Rise and shine.
Good morning.
For this practice,
I invite for you to step outside.
When you arrive outside,
Coming into standing at attention,
Samasthiti,
Bringing the feet hips-width distance,
Relaxing the shoulders down and away,
Opening up through the heart as you take a deep breath in,
As the palms relax down by your side,
Facing forward.
As the eyes shut down,
Just begin to come into the present moment.
Noticing first how you're feeling this morning.
What is alive inside of you today?
Just taking a moment to set an intention for the day.
You can fill in the blank.
I wish to feel blank.
Perhaps this is joyful,
Peaceful,
Relaxed,
Empowered.
I wish to feel blank.
Bringing this intention into the space between the brows,
The third eye,
And mentally repeating it three times.
Taking a full belly breath in,
And expanding through the lungs and heart,
Holding at the top.
As though you're blowing your intention like a kiss out into the universe,
Pursing the lips on the exhale,
Elongating the breath.
As you're standing here in samasthiti,
Begin to engage the muscles of the quadriceps to lift the inner arcs of the feet.
Feel the feet firmly planted on mother earth,
Grounding into the four corners,
Maybe even lifting the toes and wiggling them ever so slightly.
Feeling the weight evenly dispersed in the ball mounds of the feet,
The outer edges and the heel.
Take another full breath in,
And full breath out.
Drawing awareness into the nose.
Become aware of any smells you can recognize.
Shifting your awareness to the eyes,
With the eyelids closed,
Just noticing what you see.
As your awareness shifts to the ears,
Becoming aware of any sounds you hear far away from you,
Allowing for the mind to jump from sound to sound.
Bringing the awareness closer to the body,
Begin to notice any sounds you hear close to you now.
And coming home to the sound of your own breath,
Bringing your awareness now to the crown of the head.
Perhaps you can even feel the sun on the crown of the head,
Warming your skull,
Your face,
Sun kissing your shoulders and chest.
Bringing awareness to the wind.
Notice if there's a breeze or absence thereof.
What is the sensation of the element of wind against the body?
Is it cooling?
Is it warming?
Or perhaps it's not present at all in this moment.
Simply notice.
I'm bringing awareness now into the root chakra,
The base of the spine.
Breathing from this space.
Full inhale in through the nose.
You can even visualize this as a golden orb at the root chakra that rises up into the crown with each inhale and releases back down to the root chakra with each exhale.
Steady breaths in and steady breaths out.
Continue for three rounds of breath on your own.
And when you finish your round,
You can take a deep breath in and out on your own.
And when you finish with your third round of breath,
Bringing to mind your intention for the day once more.
Holding that intention now in the center of your heart space.
And as you feel ready,
Fluttering the eyes open,
Coming into the start of the day.
Taking notice of your environment.
Perhaps a slight smile peels across the face.
And in the meantime,
Have a wonderful day.
From my heart to yours.
Namaste.
