Earth Breathing

To start,

We'll just take a moment to connect with a relaxed yet alert posture,

Letting our spine gently straighten,

Yet relaxing our shoulders,

Arms,

And back.

From here,

We'll just find a very gentle body scan as we come down through the body,

Starting at the crown,

Moving through the muscles of the face,

Relaxing our muscles around the eyes,

Around the jaw,

Relaxing the shoulders,

Arms,

Chest,

Moving into the belly,

Hips,

Sit bones,

Coming into our legs,

Knees,

Calves,

And finally,

Connecting with the presence of our feet and legs,

Touching the floor beneath us.

This floor beneath us is our connection to the earth,

Our connection to the ground we walk on and share with all other beings.

Just be present with the ground,

Floor,

And earth beneath you for a few moments,

Just feeling that raw sensation and connection and its grounded presence.

From here,

We'll begin to connect with the breath as we breathe deeply and slowly in and out of the nose.

And as we take a deep inhale,

Breathing up from the earth through our feet and legs into our belly,

And as we exhale,

Breathing out,

Contracting the belly,

And sending our awareness back down to our feet in connection with the floor below.

So breathing in,

We fill the belly,

Pulling up from the earth,

Breathing down,

We ground back down into the earth,

Connecting with our body and the presence of the floor beneath us.

Each breath becoming softer,

Longer,

Deeper.

Each breath connecting us back into the ground we walk on and share with all others.

Just let a very gentle presence take place,

Very natural flow of breath,

Body,

And presence of the ground,

Chair,

Or cushion you sit in.

Pulling up from the earth,

Filling the belly like a balloon,

Breathing out,

Connecting back down into the earth below.

So having settled into the breath and body,

Breathing out from the earth and breathing back down into it.

Just be with the presence once again of your feet,

Legs,

Connected to the floor beneath you.

Let the breath be natural.

When you're ready,

Feel free to open your eyes,

Going into your day or into your next practice.