Learning to Feel

(waves splash) Welcome, this practice today is designed to develop more curiosity and fluidity. It's also here to help support language for an internal experience and how we can find and maybe develop a little bit more space and ease, okay. So whenever you're ready guys, we're gonna start in a seated position, and you don't need a chair, or have to use a chair, but you're welcome to use one if you'd like. Some of you might come down onto the floor. I'm gonna suggest though that if there's any tension in your low back or your hips that you sit up onto a blanket just so your hips can be a little bit higher, giving your low back a bit more room.

Okay, we're not gonna be here forever, but just for a moment, like a few moments, and we wanna make sure that you're comfortable enough to breathe and be at ease. When you finally get in a place that feels balanced and steady, wiggle in a little, see if you can really feel your sitting bones. If you've got your feet on the floor, wiggle the feet. You happen to maybe press the legs down, just notice like some connection to Earth, okay. Mm hmm, consider taking a breath or two, in and out (breathes deeply).

And you might notice the quality of the breath. Does it feel shallow or deep, smooth or jagged? And it can be whatever it is. We're just gonna get curious about it, like how is it to take a breath right now (breathes deeply)? Good, and with that breath, and your seat allow yourself to orient, just catching out the space, the colors, the light, the details of the room.

You might even look for three purple things in your space. And take a moment to check those out, yeah. Good, just bringing a little bit more presence into this moment. Okay now, from the top of the head down through your feet, see if you can become aware of your body, all right. And if you need to, you're welcome to just kind of squeeze the arms, and be like, oh yeah, here are my arms, here are my legs, okay.

But just become aware, how is my body? Something might be achy and fee like crap, and something might feel actually really good, and starting to settle. Just notice what you notice, mmm hmm. And then shift the awareness to your mind, and check out how fast or how slow your mind's moving. If your mind was an animal, what would it be right now?

A monkey? A hamster? Would it be kind of like a lazy cow in the field? Just notice kind of what speed it is. And again, we're not trying to change or fix anything.

We just wanna become aware of where we're starting from 'cause when we know where we're starting from, we can maybe figure out where we need to go. And now shift the awareness into the heart, and just feel what this kind of heart body, or motion body is all about right now. There might be a lot up for you. Something might feel heavy or heartbreaking, or something might be really, actually sweet and like fantastic and joyous at the moment, or it just might be boring. It's okay.

Notice how whatever your experience is, how that's showing up in your physical body. Mm hmm, and again check out and see where your breath is now. Okay, so we're gonna start by doing just nice and simple shoulder, actually, we're gonna start by doing some breathing hands. Any of these practices, just a reminder, no competition, there's nothing to prove, it's just you and your relationship to you. So if something feels like if you wanna move your hands this far, you do it.

If you wanna move your hands this far, you do that, all right. We're gonna see if we can breathe the hands up, and exhale the hands down (breathes deeply). An image you might connect with is running your fingers along the back of a waterfall, yeah (breathes deeply). And if your brain and your body's feeling like its got a lot of energy and moving really fast, moving slow might drive you kind of crazy. So you might need to move a little faster or a little slower than me and that's always okay.

But see if your body can move in time with the breath cycles. Yep, completing the movement with the exhale, starting the movement with the inhale. Okay, and if breath feels bad for you to connect with that's completely okay too. Just notice the quality of trying to find some fluidness in your joints as if you're running the fingers off the back of a waterfall and down. We're gonna do this three more times.

Feel free to take the arms as high or as low as they need to be. You have all the time in the world for this breath (breathes deeply). We'll do one more. As you're noticing, any amount of fluidity, see if you can also feel your feet on the ground, or the sitting bones on the ground. Pause with either the palms up or the palms down.

Allow the shoulders to rest (breathes deeply). Notice any amount of space. And then making some shoulder rolls, so forward, up, back, and down (breathes deeply), yeah. And again if you need to go fast, feel free to go fast. But there also might be some luxury in moving a little slower today (breathes deeply).

