Take your position in your seat or on your mat.
Tilt your chin slightly down and imagine there's a string lifting your head and lengthening the back of your neck.
Use anything you need to support yourself in this space.
Blankets,
Cushions,
Yoga blocks,
Anything that allows you to rest comfortably in your seat or on your mat.
Close your eyes.
If that isn't comfortable or safe in your body or space right now,
Gently soften your gaze and look down so that we can turn our focus inward.
Take a deep breath in and an audible exhale out.
One more time.
A slow,
Deep breath in and an audible exhale out.
Exhale out.
Lift your shoulders up to your ears and back and down again.
Imagine you're taking off a very heavy backpack,
Releasing that weight from your shoulders and allowing them to feel light and free.
This backpack has all the things that came before this meditation,
Your worries,
Your fears,
Your regrets,
And the backpack contains all the things that must happen after this meditation,
Your to-do lists,
Your work,
Your chores.
It'll still be there waiting for you when you're done with this meditation.
But right now,
You have nothing else to do and nowhere else to be but here in this meditation.
Our body is our one true home.
It does so much for us.
We should treat our body like someone we love.
When loved ones need to tell us something,
We usually try to listen,
But our body has many messages for us and we don't always spend time listening to our own body.
Today,
We will tap in and listen without judgment,
Only curiosity.
Whatever you notice,
Whatever comes up,
Whatever you feel today is okay.
Relax your forehead.
Gently release any wrinkles or tension in your forehead.
Soften the space behind your eyes.
Relax your face.
Relax your jaw.
Release your tongue and allow it to rest gently inside your mouth.
If you need to,
Even wiggle your jaw a little bit to make sure that you're releasing any tension there.
We often hold a lot of tension in our face without recognizing or realizing it.
Your whole head relaxed.
Relax your neck.
Allow your shoulders to continue to drop down away from your ears.
Relax your upper arms,
Your elbows,
Your forearms.
Relax your wrists,
Tops of your hands,
The palms of your hands.
Allow your hands to rest gently and softly on your lap or in the space next to you without any clenching or holding on.
Relax your thumbs,
Your first finger,
Your second finger,
Your third finger,
And your fourth finger.
Whole hands relaxed.
Whole arms relaxed.
Shoulders continuing to soften and drop away from the ears.
Relax your upper back,
Your middle back,
Your lower back,
Your pelvis.
Whole upper body relaxed and soft.
Relax your upper thighs,
Your knees,
Your shins,
Your calves,
Tops of your feet,
The bottoms of your feet,
Soft and relaxed and firmly resting on the ground beneath you.
Relax your big toe,
Second toes,
Third toes,
Fourth toes.
Relax your entire foot,
Your whole lower body relaxed and resting on your support.
Now,
Scan your body again and look for any areas that are still tight or tense.
Can you soften just a little bit more in those spaces?
As you continue to breathe,
Imagine your breath is a warm,
Healing light.
Send your breath to every part of your body,
Especially those parts that still feel a little tense.
This warm,
Healing light can surround those areas and allow them to unfold a little bit more.
Take another deep breath in,
Nourishing,
Deep breath,
Sending oxygen to every part of your body and a slow,
Deep exhale out.
One more time,
A big,
Slow,
Deep,
Nourishing breath through your entire body and a slow exhale out.
Let us be grateful and thank our body for all it does for us every day and continue to listen as it sends us messages in the future.
Put your arms around yourself,
Give yourself a hug and gently bow to thank yourself for taking this time to listen to your body.
Namaste.
