Opening and Grounding

In this episode we will begin our practice with opening and grounding. So if you can find your seat, get comfortable, feel the weight of your legs, feel your sit bones making contact with the cushion, feel your hands, the weight of the arms, feel your chest, the rising and falling of the breath, feel your belly and the soft wave of breath. Now bring your attention to the nape of your neck and ever so slightly tip your chin down so that your inner gaze is pointing down and feel as if there is a string attaching from the top of your head up to the sky. It's a very subtle sensation of lifting from the crown of your head so we feel the grounding of our seat, the descending gravitational pull, comfort of our presence on the planet and that subtle lifting from the top of the head the ascending and the descending pulls. For 21 breaths we're going to engage a gentle rocking technique. On the inhale arch the back 21 and exhale back to neutral 20. Inhale 19 and exhale 18. Inhale 17 and exhale 16. Inhale 15 exhale 14. Inhale 13 exhale 12. Inhale 11 exhale 10. Inhale 8 exhale 7. Inhale 6 exhale 5. Inhale 4 exhale 3. Inhale 2 exhale 1. Deep inhale and deep exhale. Now gently open the eyes and feel your gaze soft. Feel the rising and falling of your breath. Feel the weight of your hands and your arms as they rest on your legs. The softening of your belly, the grounding of your sit bones into the earth, the softening of your shoulders, the elongation of your neck and the slight downcast of your gaze. Feeling the breath at the nostrils or in the belly. Noticing whatever sensations are present, whether that be sound or light.

Noticing any physical sensations and coming back to your seat and the sensation of the breath. If a thought arises simply notice it and return to your seat. You can close the eyes to bring your attention back into the body. Feeling again the grounding of your seat, the softening of your belly, the stability of your spine, the softening and opening of your chest, the relaxation of your shoulders, the elongation of your neck and that ever so slight tipping of the head forward, subtle arching, the weight of your arms as they rest on your thighs. Feeling the support of the earth underneath you, feeling the strength of your back, feeling the softness of your front, feeling the openness of your mind. Again softly open the eyes, resting your attention a few feet in front of you and finding the breath again. Noticing if there's any tension in the body, in the jaw, in the throat, in the chest and simply noticing the sensation of that tension without judgment just the sensation. That simple noticing allows a relaxation and integration and a return to the breath.

Now bring your gaze a little further in front of you, taking in a little more of the room without looking directly at any object, just noticing in your peripheral vision the space in the room and then bring your gaze forward, looking straight into space, relaxing your whole body as you blend your attention with your environment. Namaste.