Welcome to today's meditation.
Mindfulness of breath as a way of entering the present and grounding the body and quieting the mind.
When you're ready,
Just make your way into a comfortable seated position.
And that might mean sitting on a chair with the feet flat on the ground,
Finding a comfortable cross-legged position or a saddle pose with a bolster between the legs,
Kneeling on the shins,
Perhaps with some support under the knees or the feet and ankles.
Take your time to settle into your position,
Making yourself comfortable so that you can sit easily and relax.
You might like to bring the hands either to the belly or resting lightly on the thighs,
Exploring whether you prefer to face the palms down on the legs or up towards the sky in a gesture of openness.
When you're ready,
Soften the eyes and close the eyelids.
And just start to take a deeper breath as you allow the body to relax into position.
Really nice.
Noticing here whether you're leaning forward or back or to one side and just making gentle adjustments to bring the spine into alignment with itself so that the vertebrae sit neatly and easily on top of one another.
And the weight of the head is supported by the spine and the weight of the body is supported by the hips and buttocks.
And again,
When you find that centering of the body,
Take a deeper breath,
Releasing any stale air from the bottom of the lungs and from the belly itself.
Getting a sense of having landed in this space.
Just tuck the chin slightly towards the throat so you feel that lengthening through the back of the neck and a slight lift in the heart as you soften your shoulders.
I invite you now to draw your awareness to the tip of the nose or the nostrils.
And just to focus a gentle attention on the incoming and outgoing breath.
Trying not to alter the breath.
Simply allowing it as it is.
Keeping the jaw soft and the root of the tongue relaxed.
Become witness to your breath.
Noticing the coolness of the inhalation and the warmth of the exhalation.
Begin to notice the sound of your breath.
And observe the texture of your breath.
It may be smooth,
It may be ragged or uneven and that's okay.
Notice how the body rises on the inhale.
And releases on the exhale.
Notice perhaps if there is any discrepancy in the length between the two.
Often as we settle and become aware of ourselves,
That inhalation can feel a little laboured.
Almost like we're grasping for the breath.
And the key in this practice is to reserve judgement about how the breath is.
And instead just to practice being the witness.
Being the observer.
And being the body that breathes.
Now of course the mind may well be pulled in different directions.
Filling out forms,
Coming up with to-do lists,
Drawing up memories and plans and ideas.
And that's normal for all of us.
But in this practice,
Anytime we notice that we're lost in thought is a useful moment of noticing.
Because in the noticing we become awake again to our distractions.
And we use that opportunity just to gently guide the awareness back to the breath.
Using the nose or the nostrils as an anchor for our attention.
So without judgement,
Without scolding ourselves.
Maybe several times over through the course of this practice,
We'll notice,
There I am thinking.
And we can label it thinking.
And we can follow that up by just gently and kindly taking the awareness and the attention back to the nose.
Softening completely throughout the whole face.
As we allow ourselves simply to observe the breath.
Coming and going.
Ebbing and flowing.
And in this final portion of the practice,
I'm going to just sit with you.
Marking time.
As I invite you to sit now for about another minute.
And you need not worry about the time because I will be guiding it.
But for this next minute or so,
Just resting in the awareness of your breath.
Really nice.
So just staying where you are in this space that you've carved out for yourself.
Noticing any effects or shifts that might have occurred inside of yourself.
And then just taking your time to wiggle the fingers and toes.
If the palms were facing up,
You might like to make connection now with the legs.
And with the eyes still closed,
Just keeping a sensory awareness of touch.
Of your hands against your legs and the warmth of them.
And of the sensation of the root or base of your body on whatever you're sitting on.
And take your time now to begin to move through the spine.
You can keep the eyes closed but just slowly inviting some movement back into the body.
Maybe rolling the shoulders and head and neck.
Maybe rolling the wrists.
Perhaps deepening the breath as you invite a little fluidity into your movement.
And when you're ready,
Just beginning to stretch and open the eyes and come back into the space.
Noticing the colors and shapes and light around you.
And if you wish to give thanks for the practice,
You might like to join the hands together at the heart center.
And simply bow the head towards the hands in a gesture of thanks.
Enjoy the rest of your day.
