Hello and welcome to this sitting meditation.
I wanted to guide a practice that could be used and is useful for us at any time of the day or night.
A practice that we could perhaps turn to whether it's first thing in the morning before the day begins or maybe after a long hard day that we could use the practice to unwind before going to sleep.
This practice is guided from my own home so you may hear some background sounds and life buzzing around but I hope it's not too distracting and if possible we could maybe use it as part of the practice if that's okay.
This practice can be done on a chair or sitting on the floor just making ourselves as comfortable as we can.
So I invite you now to make any adjustments that you may need to make yourself comfortable for the next 20 minutes or so.
You've got nowhere to go and we have nothing to do.
So it's okay,
Let's begin.
We can start by closing down the eyes if that's okay.
Perhaps for you for this particular practice it would be more supportive to just lower your gaze towards the floor.
I would encourage you to listen to your own innate wisdom trusting that you know best to meet your own needs.
Taking a second now just to check in with the posture of the body.
As best we can we're trying to adopt an upright and dignified posture.
The hope is that we fall awake rather than fall asleep for this practice.
So an upright spine can be supportive.
It can be helpful to imagine that there's a small piece of string attached to the top of the head and someone is tugging it towards the sky ever so gently.
It just gives us that uplift in the spine.
Although we wish to be alert at the same time trying to bring some kindness and some softness to the body.
We can do this by simply checking in with the shoulders to make sure that they're not up around our ears.
We'll be checking in with the hands to see if we're gripping.
It would be okay just with the next exhale just to soften the body just a little bit more.
Let's begin by bringing our attention to the breath.
Simply noticing where the breath moves in and out of the body for you.
Not trying to control the breath in any way.
Just simply noticing where the breath moves in and out of the body for you.
Simply observing how it moves in and out of the body.
It's not another thing that we have to do.
Just simply allow it to be exactly as it is as best we can if that's okay.
I'd like you to take your attention and to move from the breath and begin to move down the torso.
Coming down to the hips and the sitting bones and the pelvis.
The hips and the sitting bones and the pelvis.
Moving slowly down past the upper legs,
The knees,
The shins and the calf muscles.
Bringing our attention now to the feet on the floor or whatever surface you're using for this practice.
As best we can we're not trying to think about the feet but to actually sense into the feet themselves.
Perhaps noticing the sensation of weight or heaviness.
The feeling of contact that the feet make with whatever surface they're resting on or planted on for this practice.
Becoming aware of how stable and steady the feet are planted.
How they ground us to the present moment.
I'm going to take a moment now to ask you to take a deep breath.
How they ground us to the present moment.
I'm going to lead a brief body scan and the invitation for this is just to see if we can perhaps relax the body as we move through the body parts if that's okay.
And again just as best we can.
Only doing what we can if it's okay.
And if at any stage something difficult or challenging does arise,
Remember that you have the anchor of the breath to return to.
And the breath and all the anchors that we can choose from are really sanctuaries and places of safety.
That keep us grounded in the present moment.
And we can stay here for as long as necessary.
But if it's okay,
Bringing our attention now from the feet and starting to make our way to the ankles.
Becoming aware of the outside and the inside.
Moving slowly now into the calf muscles.
It would be okay to relax the calf muscles a little.
Becoming aware of the shin bone and the calf muscles.
At the front.
Slowly moving up now to the knees.
The bunny kneecap at the front.
The side of the knees.
A little bit of the soft back of the knee.
It would be okay just to relax the knees.
Moving up now to the upper legs.
Becoming aware of the front of the thighs.
The quad muscle that's here.
Coming around to the back of the thighs,
The hamstrings.
It would be okay to sense into the middle of the upper legs the bone that runs from the hip all the way down to the knee.
Becoming aware now of the pelvis,
The hips and the sitting bones.
Noticing how gravity holds us.
How the floor or the cushion or the chair rises up to support us as we sit here.
Becoming aware of the hips.
The left hip.
The right hip.
Becoming aware of the pelvic bowl.
It would be okay just to relax the hips.
We're going to move up now to the lower back.
