Good morning.
This is Larissa Hall Carlson with some mindful movements and breathing practices to start the day feeling more alert,
Refreshed,
And vibrant.
Begin by finding a steady,
Comfortable seat.
Take a few moments to elongate the spine,
Reaching the crown of the head up towards the sky,
Sitting with openness and attentiveness.
Take a few moments to notice how you're feeling this morning.
Are there any areas feeling stuffy,
Tired,
Or dull?
Then set your intention for practice.
Let's begin by loosening up tension and tightness.
Starting at the shoulders,
Begin to roll the shoulders forward and up,
Back and down,
Coming into smooth shoulder circles.
You can let the breath come in and out through the nose if that's comfortable.
Just rolling the shoulders,
Inviting warmth,
Suppleness,
And ease,
Letting go of any areas that feel tight or constricted.
Reverse direction.
As you roll the shoulders,
Notice if one shoulder feels a little more open than the other.
Invite the circles to be nice and smooth,
Even and rhythmic,
Never forcing,
Never grinding.
And gradually release the shoulders down.
We'll take it now to the head and neck,
Sitting up nice and tall.
Begin to create little circles with the nose,
As though you're drawing imaginary circles with the nose.
The head and neck begin to circle very gently.
As you continue to circle,
Avoid cracking and popping in the neck.
Let your circles be smooth and even,
Loosening up the cervical spine,
Inviting openness and suppleness in this channel,
This important channel between the head and the heart.
Reverse direction.
As you circle and loosen up the neck,
Be aware of any areas that feel really open and limber,
As well as areas in the neck that feel tight or knotted,
Inviting more balance and smoothness here.
And gradually bring the head and neck back to neutral.
Let's take it to the hands.
Create fists and then spread the fingers wide.
Open and close the hands,
Squeezing and expanding.
Squeezing and expanding.
The breath can be natural in and out through the nose,
As waking up the fingers,
Inviting good circulation,
Inviting the energy down into the fingertips.
Release that movement,
Begin to circle the wrists,
Loosening up the wrist joints,
Stimulating the synovial membranes,
Which secrete synovial fluid,
And that fluid helps to lubricate,
Protect and nourish the wrist joints.
Reverse direction.
Notice how the wrists are feeling this morning.
Is there any cracking or popping,
Tenderness or tightness there?
Release the wrist circles and shake out the wrists.
Shake out the wrists,
The fingers,
And the arms a little here,
Inviting more vitality down the arms and into the hands.
And bring that shaking out to a close.
Interlace the fingers and press the hands up towards the sky,
Extending the arms overhead.
Take a few moments here,
A few smooth,
Deep breaths to reach,
To stretch.
You might lean a little side to side,
Getting more openness in the side torso,
Flaring open the side ribs.
Take one more deep breath cycle here,
Pressing the arms up overhead.
And then unlace the fingers and on an exhalation,
Open the arms out to the sides and down.
Relax the hands on the lap.
Elongate again the spine,
Line the head right up over the center of the shoulders and tuck the chin slightly.
Soften and relax all the muscles in the face and jaw.
Loosen and relax the shoulders.
Soften and relax the belly.
Begin to deepen the breath down towards the belly.
On each inhalation,
Let the belly expand and open with breath.
On each exhalation,
Gently draw the belly button back towards the spine,
Squeezing out the stale air.
Each inhalation,
Let the belly open and widen.
Each exhalation,
Deflate the balloon of the belly,
Pushing the stale air up and out.
Gently massaging the internal organs,
Helping to stimulate and aid digestion,
A beautiful wake up for the belly.
And at the end of the next exhalation,
Release the abdominal breaths.
Let the natural breath return and notice what you feel.
Prepare for sun breaths.
We'll be coordinating the breath with the movement.
Sitting up nice and tall,
Breathing in and out through the nose if that's comfortable.
Inhale the arms out to the sides and up overhead.
Reach and stretch,
Touching the fingertips together.
And exhale the arms out to the sides and down.
Again,
Inhale the arms out to the sides and up overhead.
Flare the side ribs with breath.
Reach the fingertips towards the morning sun.
Exhale the arms out to the sides and down,
Releasing tension and tightness.
Continue with these sun breaths.
Find your own rhythm.
Each inhalation drawing in more fresh morning air,
Inviting more oxygen into the bloodstream,
More prana,
More life force energy to flow through the mind.
Each exhalation release carbon dioxide,
Congestion,
Foggy headedness,
Sweeping away the cobwebs,
Clearing out the clutter.
Continue these sun breaths to revitalize,
To invigorate,
To refresh.
And at the end of the next exhalation,
Release the hands down to the lap.
Return the breath to normal.
Dive inside with awareness.
Scan the whole body.
Feel for the effects,
What has loosened,
Opened,
Brightened or lightened this morning.
Take this moment to set a positive intention for your day.
Gradually let the eyes flutter open,
Taking in morning color and light,
Wishing you the very best for the day ahead.
