Let's settle in so we can wind down from the day. You can start by finding a comfortable posture, which could be sitting or lying down. If it feels okay to do so, you can close your eyes. And we'll take one deep breath together. In through the nose.

Out slowly through the mouth. Inviting the jaw to soften. Letting the shoulders be at ease. As well as the hands and the belly. As you start to settle in, the breath can come back to its natural rhythm.

And see if you can connect to a sense of being grounded in this moment. Maybe where your body makes contact with the surface beneath you. Or just the groundedness of being a little more present and not so caught up in the momentum of the day. And the chaotic thoughts often moving through the mind. Throughout our day, we accumulate a lot of tension in the body.

Sometimes where aware of it and other times it's building up in the background. So in this meditation, we're going to practice releasing some of that tension so that we can move into the rest of our evening with a little more ease, groundedness and presence. Start by bringing your awareness to your head. Particularly the muscles in the face. Throughout our interactions we make different facial expressions or what we try to put on our best face.

Maybe we try to look happy when we're not happy or we're just responding to people in conversation. So notice how your face feels right now. And what would it be like to give it permission to relax. To not have to do anything. And to not have to put on a particular mask or expression.

As you notice some of the muscles in the face soften, come to a place of ease, see if you can also feel a corresponding sense of release and also calm. As you slide your awareness down now through the neck and the shoulders, to areas of the body that do tend to accumulate a lot of tension throughout the day. Inviting them to soften. Down through the arms, biceps, the triceps, forearms, and hands. If you're sitting down, you can let the arms hang alongside you so that the heaviness of the arms lets the shoulders drop and there's no holding on or gripping.

Just complete letting go. All of this is to help the mind recognize that, hey, you already did the day. There's nothing you need to do right now. It's okay to transition. As the body starts to settle in and relax, the mind can settle in and relax.

So let's bring that awareness now to the torso. Starting, maybe, with the chest. A lot of the times when we're stressed, the breath can get caught in the chest region, short and shallow. So notice if that's still going on for you. And you're welcome to try and sync the breath a little deeper.

Sometimes that just happens as we relax. We feel the breath more in the belly, so you can bring your awareness there, rising and falling of the abdomen. And with every exhale, feeling the body sink in a little more deeply. Every exhale. Just letting go.

Bringing your awareness around to the back region. The upper back tends to hold a lot of tension close to the shoulders. Maybe from sitting at a desk, the shoulders round over. So see if you can breathe in to the upper back. And on that exhale, let it relax as you slide your awareness down the mid back and into the lower back.

Letting go of any judgment of the body, including if there's pain or discomfort. We can meet our body with kind, compassionate awareness. It's tough enough being a body. It doesn't need your judgment and critique. It tends to make us more stressed as well.

So can we be in our bodies with a sense of love, compassion, curiosity, and respect. Body is processing a lot of information throughout the day, and it's often taking on the emotions, the energy of other people, our environment. So just breathe into the body for a moment with a sense of appreciation. And exhale any tension. Letting the body know you care about it, and you're here to help give it a break.

As you slide your awareness down to the pelvic region. Noticing any clenching. Softening all the muscles in the pelvic region. Down to the thighs. Another area with larger muscles.

The hamstrings, the quadriceps. And for standing, his muscles are often engaged. So giving them the opportunity, the invitation to relax. Down through the knees. Calves and shins.

And then the feet. The precious feet, helping us walk. A lot of nerve endings in the bottom of the feet. You might try wiggling your toes just to feel your feet a little more. Feel the surface beneath them.

And we'll zoom out so that we're attuned to the entire body as a whole. And let's take one really deep breath into the body. Breathing in. And then on the exhale, letting go of and lingering tension. Let's do that one more time.

In through the nose, filling up every part of the body. And release on an exhale. Great job. If you feel ready, you can start to reorient yourself back to the space around you. Eventually inviting the eyes to open.

As you continue to unwind before sleep, see if you can take this time to be a little more grounded in your body to be more present and to be at ease in your mind. Enjoy the rest of your evening and take care.