Coming into a comfortable lying down position using a small pillow if you like,
Make your head more comfortable and keeping your neck in alignment.
Lying down on a bed or yoga mat,
A rug.
You could put your legs up on a cushion or a chair.
Another option is to bring the feet flat with the knees up lightly touching,
Creating a series of triangles.
Or if you like,
Just leaving the legs in Savasana,
Where the legs are out long,
The shape of a V and the feet splayed out to the sides.
Just getting as comfortable as you can while lying on your back.
Just dropping into a quiet,
Relaxed,
Yet aware frame of mind.
And to start,
We're just going to connect the mind to the breath.
We're going to unhook our awareness from our thoughts and drop it into the lower abdomen and just experience the rise and a fall in of the belly.
In this practice,
We're going to be rotating the awareness.
Nothing specific to do with the breath.
Just keeping our attention on whatever body part I mentioned as we just scan through the whole body.
If the mind wanders at any point off the practice,
No need to judge.
Just note the mind wandering and bring it back to the practice.
Just keeping the mind with my instructions as we move through the whole body,
Feeling,
Sensing.
So begin with the feeling the right thumb.
The first finger and the middle finger.
Feeling the ring finger and then the pinky.
Feeling into the palm of the right hand and the right wrist.
Slowly bring that attention through the lower arm,
The forearm.
So you come to the elbow.
Staying on the right side,
We feel the bicep and the tricep of the upper arm.
And finally,
Feeling into the shoulder of the right side,
The top,
The front,
And the back.
Coming down the right side,
We feeling into the right armpit,
The ribs along the right side of the torso,
Down to the obliques in the right hip bone.
Feeling into the right groin,
The upper part of the right leg,
The thigh,
And the back of the up the right leg,
The hamstring and psoas.
Coming into the right knee,
Front,
The back,
Inside and outside.
Feeling into the lower leg,
Back of the lower leg,
Calf muscle,
The front of the lower leg.
Finally down to the right foot.
Feeling the heel,
The ankle,
The arch of the right foot,
The top of the right foot,
And the bottom,
The sole.
Feeling the right big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Pinky toe.
Feeling the right side,
The whole everything from your fingertips to the right shoulder,
All at once.
Feeling into the right side of the torso,
From the right armpit to the right hip.
And then feeling from the upper part of the right leg through the right foot,
Everything from the thigh and hamstring and psoas down to the tips of the toes and release.
Feeling all everything on the right side at once.
Moving your attention now to the left side of the body.
Feeling the left thumb,
First finger,
Middle finger,
Third finger,
And the pinky.
Feeling the palm of the left hand.
Feeling the left forearm up to the left elbow,
The bicep and tricep of the upper arm.
Finally up to the left shoulder,
The top,
The front,
And the back.
Feeling into the left armpit,
The ribs of the left side slowly coming down.
Feeling from the top of the ribs to the bottom,
The obliques into the left hip bone.
Feeling the left groin.
Feeling into the upper leg on the left side,
The front and the back.
Feeling into the left knee,
Front,
Back,
Inside and outside.
The lower part of the left leg,
Shin bone,
The calf muscle.
Coming down into the left foot,
Starting with the ankle and the heel,
The inside the arch,
Top of the left foot,
The bottom of the left foot,
The big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
And pinky toe.
Now feeling everything from the tips of your fingers all the way up to the left shoulder.
Now bring your attention from the left armpit and the top of the left torso,
Left side,
All the way down to the left hip bone.
And then with the legs,
Everything from the left hip all the way down to the tips of the toes.
Now coming up,
Feeling into the buttocks.
Feeling yourself,
Whether it be on your bed or yoga mat,
Left side and right side.
Now coming up to the torso,
Feeling the belly rise with the inhale and feeling the lower back as you exhale.
And again.
And slowly coming up to the mid torso,
The sternum and solar plexus in the middle,
The ribs on the left and right side.
And as you exhale,
Feel into the back.
Just feel it melting into your bed or yoga mat.
Now feeling into the upper chest.
And as you exhale,
Relax through the upper back,
Mid back and lower back.
Feeling into the throat and the neck,
The chin and jaw and mouth,
The cheeks,
The ears,
The forehead and temples.
Come into the eyes.
Eyes not just closed,
But going soft as if they're looking inward.
Finally,
Bring your awareness to the brain,
The whole skull.
And then finishing up,
We bring our awareness to the whole body at once.
Breathe in and feel.
Breathe out,
Let go.
Breathe in the whole body.
Breathe out,
It's melting,
Releasing and letting go.
Breathe in,
Whole body breathes,
Oxygenating down to the cellular level.
As you exhale,
Just dissolve.
Last exhale.
Let it go.
Breathe out even more.
Keep breathing,
Keep breathing out,
Out until there's absolutely nothing left to breathe out.
Breathe out a little more till you're completely empty.
Bring your attention inside and let's hold at the bottom of this exhale.
And take a nice breath in.
And just bring the attention back to where we started,
The rise and falling of the belly.
Nothing to do,
Nowhere to go.
Just experience the rise and falling of the in and breath and the out breath.
As we drop deeper into relaxation,
Connecting with this state of calm awareness.
Just taking this practice with you as long as you'd like.
We're going to finish the formal practice here.
But if you'd like to continue,
Just be with the rise and falling of the belly for as long as you'd like.
Ride this wave of relaxation,
Taking this feeling with you the rest of your day or evening.
Thanks for joining me.
