Hello and welcome,
Thank you for being here,
For choosing rest.
Whatever you have absorbed today,
Whatever your system has been processing,
You can begin to settle now.
Begin by making yourself comfortable and allowing your eyes to close and becoming aware of your body breathing.
We're going to begin this practice by deepening the breath,
So breathing in a slow,
Full in-breath,
Filling your chest and lungs,
And a long,
Slow out-breath,
Releasing,
Again taking in a deep in-breath,
Expanding and filling,
And a slow out-breath,
Letting go.
Now,
Gently beginning to count the in-breath,
Breathing in for a count of four,
Breathing in for one,
Two,
Three and four,
And out for a count of four,
Three,
Two,
One.
If counting the breaths for four feels too long,
Perhaps try inhaling and exhaling for the count of three,
But always ensuring that the in-breath and the out-breath are equally matched.
Sensing with the in-breath,
Sensing that safety from your nervous system,
And with the out-breath you're regulating,
Releasing and letting your system settle,
Continuing with this rhythm,
In for four,
Out for four,
As we move through the whole body and begin to draw your attention to your breath,
And how that breath is within the jaw,
This is a place where we store tension,
And with each in-breath a softening,
An opening,
And with out-breath a releasing,
A letting go,
Begin to soften the small muscles around the eyes,
Your forehead,
Your whole face relaxing,
Letting your whole mouth rest,
And let your tongue rest heavy in your mouth,
Soft at the root,
Now bringing that awareness to your shoulders,
Where you've been holding so much,
Breathing into the shoulders,
Feeling the space expand,
Feeling an opening,
And as you breathe out let them drop,
Heavy and releasing down,
Softening at the neck,
Softening at the back,
At the front of the neck,
Nothing to hold up anymore,
And with each out-breath more letting go,
Bringing awareness to your hands,
Wherever they're resting,
On the in-breath feeling the warmth flowing into them,
And on the out-breath softening,
Allowing your fingers to gently curl open,
However they want to be,
And feeling the breath of your heart,
The centre of your chest,
As you breathe in opening to receive,
Feeling the aliveness there,
And as you breathe out,
Releasing,
A softening around the heart,
And for those of us who feel everything deeply,
It is safe to rest here,
It is safe to stop taking it all in,
Breathing in warmth,
And breathing out softening,
And breathing deep into your belly,
Letting it feel and expand with the in-breath,
And with the out-breath,
A releasing,
Letting go,
Letting go,
And your belly doesn't need to be held in,
Doesn't need to be anything but soft and natural,
In-breath nourishing,
And out-breath settling,
And now widening to sense your whole body breathing,
Every cell receiving the in-breath,
An opening,
A filling,
And with the out-breath,
A releasing through your entire body,
A letting go,
Your whole sensitive system breathing,
Settling,
And regulating,
In-breath safety,
And out-breath release,
And now letting go of controlling the breath at all,
Allowing it to return to its natural rhythm,
And just resting here with a relaxed attentiveness,
Aware of the gentle movement of the breath,
And the sensations in your body,
And relaxing back,
Resting in this wakeful openness,
Letting life be just as it is,
Moment to moment if your mind wanders into thought,
No need to fight them,
Just simply resettle,
And come back to the feeling within your body,
A warmth beneath you gently opening your attention,
Maybe it is some sounds around you,
And the silence beneath,
There's nothing to fix,
Nothing to figure out just this breathing,
And resting,
And being held,
And your body knows how to rest,
It knows how to let go,
You don't have to make this happen and now gently scanning through your whole body,
Noticing if there are any habitual places of tension,
Of holding,
Of tightness,
Perhaps resettling the shoulders,
Softening them a little more relaxing your hands,
Your jaw,
Your belly,
And softening around your heart,
And asking yourself,
Is it possible to settle just a little more to let your nervous system recalibrate,
Sink a little deeper,
And to trust a little more,
Your sensitive system that's been working so hard,
That can rest now it's safe to be exactly as you are,
Resting in the awareness that's right here,
Letting your body be held by what's beneath you and letting the sounds guide you through the night,
Nowhere to go,
Just resting,
And the sound will stay with you as you drift
