So,
Wherever you're going to find yourself,
Taking your time,
Settling in,
Wriggling into the pose,
Lifting the shoulders up to the ears,
Sliding the shoulder blades down the back,
Letting the head grow,
The spine grow,
Toward shoulder blades melt down,
Taking a deep breath in,
Feeling the body lift and breathing out,
Releasing,
Relaxing,
And sensing the weight of the body resting on the air,
Noticing those points of contact,
Those points where the body is held,
Held by the gentle support of the earth,
That pull of gravity,
Earth pulling us close,
Knowing that whatever happens,
That unconditional support of the earth is there to hold us,
You may even like to take a deep breath in,
Noticing if you're holding any tension,
Any worries,
And as you breathe out,
Releasing that a little,
Melting that into the earth,
Letting the earth hold that for you,
And again,
Breathing in,
Rising up,
And as you breathe out,
Releasing,
Letting go into the air,
Letting the breath return to its natural rate and rhythm,
And we're going to start by checking in with ourselves by noticing how we're doing today,
And we'll start by noticing the body,
Taking a moment to sense into your body,
Not the idea of the body,
The felt sense of this body,
Maybe particular sensations which are speaking more loudly,
Calling to your attention,
Maybe there's aches,
Pain,
Perhaps noticing this,
Perhaps allowing yourself to spend a little bit of time with these experiences that typically we might like to avoid,
Noticing how that really feels,
What's that ache like,
What's the flavour of that,
That ache in the body,
Maybe breathing into that,
Bringing your interest,
Where is that,
Unless that's a bit too much,
And then you can ease off,
Noticing,
Being interested,
Opening to your experience,
It's already here,
May as well notice,
What are you bringing with you onto the mat today,
And expanding your awareness to also notice those parts of the body which perhaps is speaking more quietly,
Perhaps those points of comfort,
Ease,
Perhaps those parts of the body that feel neutral,
Feel numb,
Sensing into the whole of this body,
This body which works so hard for us every day,
And practice is about connection,
And that includes this connection with the body,
This hearing the messages of the body and honouring them,
And when you're already beginning to release the awareness of the body,
Knowing we'll come back again,
We'll notice once more,
And shining a light of awareness now,
On your emotions,
On your feelings,
What emotions are here,
Knowing there's no right way to feel,
Noticing if there's feelings that perhaps you'd rather weren't there,
Is it possible to be interested and notice,
Not the idea of this feeling,
But a felt sense of this in this moment,
Offering a soothing to whatever you find here,
Knowing this will come and go,
Like Rumi's great poem The Guest House,
Can we meet our emotions,
Our feelings at the door,
Laughing and invite them in,
They may be clearing us out for some new delight,
So welcome and entertain them all,
And when you're ready,
Releasing awareness of feelings and bringing your awareness to the mind,
Noticing the thoughts,
What thoughts are here right now,
Are the thoughts coming fast or slow,
You might even like to label the thoughts,
Maybe as planning,
Or remembering,
Worrying,
Whatever it might be,
We have limited control over our thoughts,
The mind is a nature of its own,
Whatever you find here,
Offering and allowing,
Notice and welcome into your practice today,
When you're ready,
Releasing awareness of the mind,
And if you came across any places that felt delicate,
That felt tender,
Pain,
As you checked in with yourself,
Perhaps bringing your awareness to these points and offering to yourself the words,
Soften,
Soothe,
Allow,
Soften,
Soothe,
Allow,
And offering to the whole of yourself,
The whole of your experience,
The words,
Soften,
Soothe,
Allow,
And then out breath,
Letting go of this,
Moving your awareness to the breath,
This gentle breathing body,
Sensing this movement as the body breathes,
That rise and fall,
When you're ready,
We're going to find gentle soothing rhythm,
And this is a wonderful practice to show our bodies we're safe,
Safe,
That our bodies know we can release,
Let go,
Move out of the sympathetic nervous system into the parasympathetic,
Taking a long slow breath in,
Pausing,
And a long slow releasing breath in,
And when you're ready,
Breathing in,
Long and slow,
Pausing,
And a long slow releasing breath in,
And you may like to notice this perhaps at the nose,
Or if you've got a more established breath practice,
Perhaps at the abdomen or the chest,
You may like to put this breath in your own time,
Maybe offering in a counting,
Counting to four as you breathe in,
Pausing for five,
And then breathing out for six,
For six,
With each out breath,
Allowing the body to let go a little more,
Letting the body follow the breath,
And release and relax with the out breath,
Letting the mind follow the breath,
And let go as you breathe out,
And when you're ready,
Letting the breath return to its natural rate of rhythm,
Knowing you can always return to the breath whenever you want,
If ever anything feels a bit much,
You can always return to this soothing breathing rhythm,
And you may like to set an intention for the practice now,
As you do this,
You may like to leave the hands where they are,
Or you might like to place them on the body,
Maybe the abdomen,
Maybe the heart,
Feeling the warmth of the hands,
If there's something comes to mind,
Let this be your intention,
Not needing to fight,
To search for something,
Letting it bubble up,
You may even like to use the word soften,
Soothe,
Allow,
Repeating this word or words to yourself now,
Releasing,
Letting this intention set a tone for your practice,
Taking a deep breath in,
As we come towards the end of this arriving,
Of this grounding,
Breathing in,
As you breathe out,
With a sigh,
Release,
And again,
Breathing in,
And with a sigh,
Okay,
And you can leave the eyes closed,
If you'd like,
You can start to flutter them open,
Whichever you'd like,
And if you've been lying down,
Taking your time to roll to one side,
Knowing there's no rush,
