So,
Coming into a comfortable lying down position on your back.
In fact,
In this practice,
We're going to use a very specific posture.
You're going to lie down on your back.
I recommend using a light pillow to keep the neck in alignment and the head position and neck position comfortable.
And you're going to bring the feet flat with the knees up.
The knees gently touching the feet about hip or maybe a little wider than hip width apart.
So it's essentially the legs creating a series of triangles.
So just find what we call the Goldilocks position,
Where the heels to the buttocks are just at a spot that feels the most comfortable,
Natural,
And where the lower back feels in alignment and nice,
Relaxed,
Without any strain.
In this practice,
We're going to be tuning in our awareness into the lower abdominal region,
Below the rib cage and above the pelvic floor,
Where we specifically focus on the breath with three things to focus on on the inhale and three things to focus on with the exhale.
Your arms are out on the sides of your body,
Making sure your shoulders are the opposite of uptight.
The shoulders are down and loose.
Take a little time there,
Spreading out the shoulder blades so the upper back feels open.
Shoulder blades away from the spine,
Shoulders relaxed down,
Some space in the armpits,
And the palms facing down with this practice.
So we're going to start this practice with an exhale.
So fully empty out,
Then as you inhale,
You feel the belly rise,
The lower back arches off the bed or floor,
And the pelvic bone,
The base of the spine,
Gently pushes into the floor.
Then as you exhale,
The belly shrinks,
Back flattens,
And as you shrink the belly even more,
The pelvic bone gently tilts off your support.
Once again,
Inhale,
Belly rise,
Lower back arches,
Pelvic bone into the mat.
Exhale,
Belly shrinks,
The navel to spine,
Flatten the lower back,
Pelvic bone tilts off the mat or bed.
Just keep this practice for the next few minutes.
Once again,
Very important that if your mind wanders,
No need to judge it,
No need to get frustrated,
Think you're making any mistakes,
Just note the mind wandering and bring all your attention back into that lower abdominal area.
Do one more together and we're going to do a couple minutes on your own.
So as you inhale,
Belly swell,
Lower back arch,
Pelvic bone into the mat or bed,
Exhale,
Shrinking the belly,
Flatten the back,
And gently let that pelvic bone tilt off.
Just gentle rise.
Just keep this nice gentle flow as if you've unhooked your awareness from your monkey mind with all its thoughts,
Dropping that awareness into the lower abdomen and lower back.
You want to have this feeling as you inhale that you're inhaling to about 70%.
And as you exhale,
Let your exhale go as full as you can make it.
So when you normally think you're done with your exhale,
Exhale even more,
Almost like you feel the core engage,
The back completely flatten,
That pelvic bone tilts off the mat.
Remembering that it's the exhale that triggers this relaxation response that puts on line that parasympathetic nervous system where we rest and digest,
Relax deeply,
Let the exhales be nice and long.
Do three more of these pelvic tilts.
So start with an exhale,
And as you inhale,
Swelling of the abdomen like a balloon,
And breathing out,
Let it go,
Shrinking the belly,
Flatten the back,
Let that pelvic bone tilt off.
We're going to do one more together,
Take an inhale,
Belly rise,
Lower back arch,
Pelvic bone push into the mat or the bed,
Exhale,
Shrinking the belly,
Flatten the back,
Engage in the core and let the pelvic bone tilt off the mat,
Exhale even more and more and more so there's absolutely nothing left to exhale and hold at the bottom of this exhale for 10,
9,
8,
7,
6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1,
And take a nice relaxing breath in and now you can let the palms face the sky,
Facing your ceiling,
Palms up,
Or you could gently put your palms on your belly,
Whatever feels more comfortable now.
Part two of this practice,
Let the belly swell like you've been doing but on the exhale instead of using effort,
It's a feeling of the lower back just melting,
Just a feeling of completely letting go with your exhale,
No need for effort now,
No need to flatten or tilt the pelvic bone,
Just inhale,
Feel the expansion of the lower belly and as you exhale,
A feeling of the lower back just melts into the mat as if it's just descending through your mat or through your bed as if you've just gone deeper into the earth,
Complete feeling of letting go on the exhales,
Breathing in,
Be with the feeling in the lower belly,
Exhale,
Release the lower back,
Every exhale just a little more soft,
A little more relaxed,
Release and descend.
Once again,
If the mind wanders,
No need to judge,
No need to criticize yourself,
Just note the mind wandering,
With the next breath,
Bring it back to the lower abdominal area,
Very simple,
We're going to do about another minute here,
Inhale,
Just be with the rising of the lower belly,
Exhale,
Letting the lower back just melt into your support,
Descend,
Release any little bit of tension,
Just let's go,
Letting the lower back feel almost cotton-like,
And a couple more breaths like this,
Every exhale,
Tuning into the relaxation,
And as we finish up,
Deciding if you want to use this as a bridge into sleep,
Whether it be a nap or nighttime sleep or you're just using this as a little break in your afternoon routine for a little rest,
Making sure you take your time and take this feeling into the next part of your day or night.
