Welcome to your practice.
I'm inviting you to find a most comfortable seat,
Allowing your body to find a relaxed posture,
Yet keeping your back straight.
And when you feel ready,
Gently closing the eyes or keeping them slightly open on an object that is not moving in front of you.
And let's begin by take a few full breaths at your own rhythm.
With each inhale,
Breathing deeply,
Feeling the lungs to the maximum and on the exhale,
Feeling slowly all the air from your lungs either through the nose or through the mouth.
And when you completed a few full breaths,
Allowing your breathing to come back to its natural dense,
And gently invite your attention to rest on the movement of the breath within the body.
You may notice the belly and the chest rising and falling,
Or simply the touch of the air coming in and out your nostrils.
So simply resting and observing your inhale and the exhale.
No need to change anything.
Simply sitting back,
Resting in this gentle observation.
If you find yourself being distracted by thoughts or sound surrounding you,
Maybe you can use the tool of counting your breath this way.
Breathing in,
One,
Breathing out,
One,
Breathing in,
Two,
Breathing out,
Two.
And this up to ten.
If you get lost,
Start over.
If you go over ten,
Start over.
If you reach ten,
You may start over,
Until your attention is more steady and then you can gently drop the count.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Where is your attention right now?
If you were lost,
Simply invite it back onto your breath with no judgement,
Only kindness.
If you find the muscles of your face to be a little tense,
Maybe gently inviting a smile onto your lips or in the corner of the eyes.
Maybe a smile within in the heart and in the mind and noticing what it feels like to gently smile for no reason.
Breathing in,
One,
Breathing out,
One,
Breathing in,
Two,
Breathing out,
Two.
Here are some words from a poet named Jan MacCrorie.
Meditation is staying present to the whole catastrophe.
It is paying attention to your own nervous breakdown.
It is making snow angels during the winter of your discontent.
And with this open-eyed awareness,
A smile.
Always a smile.
Without a smile,
The bad guys win.
Using this breath,
Feeling your body sitting here and now,
A smile within,
A smile without.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Maybe inviting a full breath and with the exhale,
Gently bringing the chin to the chest.
And when you are ready,
Gently blinking the eyes open,
Allowing the light and the vibration of the color surrounding you to come back into your awareness.
And with your own next inhale,
Gently bringing the head back straight and welcome back.
May the rest of your day be surrounded by ease and remembering the smile.