We often go so fast from one thing to the next that we miss little details. And sometimes the safety, the ease, the space, and the empowerment are only in the details. And then go in the opposite direction so the shoulders go back and up towards the ears and forward and down (breathes deeply). Be mindful of like how much intensity you need to stay aware. Some of us are sensation junkies.

We actually need a whole bunch of sensation or we check out. Would it be possible if that your tendency to move a little softer? And still be aware of your experience. And same thing if you tend to collapse. So come back to the center (breathes deeply).

If having any intensity is a little intense, see if you can show up a little more. So the head's gonna go towards your right, uh huh, and allow it come down through them middle, and over to the left. We'll do three 1/2 circles, all right. Forward, down, and to the side, and if you notice, I'm trying to maintain some awareness of keeping my hips pretty grounded on the seat, and moving with breath. Good, and this one, consider it taking a full circle if there's any issue with your cervical spine or neck, just stay with the 1/2 circles (breathes deeply).

And in the opposite direction. The muscles along the neck tend to hold a lot of our stress whether we realize it or not. And now we're gonna do one more seated, so reach the arms out to the side at about a 45 degree angle. They don't have to be high, just kind of extending downward. Let the shoulders settle on the back.

Drop the ear towards the left, and reach out through the opposite hand to the right, uh huh. Keep lengthening through the arms and you might find that tingling that goes all the way down. Consider exploring this space of the neck and the jaw as you gently turn the head. Consider maybe moving the bottom jaw or opening and closing the mouth. I'm gonna encourage you to move a little slowly here, as you play around with like the tongue and the jaw.

(breathes deeply) And how's your breath as you do this? Does it shut down? Can you still stay present? Great, let's take one more breath here. And we're gonna reach the right arm up, and bring it all the way over to the other side of the head, and then press down through your sitting bones and lift up.

Hmm, nice, and arms out. Head to the other side, keep lengthening through your left arm and pressing the sitting bones down (breathes deeply). And then playing around on this side, as the jaw separates or opens, you might find that turning the chin up or turning the chin down, you'll find different sensation in your neck. There's this sharp tender pulling, burning, if it's burning, back off, right. Smooth present, just noticing what you notice (breathes deeply).

Take one more cycle of breath here. Reach the left arm up overhead, clasp the other side, and then help it up, uh huh, yeah. And see if you can notice just the upper part of your body. All right, we're gonna come to standing. So make sure that this space is cleared for you.

Move your chair if you have one to the side, okay. If possible, having blocks nearby might be helpful. I'm gonna set these up at the top of the mat. We'll use them in a few minutes, okay. For now, just come to the middle of the mat, and take your feet about shoulder distance apart, okay.

We're gonna extend a little bit bigger (breathes deeply) through the shoulder and the arm girdle, reaching the arms forward, back, and down (breathes deeply). Good, and again, these can be as big as you need them to be, and they can be as small, and they can be as fast (breathes deeply), all right, or as slow (breathes deeply). I personally like to move with the breath, (breathes deeply) and if that's an option for you, see how it feels (breathes deeply), good. And then we're gonna go in the opposite direction back up, forward, and down (breathes deeply). That's right (breathes deeply).

Up (breathes deeply), and down. So there's kind of a wave and circle motion going on here. (breathes deeply) all right. How's the breath as you do it? Last one (breathes deeply).

Bring the hands to the hips. We're gonna bend the knees a little bit, so this doesn't go into low back. Make a couple circles with the hips, it's almost like you're carving out the inside of a barrel. There you go (breathes deeply). If you sit in chairs or drive a lot during the day or the week, you might find this lower part of the body gets really stuck.

Also with stress our digestion shuts down, and being able to bring some more circulation, we're going in the opposite direction now, is really essential to supporting all of your internal functions (breathes deeply). Good, and then come back. You might keep the feet as wide as they are, or explore bringing them a little bit closer about hip distance. We're just gonna play around with some mountain variations, okay. So first kind of stand, and think of a mountain, or a picture of a mountain, and see if your body can embody that image.

