through the neck and head.
On the exhale.
With a sense of contentment.
All the while.
Yourself resting.
As being.
Within yourself.
In this moment.
And reconnecting in this moment with any.
New knowing.
Any new intention.
That has developed in this practice.
That will help guide you through your day.
Every day.
And slowly.
Becoming aware of yourself in the space around you.
Rotating.
Wrists or ankles.
Or squeezing.
Your arms or legs.
Whatever feels right in this moment.
As you start.
To come back to your waking state of consciousness.
With a sense of well-being.
Really taking all the time.
You need here.
To come to the conclusion of your practice.
Thank you so much.
For joining me today.
I hope many of you will tune in again.
Sometime soon.
Thank you.
