One-Minute Practice: Inner Spaciousness

Whatever you are doing right now, pause and take a snapshot of your physical, mental, and emotional state, including your breath. Don’t try to change anything. Just notice what is happening within you.

Now notice the weight and form of your body. Begin to allow yourself to de-compress by letting your musculature lighten and lengthen. Bring attention to your head/neck joint—way up high, almost between the ears—and think about allowing this joint to have a little more space. Think about your head balancing easily and delicately. You do not have to hold your head up with your neck muscles if you allow your skull to balance. Allow your spine to gently follow your head upwards, as if you had something heavy resting on you that was just removed.

You may shift in your chair as you allow your bones to move and release away from one another in response. Allow a little more fullness into your back and sides, and under your arms, letting your ribs move with breath. As you observe your breath, invite a long, soft exhale, so that your lungs are emptied of most of the air. Allow your breath to return easily, filling your whole torso. If you notice any areas in your body where your breathing seems limited or impeded, think about softening there, releasing whatever holding you may unconsciously be doing.

Bring your awareness to your skin. See if you can notice the sensations of your clothes touching you, and the air around you. Allow just a little more sensation of aliveness. Let your eyes take in your environment. Look away from the computer for a few seconds and allow something into your vision that you haven’t noticed before.

As you come back, notice again your easy breathing and think of allowing a bit more room for all that’s inside you—your organs, fluids, veins, nerves, tendons, connective tissue. Has your mental state shifted? Does your emotional state feel a bit easier? Allow this soft, enjoyable expansion to influence your whole self as you go about the rest of your day.