Inhale a little taller, a little longer (breathes deeply), maybe you're getting heavier (breathes deeply), mmm hmm. Consider pressing the feet into the floor, into the Earth, and then lifting up through the legs. There you go. You might even stack the shoulders over the hips and grow a little taller through the crown of the head as if the peak of this mountain of your body is reaching taller, mmm hmmm. And now playing around with the opposite, allow yourself to kind of melt (breathes deeply).

If you have music at home, it might be nice to turn on music just to feel your body move between these two states of being really upright and being a little bit more (breathes deeply) fluid. Okay, and as you fold and allow the body kinda to collapse and bend, you might find that you wanna explore by swinging or swaying, and then as you come upright, yeah, how would it be to take a little bit of that fluidity into standing upright? So you're not totally locked out (breathes deeply), and you could move if someone came and gave you a push, you could actually sway with it. And try that one or two more times, just a roll down (breathes deeply), and maybe a roll or swing back up (breathes deeply). There's not one particular right way of doing this.

And last one (breathes deeply), and as you come back up, trying to find that middle ground between really, really alert and erect and also fluid. What needs to yield to create some fluidity? And what needs to stabilize in order to keep you upright? See if you can feel some energy in the legs, so the thighs should be lifting a bit. And now we're gonna exhale, and bend the knees sitting back into the chair.

I'm gonna lift my arms into a cactus pose, there you go, and then come back up (breathes deeply). The hips go back. The awareness is moving the shins back if possible, and then up (breathes deeply). And with the breath again (breathes deeply), there you go, mmm hmm. And as you stand, try to sense any fibers that are helping you stabilize, and last time, we're gonna hold this for four breaths.

Consider turning the palms towards each other, and making space for yourself, that's four (breathes deeply). Breathing three (breathes deeply). Noticing anything that might feel strong, two, and also notice your breath if you can (breathes deeply). One, come to standing (breathes deeply). Good, pause, hands together.

Noticing the connection of the hands together, or maybe the heat in the body, any circulation going on. But again slowing our practice down to notice (breathes deeply). And then the next one we're gonna inhale, reach the left arm up (breathes deeply), and arc over to the side (breathes deeply). And then peel back up and down (breathes deeply). Inhale, sweep the right arm (breathes deeply), arc over while you're pressing your feet (breathes deeply), and down, good.

Inhale, open your arms wide like wings, good, and pretend like your hugging a tree here. We're in California, we do that a lot. Just hug, there you go (breathes deeply). Now inhale, we're gonna do kind of a flat back forward. Reach the arms out, lift your belly if you can, and exhale, bow in.

Hands might be on the shins, they might be on the floor (breathes deeply), good. Look up, reach up with the heart, and rise (breathes deeply), mmm hmm. Hands down the middle line (breathes deeply). We're gonna do that whole sequence two more times. So inhale, left arm (breathes deeply), and up (breathes deeply).

And inhale the right arm (breathes deeply), and up (breathes deeply), all right. Inhale, open the arms like wings (breathes deeply), set the hips back, imagine hugging tree (breathes deeply). Flat back, draw the head forward, the hips back, bow body in (breathes deeply). Look up with the heart, bend the knees a little, flat back to rise (breathes deeply), and hands to heart (breathes deeply). Last time (breathes deeply).

See if you can stay with some sort of connection between movement and breath. And if you get off, that's okay, just jump back in (breathes deeply), mmm hmm. Inhale (breathes deeply), and over (breathes deeply), back up (breathes deeply), and then breathing and opening the arms (breathes deeply). Exhale, hug tree (breathes deeply). Flat back (breathes deeply), bow body (breathes deeply).

Stay here, if the back is tender, of course bend your knees a little bit, you might even just rest your forearms on the thighs, but two more breaths. Allow the weight to come down into head, maybe more blood flow towards the brain (breathes deeply). And then hands onto the knees, look up 1/2 way, rise all the way up (breathes deeply). Now either hands together, one hand to heart, one hand to belly. Just see what that's all about (breathes deeply).

