Hello and welcome to this body scan relaxation practice.
Begin by making yourself comfortable.
Position your body in a way that feels really good for you to be able to rest and find a lot of ease and relaxation.
You're welcome to use any supports that might be nearby.
If you have a pillow,
A blanket,
A cushion of any kind,
And let your body rest comfortably either in a seat that's supported or lying down.
As you're settling in,
Make sure that you're really comfy.
If there's any little things that you could do to make yourself more comfortable,
Do them.
That might mean smoothing out some wrinkles on your clothing or your blanket,
Fluffing your pillow a little bit,
Adjusting how your hands or feet are positioned.
And once you feel like you can really nestle in here,
Then either close your eyes or find a focal point where your gaze can rest and your eyes can soften.
Then notice where you feel support beneath your body,
Where you can sense that you're grounded.
You might do a brief scan of your body just to notice all the places of contact between your body and the support beneath you or around you.
And as you exhale the next couple times,
Let your body rest into that support that you feel.
You're beginning to let your body soften,
Release effort,
And surrender to the support of the chair,
The pillow,
The ground,
The floor.
All of it is earth,
All of it is grounding and supportive.
You can let yourself rest into that.
Then let your awareness come to the top of your head,
To your crown,
And invite any little bits of tension or effort around the crown of your head and your scalp to release,
Unwind,
And let go.
And then soften around your forehead and temples,
Your eyelids and eyes,
Your cheeks,
Nose,
Your lips,
Tongue,
And all the little muscles in your mouth.
Relax your jaw,
Your neck,
The front,
The sides,
And back of your neck.
And your throat.
And then invite your shoulders to rest,
Your upper arms,
Elbows,
Lower arms,
Wrists,
And hands,
Fingers,
All the way to your fingertips.
And then let your attention flow back into your hands,
Wrists,
Lower arms,
Elbows,
Upper arms,
And shoulders.
Soften your shoulder blades and upper back,
And your mid-back,
And the back of your rib cage.
And let your attention wrap around the sides of your torso,
Following your ribs to your chest.
And invite some softness from your collarbones,
Down your sternum,
Your heart,
And let your awareness flow down to your abdomen.
Feel the gentle movement here as you breathe.
Soften around the sides of your torso,
Your obliques,
And then to your low back.
Soften your hips,
Glutes,
Your thighs,
Knees,
Shins and calves,
Ankles,
And heels.
Your feet,
And your toes,
All the way to the tips of your toes.
And guide your attention back into your feet,
Ankles,
Lower legs,
Knees,
Thighs,
Hips,
All along your spine,
Up to your shoulders,
Your neck,
Across the back of your head,
And let your attention return to your crown.
Now,
Take a few relaxed breaths here,
Inviting your body to continue to rest and soften as you exhale.
On your next few breaths,
Deepen both your inhales and exhales.
Breathe a little bit longer and slower.
And after a couple of those deeper breaths,
Let your breathing go back to its natural rhythm,
And slowly begin to move your body again.
Wiggle your fingers,
Toes,
Rock your head.
Just move and stretch however it feels good for you to wake back up.
Gradually,
As you're ready,
You can begin to open your eyes,
Either with your palms over your eyes,
Ease your transition back to the light,
Or blink your eyes a few times quickly to let the light come back in.
Thank you so much for joining me for this practice today.
I hope you have a beautiful rest of your day.
