Hushed Theater

The show lights have faded at our beloved theater, another night's performance done. At this hour eager audiences have gone home, only family and friends of the cast and crew mill around the lobby, waiting for the companions to finish their after show duties. Tonight you've come at just the right moment to get a peek behind the curtain. During the show the orchestra pit hums with music, swelling accompaniment to the shows emotional moments. But right now the pit is almost completely empty, save for a lone flutist. The flute while a beautiful instrument, requires extra care to maintain. The flutist buffs and polishes her flute, and then holds it up to the light. It shines and sparkles under the light, and she knows that her job is nearly complete. The flutist closes her eyes and thinks of her favorite moment in the play. When the main character sits upon a hilltop gazing at the stars above, as the flute whistles hopefully in the background. The sound cuts through the theater filling it with a calming reverberation. The flutist looks forward to this moment every night. For now, she places her trusty instrument back in its case. Tonight's show was excellent, but it's time for the theater to close down for the night. But before we do, let's begin with a little wind down exercise. Tonight's wind down is a visualization. When you're ready, let's begin. So, just take a moment to get comfortable. Letting go of the day. Enjoying that feeling of having stopped, of having nothing left to do. We're going to focus the attention of the mind on the different parts of the body. Watching as the muscles in the body switch off for the night, leaving the body feeling rested and leaving the mind more at ease. So, starting down at the toes and feeling a sense of the muscles switching off, the feet, the arches all those muscles switching off. Same in the lower half of the legs. Notice any tension being let go of as the muscles switch off, shut down. In the upper half of the legs, any tension melting away, being let go of, into the area of the hips, the pelvis. Again, any muscles shutting down for the night, completely at rest. Everything from the waist downward is heavy, at ease. The muscles in the lower back and the stomach are now switching off. Middle of the back around the diaphragm, the upper back and the chest. So any muscles not needed shutting down, switching off for the night. The shoulders switching off. The upper half of the arms and the lower half of the arms switching off. The hands, fingers, just switching off. Any muscles around the throat and the neck, switching off. The head, the face, the jaw, the eyes, any last areas of tension melting away as the muscles shut down, switch off, at rest for the night. And allowing thoughts to come and to go, allowing...