Welcome to practice.
We have a body scan today.
So let's set ourselves up a little bit differently.
Let's lie down.
Make sure you're warm.
Earphones in,
Headphones on,
Phone on do not disturb.
And settle into just the shape of your body.
If you need to sit up,
You can also sit up but lying down is definitely preferable.
So benefits of a body scan,
Our body awareness,
There's a beautiful stress release across key components of our body,
Tension relief,
Mental clarity,
And improved sense of focus.
Let's set an intention.
What would you like to get out of the next six minutes together?
Hold that close to your heart space as we begin.
Take a big deep breath in and release that breath out.
It's a very rainy day where we are today.
So let's use the rain and the music to also help soothe our weary souls.
Moving with a nice natural rhythm now in your breath.
Making sure your jaw feel relaxed and your eyes are just gently rolled back or closed.
And move your awareness down to your toes now.
Little wiggle,
Little point,
Little flex back.
Feel the arch of the foot and the pressure under the heel.
Squeeze the toes one more time and release any tension out of the feet.
Move the awareness up to your calves,
So through your ankles to your calves and feel the pressure just gently underneath the calf here.
The pressure from the floor.
Maybe a little squeeze of the calf here.
You might intuitively draw the toes back again.
But release any tension and pressure out of your calves now.
Resting our awareness in our knees as we slowly move up our body.
Just feeling the knees,
The space of the knees above and below and around.
Intentionally release the pressure from our knees.
Sending the awareness through the front of the thighs and the back of the thighs.
Include your booty in this place as well because our tailbones and our tushas are supporting us here.
Maybe a little squeeze here.
Include the pelvic floor.
Feel the legs,
The front and the back.
And let the pressure go.
Let the tension go.
Just let those big muscle groups relax off your bones.
Let them sigh themselves.
Awareness now into the pelvis and around the navel region.
Maybe a little squeeze here of the pelvic floor.
Say hello.
Maybe you had a recent cup of tea and you can feel the gentle pressure of a full belly.
Awareness of the space at the back of the navel,
The back of the body.
And then coming up into the heart space.
I like to think of our heart space as the center of us,
The center of the north,
The south,
The east and the west.
Breathing into the heart.
Listening to the heart,
Connecting with our hearts,
Releasing any pain and suffering in around that region.
Nice easeful heart breath here.
Moving through the chest and past the collarbones and these shoulders of ours that carry the weight of the world sometimes.
Little squeeze and awareness around here.
Flex and roll and lift.
Intentionally,
Let them release their burdens.
Let them just rest.
And coming up into our head at the moment,
Make sure our jaw is released.
Sweep through the brain and just have it quiet and not thinking as well.
Easy breath as we move in and out.
Just notice the calmness that is now permeated across your body.
This beautiful blanket of stillness and peace that you've cultivated all by yourself.
As little as five minutes,
Just dwelling and just being selfish for the moment,
Not moving,
Not changing.
Letting Mother Nature absorb all of these tensions that we hold in our body.
This beautiful sigh,
This release that's always available to us.
You're welcome to stay as you are.
But anyone who needs to finish practice,
Take a big deep breath in.
And coming out as slowly as what you need to.
Bring one hand to your heart space.
Come back to your intention.
Honor that.
Namaste everybody.
Thank you for practicing.
