Listening Lounge & Tea

Tucked away in a rainy corner of a small city, there's a place with cozy booths, green leather bar stools, and a long wooden bar where jazz records play out of vintage speakers long into the night. Inside Nostalgia Listening Bar, Ralphie, the owner places a cast iron teapot to boil while listening to his favorite rare vinyl record. And as the sound of muted pianos spill from the doorway and out into the narrow rain slicked streets, we are called inside this place for the evening. Before we begin, let's start with a short 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. Enjoy 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 go. Allowing the mind and body, the space they need to rest. The booths were designed for comfort, an invitation for the listeners to stay a while, and one regular patron in particular is taking full advantage of the atmosphere. Sitting at a booth alone, Yuki closes his eyes and leans back against the plush fabric. Relaxing in his khaki chinos and high collared jacket, he feels grateful to have caught only a little of the rain on his way home from working with kids all day. He shakes the play factory slime from his mind and sips his tea before the needle drops on the B side of another record, letting out a deep exhale in the process. Yuki loves this booth because of the soothing nature of the large...