I'd like to invite you,
As always,
To stop and turn inwards,
Letting go of the need to be anywhere but here.
So sit back in your chair with your feet on the floor and let your back be supported,
Active but relaxed.
Feel your body in the chair and notice the position of your head above the spine.
Gently allow your chin to tuck in slightly to lengthen the back of your neck and settle into the position.
Place your hands on your lap with the palms open and facing up.
Today we'll be noticing,
Just as we did before,
What happens in our body when we make that shift from looking outwards to focusing inwards.
But today we'll add another layer to our experience and begin to look differently.
So let's set our intention right here,
Right now.
This is exactly where you're meant to be right now.
This is exactly what you're meant to be doing.
This is it.
Opening up and looking inside yourself.
Allow yourself to soften and let go of the need to be in motion.
Let your body and mind settle into this space.
Now gently take your attention to your fingertips.
Let your full awareness rest there.
Notice after a few moments that a gentle tingling and vibrancy may appear.
Your nervous system responding to your attention.
Your fingers preparing for movement.
Stay with it.
Notice how it changes each time you meditate.
If thoughts have begun to creep in,
Just notice and bring your attention back to the fingertips.
No judgement or effort.
Keeping your awareness with your fingertips.
Just allow that sensation to develop.
See if you can now add your toes.
Spreading that sensation to each toe with your attention.
And then spread that sensation across your hands and your feet.
Feeling that vibration and humming in your hands and your feet.
And gently spread that sensation up your arms and your legs.
And then gently taking it across your chest and your whole body.
Notice how that vibrancy is linked to you paying attention to it.
Stay with that experience for a moment.
Allow yourself to really be here with that sensation.
Now we'll begin to move on to our breath.
Our breath is our base camp.
It's always here,
Always present.
This place will be the start point we return to each time we meditate.
Let's start by directing your attention to your belly.
Find the point that your attention lands on and stay there.
Just feel it.
Notice first that you are not breathing.
Your body is breathing for you.
There's no conscious effort or trying.
It just happens.
You are separate from your body and your body will breathe without you having to do anything at all.
As you breathe in,
Notice how the belly expands.
As you breathe out,
Contracts.
Don't try and change the breath,
Just let it come in and go out.
You may notice when you focus on the breath that the mind tries to control it.
It thinks you want to change it or take action.
Just let that go and let the breath come and go on its own.
Just look at each breath as it rises and falls.
Breath is just happening.
You are just watching.
Body is breathing for you.
We're not interested in how the breath emerges or happens.
We just want to feel the moment as raw experience.
To help with that,
We're going to introduce a tool that we'll use as we build our meditation up from this base camp in future meditations.
Labelling or noting.
Mentally labelling each breath event as that raw passing experience.
That breath event is the object in our meditation today.
When the body breathes in,
We'll label it rising.
When it breathes out,
Falling.
Rising,
Falling.
Rising,
Falling.
Not trying to control the breath,
Just labelling it as it happens.
As you do the practice,
Noting that rising and falling.
Keep your attention just on what's happening in that immediate moment.
Let go of any thoughts of the past or the future that sneak in.
Any judgements about whether you're doing it right or doing it wrong.
Let go of any worries,
Concerns or memories that show up.
Each time you get distracted,
Just bring your attention back to the belly.
Rising,
Falling.
Not thinking about them,
Just knowing them.
Rising,
Falling.
This is your base camp.
You can return here anytime,
Even in your day to day life.
Rising,
Falling.
Rising,
Falling.
A chance to notice that you are not your body or your breath.
There's a you that's doing the observing.
Rising,
Falling.
Now,
When you're ready,
Gently wriggle your fingers and toes to return movement slowly to the body.
In a moment,
I'll ask you to gently blink open your eyes.
When you do,
Keep your gaze soft for a few moments as you land back in this space.
Noticing how you feel having spent this time turning inwards.
Now,
Open your eyes and you can continue your day.
