Taking the time to adopt a posture that resembles alertness,
But yet not stiff.
Tucking your chin under slightly to protect your neck,
And if possible,
Keeping your back away from the chair,
Holding yourself upright.
Tuning into any body sensations as you sit here.
Noticing any tension or tightness,
Perhaps around your shoulders,
Or maybe a frown on your face,
And as best you can,
Letting go.
Remembering we're not trying to get anywhere,
Or achieve any particular state.
It's enough just to be here,
Moment by moment,
Just as you are,
However you're feeling.
Allowing things to be just as you find them.
And now when you're ready,
Bringing your attention to your breath.
Perhaps noticing the air through your nostrils as you breathe in,
And breathe out.
Or maybe noticing your chest as you breathe.
The expansion of the ribcage on the in-breath,
And the release on the out-breath.
Shifting your attention,
If you like,
To your abdomen.
Noticing the rise and fall of the abdomen with each breath.
Not trying to change the breath in any way,
Just allowing the body to breathe as it knows how.
And so now just tuning into wherever the breath is most vivid to you.
And then staying with the breath there.
The mind will wander again and again,
And so the task is simply to notice.
Bringing it back,
Without giving yourself a hard time,
Without being critical or judgmental.
Letting that go,
Over and over again.
And beginning with the next breath.
Checking in from time to time,
Seeing if your posture is how you intended it to be.
Sitting here with an erect and dignified posture,
Chin slightly tucked,
Balanced and aligned,
And breathing.
And now expanding your attention again to include the whole body sitting here.
Still noticing the breath,
But also becoming aware of any other physical sensations in the body as you're sitting here.
Perhaps the contact of the floor under your feet,
The thighs or buttocks on your chair,
The hands on your lap,
Your posture.
Aware of the whole landscape of sensations in your body right now,
From the surface of the skin right inside the body.
Sensations of the breath and body as you sit here,
Breathing.
Noticing how you can zoom in to particular sensations in one region of the body,
Investigating with curiosity,
What's here right now?
Perhaps noticing the changing sensations,
How one sensation turns into another.
Taking time now if you like to tune in to a particular part of the body to explore it with more detail.
Also,
When you like,
Zooming out again to include the whole body,
Exploring this expansive awareness.
When we sit for a long time in this way,
Thoughts and feelings can come up and take our attention a long way away from where we intended it to be.
And up to now,
The instructions have been to notice this and then gently guide your attention back.
But now there's a chance to explore a different way to respond to these thoughts and distractions.
Especially if we notice that we are repeatedly being pulled to the same theme again and again.
Instead of bringing our attention back from a thought or feeling,
We now see if it's possible to allow the thought or feeling to remain on the workbench of the mind.
Remembering as we start to approach the difficult,
The breath and body are always here for you as an anchor when needed.
So taking the opportunity now to bring to mind one of these distracting thoughts or perhaps a difficulty that is currently going on in your life,
Maybe a misunderstanding or an argument,
A situation where you feel somewhat angry,
Regretful or guilty,
Perhaps something from the past,
Either recent or even distant,
That once caused unpleasantness.
And once you have focused on this difficulty,
Allowing yourself to really take some time to tune into any physical sensations in the body that this difficulty evokes,
Seeing if you are able to note,
Approach and investigate inwardly what feelings are arising in your body,
Becoming mindful of those physical sensations,
Deliberately directing your focus of attention to the region of the body where the sensations are strongest,
In a gesture of an embrace,
A welcoming.
This gesture might include breathing into that part of the body,
On the in-breath,
And breathing out from the region on the out-breath,
Exploring the sensations,
Watching their intensity shift up and down from one moment to the next.
Once your attention has settled on the body's sensations and they are vividly present in the field of awareness,
Unpleasant as they may be,
You might try deepening the attitude of acceptance and openness to whatever sensations you are experiencing by saying to yourself from time to time,
It's here now,
It's okay to be open to it,
Whatever it is,
It's already here,
Let me be open to it.
Soften and open to the sensations you become aware of,
Intentionally letting go of tensing and bracing,
Say to yourself,
Softening,
Opening on each breath,
And then see if it's possible to stay with the awareness,
Exploring these body sensations and your relationship to them,
Breathing with them,
Accepting them,
Letting them be,
Allowing them to be just as they are.
Remember that by saying it's already here,
Or it's okay,
You are not judging the original situation,
Or saying that everything's fine,
But simply helping your awareness right now to remain open to the sensations in the body.
You do not have to like these feelings,
It is natural not to want to have them around,
You may find it helpful to say to yourself inwardly,
It's okay not to want these feelings,
They're already here,
Let me be open to them.
If you choose,
You can also experiment with holding in awareness both the sensations in the body and the feeling of the breath moving in and out as you breathe with the sensations moment by moment.
When you notice that the body sensations are no longer pulling your attention to the same degree,
Simply return 100% to sitting with the breath in the body as the primary object of attention.
Moment to moment awareness of breathing.
As we approach the end of this practice,
Perhaps loosening the grip of your focus and bringing some movement into your fingers and toes,
And allowing your eyes to open when you're ready.
