Let's start by finding

a comfortable posture.

This could be sitting down, lying

down or standing if you prefer,

especially if you feel very sleepy.

If it's comfortable to do so, you

can invite your eyes to close.

And we'll take one deep

breath together to settle in.

Breathing in through the nose.

And out through the mouth.

Inviting the jaw to relax.

The teeth don't need to be clenched.

Inviting the shoulders to be at ease.

And the hands and the belly.

Let your breath be at its natural rhythm.

And we'll take a few moments to

settle our attention on the breath.

When you feel the mind wander just gently

returning to this breath and this moment.

In today's meditation, we're

going to practice relaxing and

inviting tension to soften.

So let's start at the head.

One of the things we always do at

the beginning of the meditation

is invite the jaw to soften.

So notice if that has clenched up.

And then notice if there are

any other muscles in the face

that are tight or gripping.

Just invite the whole face

to relax and be at ease.

Moving down to the neck and

shoulders, an area that really

accumulates a lot of tension.

Feeling as though you're breathing

into that tension if it's there.

And then relaxing and

letting go on an exhale.

Same with the arms.

Notice if there's any gripping tensing.

What would it be like to take

that tension one notch lower?

On a scale of one to ten, if it's at a

five, bring it down to a four or three.

Same with the torso.

So noticing the chest and the belly.

What's the level of tension there?

Breathing into it.

And relaxing it on an exhale.

Moving down to the pelvis.

Notice if there's any tightness in this

area of the body, an area that often

holds more tension than we realize.

So allowing this region

to relax and be at ease.

And lastly, moving down to

the legs, including the feet.

Are the legs tight?

Are the feet curled?

The toes curled?

Instead give them the invitation to relax.

Remember we can't force any part of the

body to relax but we can invite it to.

And the breath is a great way to do that.

Just breathing into those areas, which

you can almost imagine that you're doing.

Imagine the breath going into

the legs, meeting the tension and

then relaxing and on the exhale.

Good..

Let's zoom out to our entire body.

Take one deep breath in.

Feel it moving throughout the whole body.

And then on an exhale,

releasing any tension.

And when you're ready, you can

allow your eyes to open again.

Great job.

So this was a short body scan that

included some intentional relaxation.

This is something that you could

do throughout the day at any time.

Notice when you're holding tension

in your shoulders, feel like you're

breathing into it and then relaxing it,

or you might just invite it to relax.

You may not even need the breath.

It is to get it attuned to your body,

to notice where that tension is and

practice softening and relaxing.

It.

Remember, this is a practice, so no

pressure, and it's always an invitation.

We can't force the body to do anything.

So be playful with it.

Be compassionate.

Thanks for your practice and take care.