You So just take a moment now.
To settle in.
To a lazy.
.
.
Easy relaxation.
Where you have nowhere to go.
And nothing to do except.
.
.
To Taking a moment to make sure that you are warm.
Comfortable.
And undisturbed.
Giving yourself this gift.
Of space.
This gift of relaxation.
Time.
And when you are ready,
If it feels good for you today,
I'd like to invite you now to close your eyes.
And for a moment or two,
To do nothing.
Nothing at all.
And you may notice that you have little thoughts that travel across the mirror of your mind.
And you can let those thoughts go,
Just let them go.
As you settle deeper,
And deeper.
Into relaxation.
And release.
And I'd like to invite you now,
Gently and lazily.
.
.
To place your focus on the breath.
And specifically on your out-breath.
Following the path of the out-breath all the way.
All the way.
All the way to the end of the breath.
Where you will find that there is a space.
A pause.
Time to stop.
And then you will notice that the in-breath starts to ask you to take notice.
And so you yield to the in-breath.
And follow the path of the in-breath all the way.
All the way.
All the way to the top of the breath,
To the space at the top.
Of the in-breath.
Before the out-breath releases once more.
And you follow the path of the out-breath.
The lazy gentle out-breath.
All the way to the end of the breath.
To this space.
A gentle space.
Before once again yielding to the in-breath.
Following the path of the in-breath all the way.
To the space at the top of the breath.
Before releasing once more onto the out-breath.
And noticing with a lazy,
Easy curiosity.
That the out-breath can become longer than the in-breath.
And that maybe this feels right.
And this feels good.
And as the out-breath lengthens away lazily.
You may find that you feel more and more relaxed.
More and more relaxed.
And now.
From this lazy,
Easy,
Relaxed place.
I'd like you to really slowly.
.
.
Place your focus at the top of your head.
And begin to imagine the muscles of your scalp.
Releasing.
Relaxing.
Letting go.
And it's like a wave of relaxation that starts to flow.
All the way down.
Down your skull.
Down your forehead.
Softening and releasing.
Melting.
Like butter.
Releasing in the eyes.
Around the eye sockets.
Down across your cheeks.
Across the back of your head and down your neck.
Letting go.
Softening and melting.
Feeling the wave of relaxation spread now.
Down your neck,
Letting go.
Softening and melting.
Down into your shoulders,
Across your chest,
And down your arms,
All the way to the ends of your fingers.
Releasing,
Softening,
And melting.
Down your spine,
Vertebra by vertebra.
Down.
Through your ribcage and into your belly.
Down into your pelvis,
Into your pelvic floor,
Letting go,
Softening and releasing.
Into your hips and down,
Down.
Down your leg.
Through your thigh muscles,
Releasing,
Melting,
And letting go in your knees,
Your shins,
And your calves.
Down and up.
Down.
Through your ankles,
Into your heels.
Through the arches of your feet.
Through the balls of your feet.
And all the way into the very tips of your toes.
The whole of your body now.
Lazy,
Easy and relaxed.
With this beautiful melting sensation.
This beautiful melting sensation.
And as your body settles now.
Into deeper and even deeper levels of relaxation.
You find.
That's your mind.
Is able to drift freely.
And easily.
A beautiful,
Calm and peaceful feeling.
Following the path of the breath.
All the way.
All the way.
As you continue to explore freely,
Happily,
Easily.
And confidently.
Drifting.
And as you drift.
You become aware very gradually.
Of warmth.
Warmth on your skin.
Gentle and golden.
And you realize that the warmth is sunlight.
And you can hear them before you see them.
High,
High above you,
Filling the sky with their joy.
The Swifts are calling.
That wild,
Exhilarating sound of pure summer.
Pure aliveness.
Pure freedom.
And you smile.
And slowly.
Softly.
You become aware of where you are.
And you find yourself standing at the edge of the sea.
It's a perfect summer's evening.
The light.
Long and golden,
Lying softly across the water.
The sea calm and clear and sparkling.
You can see all the way down through the water to the sandy floor below.
Shifting and glimmering.
In the last of the day's warmth.
The tide is high and turning.
The air is full of the sound and sensation of summer.
Somewhere nearby,
The bees are going about their quiet,
Purposeful work among the flowers.
Unhurried.
Content.
And above you high in the vast blue sky.
The Swifts are still singing their wild summer joy.
Wheeling and swooping with such effortless abandon.
Such absolute trust in their own wings.
Some of these birds you know.
Will fly all the way to Africa.
Across oceans.
Across continents.
Following something deep within themselves.
That knows exactly where to go.
They do not hesitate.
They simply fly.
And watching them you feel something stir in you too.
A quiet recognition.
Are remembering.
And you take a step,
Your feet sinking into the soft sand.
The warm,
Gently sloping sand down.
Down and forward into the water.
It is cold at first.
That beautiful sharp cold that makes you catch your breath and smile all at once.