When we breathe a little longer and evenly, if that's available to us, it actually does shift our inner experience, and it can support more serotonin and dopamine in the body, or those feel good hormones, mmm hmm, mmm. So let's see if we can take this energy into the next one. We're gonna step towards the front of your mat, where the blocks might be, okay. Again, feet are a little wider, or hip distance, especially if the lower back or the legs are tight, or you might bring them closer together if they're more open, okay. Press down though and find that mountain that still has that receptivity of, you know, being a little fluid (breathes deeply).

And then we're gonna inhale, reach the arms up as we press the hands, feet down. Good, flat back, fold (breathes deeply), hands onto the blocks, right. Lengthen your spine, step the right leg back, take the the feet hip distance, so not closer together. You wanna make sure you have stability, and check out your back heel. If the back heel's turned in, see if you an lift it up, good.

We're gonna reach the heart forward, and the hips back, so we're doing two things at the same time. Now on your next exhale, we'll start to straighten the front leg. Straight's totally a relative term in this practice, you might need to keep the knee bent a little bit if your hamstrings are tight, good. And then bend into the front knee (breathes deeply). Two more times like that, lengthening your front leg straight-ish.

See if you can reach heart forward as hips go back, and then bend (breathes deeply). And one more time, this time your front toes might even lift off the ground. I'm gonna move the blocks so you can see, yeah. Keep drawing the hips back, heart forward, and as you feel the intensity into the back of the hamstrings, can you also find something that's easy? Like you might not need to use your face right now.

I don't know (breathes deeply), good. And then step or bend the front knee over ankle, step forward and just look up 1/2 way, hands on shins, blocks, floor, step opposite leg back. Again feet hip distance, and glance back at the heel. Oh yeah, the heel's reaching towards the ceiling, good. Good, notice this side are the hips, you know, as open as the first side?

Or maybe they're looser (breathes deeply), good. And then start to rock the hip, or front leg straight-ish, hip back. Again, bending into knee (breathes deeply). Hips draw back, imagining the heart having eyes and looking forward beyond your foot. And then one more time (breathes deeply), mmm hmm.

Reaching front let straight, the front toes might come up, and then we'll pause. We'll pause for about three breaths. Something's working, your legs are working probably. Your abdominals might be helping to lengthen your spine, but something gets to be easy, pay attention to that, mmm hmm. Now after the third breath, bend the knee over the ankle.

We'll step forward, spine long, and one more time, step the right let back. Again, hip distance. If you need to take a moment to really adjust it so it gets back nice and long, feel free. We'll place the back knee down to the ground. If you have a blanket, you're welcome to use a blanket underneath the knee.

You're also welcome to flip your yoga mat in 1/2, yeah. This one happens to be really thick, so I don't actually need to do that, okay. And now press up onto the thigh, it's an option. (breathes deeply) Keep pushing down into the front heel and see if you can lift away. So we're doing two things at the same time again.

We're gonna reach the right arm up, mmm hmmm. Twist towards your left, and start to bring the forearm across. This might be enough for your body. Stay here if that's the case. Think about the length of the spine, think about the ease of the breath (breathes deeply).

If you have a little more range of motion, you're welcome to take the elbow across. Some of you might even press palms, or bring the space between thumb and forefinger together. Keep drawing chest forward as you twist (breathes deeply). Take two more breaths, if you can (breathes deeply). Something has to be anchored and stable, probably your front heel, your back shin, and something has to be easy in order to breathe.

Good, and then release (breathes deeply). Back leg straight (breathes deeply). Step to the front. Opposite leg, mmm hmm. Take your time to wiggle it into the space that you need it to be in, back knee down.

Again, if you're folding the mat, just fold it onto this side. Press your front heel, press the back shin, and then come up to your thigh. If there's a lot of wobbling, keep practicing, the balance will come, right. And until then, you can also keep your hands on the blocks. Now when you're ready, as you push down also lengthen up.

And we'll take the left forearm across, pausing here (breathes deeply). If you're getting the green light from your spine, from your gut that it's okay to twist a little deeper, draw the elbow down, maybe press the palms together. Steady your gaze as you take two more breaths here. There you go, releasing. Lengthen the back legs straight, step up to the front.