At times we can hold some tension in this part of the body.
If there is some discomfort here,
It would be okay just to breathe in and out of this part of the body.
We're going to move up the spine now,
One vertebra at a time.
Climbing up to the middle of the back.
Up to the top of the back.
Bringing our attention now to the shoulder area if that's okay.
Again we can hold so much tension and stress in this part of the body.
Perhaps we can find our shoulders are up around our ears without realizing.
It would be okay just to relax the shoulders ever so slightly with the next exhale.
Becoming aware of the back of the neck.
The back of the head.
Going on now to the top of the head.
Going on now to the forehead.
Becoming aware of the eyebrows,
The eyes.
Noticing all the muscles in the face and the cheeks.
It would be okay just to relax all the muscles in the face.
Becoming aware of the nose and the nostrils.
Becoming aware of the lips.
Becoming aware of the lips.
Checking in with the jaw.
And again from time to time we can clench and hold tension in the jaw.
It would be okay just to allow the jaw to loosen ever so slightly.
If it's okay,
Just breathe.
Breathing into the body.
Breathing out from the body.
Our minds will have wandered many,
Many times.
If our minds are particularly busy or we're on a rough day or a busy morning.
The mind will have wandered hundreds of times and that's perfectly okay.
This is what the mind is designed to do.
The heart beats,
The lungs breathe and the mind wanders.
Part of this practice is just simply noticing when the mind has wandered off into a thought or a story or a dream.
And just simply acknowledge that we have wandered off.
And then with kindness and some firmness,
Just bringing our attention back to the breath.
Wherever that shows up for you.
Wherever that shows up for you.
Perhaps for you,
You notice the breath most vividly at the belly or the stomach.
Noticing how it expands with every in-breath.
Contracts with every out-breath.
Or perhaps for you,
You notice it most vividly at the chest.
The rise and fall of the chest with every inhale and every exhale.
Perhaps for you,
It's at the nostrils.
Becoming aware of how the colder moves in and the warmer moves back out again.
And again,
Not trying to control the breath.
And again,
Not trying to control the breath.
Just simply noticing that it moves in and it moves back out again.
Is it possible to notice how each breath is maybe different from the last?
Some are shallow and short.
Maybe the next breath is long and deep.
And again,
The mind will have wandered off into the past or into the future or into a strange place.
Or into a story.
Or perhaps you even notice that there's a small inner critic telling us that we're not doing it correctly or this is a silly practice maybe.
And again,
We're just noticing that the mind has wandered off into thinking or judging.
And it's perfectly okay.
These are actually moments of mindfulness.
These are moments of mindfulness.
It's in the noticing that we've wandered off.
These are mindful moments.
And as best we can,
We don't be harsh on ourselves or criticize ourselves any further.
We just simply acknowledge that we've wandered off.
And then with kindness and gentleness towards ourselves,
Just bringing our attention back to the breath.
Over and over again,
This is the practice.
To begin again in this moment.
And then this one.
Perhaps you can notice how every breath has a beginning and a middle and an end.
And there's a slight pause before another cycle begins again.
It's okay,
Let's see if we can stay with a few cycles of breath.
Just for the next few moments.
Once again,
I'd like to invite you now to turn your attention to the feet on the floor.
Or on the cushion.
Becoming aware of the hands on our lap or down by our side.
Checking in with the posture of the body.
Shoulders,
The spine.
Maybe it's okay just to deepen the next few breaths.
Taking a few deeper in-breaths.
Filling the lungs.
And then with the exhale,
Letting it all go.
Breathing in.
Breathing out again.
Becoming aware of the sitting bones and the hips on the chair.
The weight of the body.
The contact points that the body make with the chair and the floor.
And then just whenever you're ready,
Bring your awareness.
Back into the room.
To blink open your eyes if you had your eyelids closed.
Just give yourselves a second to arrive back.
Making a few gentle movements.
Maybe stretching the arms and the legs.
Just to say a massive thank you for joining me for this practice.
I hope you found it useful.
And I will hopefully catch up with you soon.
