Decompress After Work

Hi, and welcome to this decompressing after work meditation practice. So after a long day of working, it's often a bit difficult to sort of shake off the day. We've been going all day operating at level 10. And if you happen to really like your job, you may just continue to keep going, even after the workday's is through. The opposite can also be true if you happen to not like your work. Oddly enough, you may still find yourself holding on to the day's experience. Whether the positive or negative, we often tend to just hold on to our experiences. What mindfulness teaches us to do is to be aware of when we're doing this and without any judgment to just gently let it go. And so dropping into practice now, adopting a comfortable and dignified posture of awareness, allowing the feet to be flat on the floor or legs comfortably crossed if you're on a cushion. Hands resting on your knees or in your lap, whatever is most comfortable for you. Noticing your sit bones grounding on the surface beneath you. The back is nice and straight, not too tight, not too loose. Perhaps shrugging your shoulders up to your ears, rounding them back, and then gently dropping them. And allow your eyes to establish a soft open gaze looking slightly downward, but not really focusing on anything in particular. Or it may be more comfortable for you to close your eyes. That's perfectly fine too. And as you sit in this posture of awareness, allowing yourself to take this next opportunity to just gently review the day you've had so far. Weather it was a day that contained events that you desired, or maybe a contained events that you didn't desire, or perhaps it contained a bit of both. Just gently and lightly reviewing your day. And with your very next breath, allowing yourself to gently let go of this day, recognizing that your workday has indeed ended. It might even help to take a gentle deep breath in through the nose and out through the mouth. And with that exhalation completely letting go of the day. And bringing your full attention to this moment here and now. And just because we have mentally let go of the day, the body may still be holding onto it. So as we now bring our awareness to the different parts of the body, allowing them to just gently switch off and let go. Releasing any tension that may be present. So starting all the way down to the toes, sensing each of them switching off. And now the entirety of the foot, the bottom, the top, the sides, the heels, and the ankles. Completely switching off and letting go. Attending now to the lower legs and the knees. Aware of any tension or tightness dissolving away as they gently switch off. Continuing to the thighs, noticing them soften, loosen, and relax. As they also completely switch off. Letting...