Hands on hips this time (breathes deeply), and rise up, all the way up (breathes deeply). We're now gonna take some of this kind of strength and energy and move it into a little bit more of a flow in testing our balances. If you're got the blocks out, shift the blocks out of your way, and then come back to the center, okay. Just like we've done through most of the practice, it's been flowing, moving body and breath. We're gonna continue with that, yeah?

But shifting the weight now. If we're really rigid, we'll get knocked over really easily. And if we're really floppy, we won't be able to kind of hold the posture, so it's all about finding that dance in between, okay. Let's do just a couple of times, just like we did the hands around the waterfall earlier. Let's do this with the knees as well.

So hips will go back and then lifting up. Try to slow the breath down a little bit if you can, (breathes deeply) and let the body follow. And now this time, the weights gonna shift to your right leg, and just lift up your left knee. Okay now, you can keep the toes on the ground, that's also completely fine, or you can lift the foot up. Okay, so down (breathes deeply).

I'll show you what it looks like with keeping the foot on the floor (breathes deeply). All right, especially if you've got anything going on with joints, you wanna make sure that those are protected. But there will be a lift, so there's more weight on the right side. Yeah, (breathes deeply) and try to control it as you come down or just slow it down rather. Lifting, lifting, lifting, and down (breathes deeply).

And this time we'll pause, see if you can really stabilize through the right, uh huh, and maybe holding foot up or toes are touching ground. Great, and then inhale, up (breathes deeply), and then we'll place the foot down (breathes deeply). Other side, breathing in, see if the torso can stay right, breathing out as the arms open (breathes deeply). Stabilizing through left, but fluid in the body body, and down (breathes deeply). Last time, each side lifting knee (breathes deeply), opening (breathes deeply), upright in the spine (breathes deeply) mmm hmmm, and down (breathes deeply), one more.

And open maybe with your exhale (breathes deeply). Lifting from below your navel, and down (breathes deeply). Stand on your two feet, bringing the feet together, and again if there's any balance issues grab that, grab the chair or grab the wall, yeah. Okay, check out the two feet, bring a little stand upright. Okay, now just bring the right foot in front of your left foot.

And have the toes and the heels touching. If you actually have a lot of balance issues, if this is really challenging for your balance, come really close to the wall. So maybe about like a couple inches, like four to six inches away from the wall, and steady your gaze on one point. Let's bring the hands to the hips, okay. Now, try not to cheat here, and just stand in the back foot.

Try to stand on both feet, okay, so the front foot and the back foot. Now we're gonna steady the gaze at one point, uh huh, you're on two feet, and if you fall, the floor is right here, so I think you're gonna be okay, all right. So steady your gaze, see if you can find your breath again if you lost it. Now we're gonna take long blinks with our eyes. Long blinks closing the eyes, and opening (laughs).

And try that again, long blinks, and opening. Now maybe just test the waters, test the waters, and if you fall, can that be okay? And if you balance, can that be okay? But there will be micro-movements in the body that you have to adjust to, so check that out (breathes deeply). And then letting the eyes open, mmm hmm, and come on back.

For most of us, you'll be surprised at how much balance, or how much challenge that actually is for standing on two feet. So since we have two sides, let's do both. Take the left foot in front of the right, stand on both feet, uh huh, good. Get a sense of like, where's my middle ground? Steady your gaze, do a 1/2 breath.

Now again, long blinks. And then consider closing the eyes, yeah. Try to sense the soles of your feet, and the crown of your head at the same time. Is there a sense of center? Would it be possible to be fluid and receptive enough to flow with how the body undulates?

Then when you're ready let the eyes open. And stand on two feet. Okay, shake that out. This is one you can come back to over and over again. In fact, if you've found that there's a lot of self talk there, there's a lot of either congratulations or criticism, you might practice it next time of just like pausing the brain, or really noticing the brain, right, at what happens, and just seeing if you can be like really an observer in the process of it.

