Tune in With Yourself

She asks you to rest your tongue just behind your teeth as you breathe in, and explains that this calms the part of the brain that handles fight, flight and freeze, the part that feels anxious and worried. It's a small physical cue you can use again outside the session.

The opening asks you to bring to mind the circumstances, the people pulling on your energy and the situations that feel uncertain. You notice how they swirl through your mind and body, so that the breathing which follows has something specific to release. You are then guided to blow it all out.

You purse your lips and exhale all the air in your lungs, as if blowing out a candle, until no troubling energy remains. Later you breathe in through the nose, down to your tailbone, and release a sound, "ah", as a way of surrendering and letting go. The sound lets the exhale be audible and unforced.

You turn your attention to what you love: fresh flowers, warm sun on your skin, a favourite comfortable chair. Then you move to who you are naturally, apart from what the world wants or what conditions have made of you: your gifts, grace, smile and talents. She describes it as dreaming, yet waking up to yourself.

As your breath fills your body, you let your spirit brighten in the space around you, above and below, and to the north, south, east and west. It is a way of feeling your spirit, creativity and contributions as large and present rather than squeezed by outside demands.

You wiggle your toes, rub your palms together and rest them over your closed eyes. Then you open your eyes slowly through your fingers, look at the floor, then eye level, then above you. Finally you lift the corners of your mouth in a smile and say "ah", moving forward from that awakened state.