And you wade in slowly,
Feeling the pull and the push of the water around you,
Holding you.
Supporting you.
And then you let go and you float,
Feeling held,
Feeling the gentle support of the water all around you.
As you release into it.
And as the water receives you and holds you.
You feel it gently drawing away from you anything that you no longer need.
Any thought that has kept you small.
Any worry that has worn you thin.
Any old pattern that has quietly,
Stubbornly stayed past its welcome.
And you don't need to name them or even know them.
You simply allow them to loosen.
And drift away from you into the water.
And the sea,
This ancient,
Wise,
Generous sea,
Takes everything you release.
And she transforms it.
Not loss.
Dissolved into pure light.
That sparkles and dances on the surface of the water all around you.
And you are lighted now.
Lighter.
And clearer.
And more completely yourself.
And you surrender completely.
And the sea receives you,
Holds you,
Lifts you and you float free.
And above you the sky is vast and luminous,
The first stars beginning to appear at its edges,
And the swifts are still flying,
Their calls threading through the warm evening like tiny silver stitches.
Floating here.
Held by the sea.
Warm from the sun.
You feel the truth of this moment settle into you.
You are here now.
You are present.
You are exactly where you are supposed to be in this body,
In this life,
In this moment.
That will never come again in quite this way.
Like the butterfly that lives its whole glorious life in a single summer and wants for nothing.
Like the painted lady crossing continents on wings of Gossamer.
Like the swift that trusts its wings across an ocean,
You too were made for your own particular wondrous journey.
And you make a promise to yourself here,
Floating in this warm evening sea.
That you will come back to this feeling.
Whenever you need to.
This lightness.
This ease,
This quiet knowing that you too are hell.
That you do not need to struggle.
That this ease is available to you,
That lightness is your natural state.
That you are.
And always were.
Unbound.
Free to float,
Free to trust,
Free to be present to your own life,
Your own moment.
Your own.
Quiet and extraordinary self.
You have everything that you need.
You always did.
And slowly.
Gently.
You feel yourself begin to drift floating back toward the shore.
The water carrying you.
Softly.
Kindly.
All the way.
And as your feet.
Find the ground beneath you.
You know that you carry all of this with you.
The lightness.
The clarity.
Quiet knowing.
That you were made for your own journey.
You walk back up the shore.
Your feet sinking once more in the warm sand.
Warm from the sun,
The song of the swifts still threading through the evening air above you.
Calm in your mind.
Present in your body.
In control of your thoughts.
And the attention you choose to give them.
Travelling forward.
Exactly as you are.
And as you prepare now to continue on your journey.
You know that you can move forward.
Refreshed.
And with a lightness of step.
Traveling along your path.
Calm.
Peaceful.
Peaceful in your mind.
Centered in the knowledge that you are in control.
You are in control of your emotions.
In control of your feelings and in control of the thoughts to which you choose.
To give your precious attention.
Now.
And into the future.
So gently now.
Bringing your focus lazily back to the breath.
And specifically to the out-breath.
Following the path of the out-breath all the way.
To the end of the breath.
To this space.
The pause.
Time to reflect.
Before the easy in-breath comes in.
Yielding to the in-breath now.
Following the path of the in-breath.
All the way to the top of the breath.
To the space before the out-breath releases once more.
This lazy gentle breath pattern.
Which happens all by itself.
And then placing your focus lazily at the top of your head.
And finding that melting sensation once more,
Sweeping down through the body,
Softening,
Melting,
Releasing.
Letting go of all that you want to let go of.
Finding in its place calm,
Peaceful,
Settled space.
And then finding your awareness in the very tips of your toes.
Bringing physical sensation back to the body.
So finding a wiggle and a stretch,
A wiggle and a stretch that moves through your feet and up your shins and your calves.
Through your knees and your thighs,
Stretching and wiggling in your legs.
And into the base of your spine now,
On your pelvis,
Up the spine,
Through your belly,
Through your ribcage,
Up to your shoulders,
Wiggling and stretching,
Letting that movement travel down your arms all the way.
All the way down your arms to the very tips of your fingers and the tips of your thumbs.
And the wiggle and the stretch moving up your neck and around the back of the skull.
And down to your face.
So the whole of your body now physically present.
And should you choose now to go to sleep?
Then you sleep deep and peaceful.
Feeling calm.
Feeling subtle.
And should you choose now to wait?
Then,
Gently.
.
.
Lazily.
Beginning to deepen the breath.
Letting each in-breath bring you a little more presence.
A little more aware.
Feeling the breath fill you with a quiet,
Settled awareness.
A quiet,
Settled aliveness.
And with each out breath,
Releasing the last of this deep relaxation,
Softly,
Easily,
In your own time.
Becoming aware now of the sounds around you.
The feeling of where you are,
Your body warm and present and completely your own.
And when you are ready.
In your own time.
Gently open your eyes.
Thank you for practicing with me today.