But while we're standing, take one more moment or so to really just notice yourself here, mmm hmm, both upright, and fluid. There you go. And now we're gonna come down unto the floor. Let's come down all the way onto the back. And stretch the legs long, reach the arms overhead.

Okay, left knee into the chest, interlace your fingers around the shin, just draw the knee in. Keep reaching out through the opposite leg. There's compression in the right side. I'm sorry, it's in your left side, and it's, there's a smaller space. So see if maybe you can imagine having more space here, breathing more breath into this area.

And then let's change sides. And then we'll do the same thing on this side into that compression or into that sense of kind of smallness, see if you can breathe more space (breathes deeply). Nice, and then release down, good. We'll take the right knee in one more time, give it a nice squeeze. And then start to rock it open towards the left, and then 1/2 way across towards the right.

And then again, open to the left, 1/2 way across towards your right. We're listening to the back here and the hips, so if the back is really tight, you may grab your block and place a block under the shin or the knee to find your twist. If that's not needed, just let the knee come towards the floor. We're gonna really prioritize shoulders settling rather than the knee forcing down (breathes deeply). In here, for so many of us, we try to manage and control just about everything.

In fact, a lot of this practice has been how to control our muscles, our breath, and that gives us a sense of organization, and basically containment, but there's a time where we actually have to let go. So see if you can allow yourself to completely let go. One more breath. Now you're gonna return to center, mmm hmm. Stretch both legs down, wiggle the hips if you need.

Right knee into chest. Take the right knee open, and across 1/2 way. Same thing here, open, and across 1/2 way (breathes deeply). Rocking the hips in the low back, and taking the knee across the body into your twist (breathes deeply). How is your spine right now?

If it feels like there's kind of a knot in the chain, so to speak, could you adjust the shoulders or the hips or the knee to find a little more room? Could you place your head where's it's actually able to rest? And then as you consciously shift into a position that feels more open for your body or easy for the body, would it be possible to just release and find a moment or two of stillness? It's not an obligation at all, but it is an invitation to just explore what it's like to find a moment or two of stillness. Not trying to fix or change or be anything different, but just to notice what is.

It's possible to breathe here, take one or two more cycles. And then you're gonna return to the back, good. Bend the knees, bring the hips to the center. Take your right ankle over the left knee. If the hips are tight, you're already gonna be feeling sensation here, you might just have to imagine pressing the thigh forward, and dropping the sitting bones down.

If the hips are a bit more open, you can take the left knee in, good. Keep drawing the right thigh forward as you drop the hips down, and then notice what happens in the upper body as you start to work with opening the lower body. (breathes deeply) Do your shoulders get tight? Do you start to lift off the ground? Noticing that upper body, see if you can allow it just to be.

You might actually have to support yourself by opening your jaw, uh huh. Taking two more breaths in eye of the needle. (breathes deeply) Last one. Great, set your left thigh down, take the right leg up. You'll bend and stretch it once, and then hold behind your calf or your thigh, or grab your big toe, all right.

But just allow the low back to be on the ground so there's some stability. Allow the shoulders to actually settle on the ground, and then lengthen (breathes deeply). What's you're relationship to you? How do you care for yourself when things get really intense? Could you just show up and be attentive, compassionate, curious, and really listen?

Sometimes getting into the intensity of our body is including the hamstrings. This is just a little microcosm of how we relate to ourselves on a larger level. When you're ready to release, send it all the way down. Take a moment to feel the right side (breathes deeply), and then shift your mind's awareness to your left side. Notice if there's any difference, mmm hmm.

And then bend the knees, and let's try to even that out. Bring the left ankle over, if this is enough, stay here. If you happen to need a little bit more to work into the hips, bring the knees in. You do not have to stay static in this posture either, you're welcome to rock a little bit. And of course, as we did on the first side, as you notice your lower body, what are you aware of in the upper body?

How's the jaw? Or the eyes? Can you still breathe? (breathes deeply) Hips reaching down, left thigh drawing forward, take another cycle of breath (breathes deeply), and then the right foot goes down, left leg comes up, and again, keep the hips balanced onto Earth. Keep the shoulders settled towards Earth, and then bend and stretch one time, mmm hmm. Nice, lengthening through the whole back of the leg, (breathes deeply) and in this side maybe setting kind of an intention.

How is it that I want to treat my body? How is it that I would want to be treated? Could it be kindness? Or presence or health? Just notice how that shows up, and how we move.

What thoughts we're allowing ourselves to dwell on or not. Take one more cycle, and then releasing the leg down, take both legs out. Now this is a completely fine position to stay in. You can stay here, you can also find all of the other variations for your rest posture, maybe bending knees, and feeling a little bit more containment. Some of you might grab your blanket now, and place it either under your knees or under your back.

So find the position that's most comfortable for you to rest in. I'm actually gonna come up to sitting, all right, but please feel free to stay in this rest. And you also always have the option, just a reminder, to sit up, and if you are sitting up, you might find a wall to rest against. Your eyes can be open or closed as you do this. But this will be about a five minute kind of rest.

So from the top of the head all the way down through the feet (breathes deeply), see if you can allow the body to get just a little bit heavier. You've actually done a lot of movement through this practice, so now, making it okay to maybe release some of that effort. Mm hmm, maybe scanning the body from the toes back up through your head, and again, giving permission to your system to just rest and let go. Yeah, let's take a deep breath together, and on your exhale open your jaw, and just sigh something out (breathes deeply). And now you don't have to do anything, just hear the sound of my voice.

Bring your awareness to your tongue and let your tongue spread and release in your mouth. Sense the bottom and the top row of teeth. Sense the lips and the space between the lips, and then even your jaw, releasing any tension it doesn't need. Bring the awareness to your facial muscles and tissue and let them release any tension that's not needed, to the outer ear and the inner ear. Allowing the eyes to sink back into their sockets.

You might imagine hands that you love and trust very much, and how they would smooth out your forehead and your temples. Sense the top of the head, the back of the neck, the throat, and through your collar bones. Allow the shoulders to release down through your arms, and your hands, and your fingers. Arms releasing any tension that's not needed. Bring the awareness to the chest, and the waist, and releasing any tension that is not needed.

And down through the hips, the legs, knees, shins, and feet. Again, letting go of any tension that's not needed. Sense the back of the body, the back of the legs, the lower back, mid-back, upper back. Back body letting go. Yeah.

Now maybe your inner-self, like the internal organs, any gripping they might be feeling, like in your stomach or your heart, or any other part. Imagine they can release any tension that's not needed right now. Then shift the awareness to the mind, maybe pressing pause on the thoughts. Or as the thoughts come in, just watching them like clouds pass against a blue sky. They come in, you notice them, they continue on, and you're still here.

Now as the body starts to unwind, you actually might be sensing a lot, a buzz, a hum, a tingle, a pulse, a releasing, a shifting, and being aware, and also resting within. You are whole and you are good, and notice right now if there's any part of you that actually feels okay, or even safe. Of course, if no place does, notice the place that feels the least bad. I'm gonna be quiet now for about a minute, so you can just rest in this space of you. And now coming back to a more conscious breath.

If you've found a state that you'd like to stay in, please feel free to continue in this rest. If you are feeling ready to return, begin to bring more awareness to your fingers, rub the fingers and move the toes. Start to stretch your arms up overhead (breathes deeply). Draw the knees into your chest and give yourself a good hug. Offer yourself some gratitude for whatever part of yourself got you here, just say thank you, mmm hmm.

And roll over to one side, allowing yourself to take an inhale and exhale (breathes deeply). Press up to sitting, and find yourself in a comfortable seat, whether it's in a chair or it's on the floor. Allow yourself to notice how the head can rest over the shoulders, over the ribs, over the hips, just upright (breathes deeply). And then bring the palms together as a symbol of respect and bowing into your mind, your heart, your body, to each other's hearts, minds, and bodies, and to all those beyond these walls. Remember that this practice is always yours, always yours.

And you can come to it at any time. And now let's close by just taking a deep inhale together (breathes deeply), and letting go (breathes deeply). Thank you.