Welcome to this grounding meditation inspired by Thich Nhat Hanh's Plum Village traditions.
Take a moment to find a comfortable seat or also if it's better for you,
You may lie down.
Just make sure that you are stable and comfortable.
Feel free to make any adjustments,
Perhaps rolling your shoulders back,
Opening and closing your mouth to relax your jaw.
I'll be taking a moment to feel into your facial muscles and allow them to soften as well.
Feeling your sitting bones on your cushion or in your chair,
Noticing how other parts of the body are making contact with the floor or with your bed.
I invite you to take a deep breath in and exhale completely.
Just noticing how your body is showing up in this space,
Perhaps recognizing areas of tension and not judging that,
Just noting.
Noticing if there is a little tension in the back,
Tightness in the throat or belly.
At the same time,
You could also notice openness,
Spaciousness,
Warmth,
A variety of sensations across the body.
Feel free to bring your attention onto the breath,
Getting familiar with the inhales and the exhales.
No need to change the rhythm or the depth of your breathing,
Just noticing as the air moves in through your nose and perhaps moves out through the nose or through the mouth.
Taking some time to become really familiar with various aspects of your breath.
Noticing its length,
The sound of the breathing,
Whether it's shallow or deep,
Quick or slower.
Allowing it to be whatever it is and paying attention to where you really feel the breath,
As it's at the tip of the nose,
Maybe you feel it most in the back of your throat or right in the belly as it's rising and falling.
And for the next 15 seconds or so,
Feel free to simply stay with the breath if that's accessible.
To you,
Noticing the body sensations,
The inhales and the exhales spring.
Otherwise,
Feel free to just rest your attention on a body part,
Maybe feeling your hands,
Perhaps palms making contact with a body part with your knees or noticing the air on your skin.
And now you'll hear pairs of expressions and these expressions will serve as the anchor for the mind,
Just like up till now,
We were focusing on our breathing or on our hands or other body parts to let the mind come back to this moment.
So with these phrases,
Feel free to just allow the mind to come back again and again to the body and to this moment.
If these phrases for any reason don't work for you,
Feel free to simply drop them and come back to your breathing.
Breathing in,
I am aware of my in-breath.
Breathing out,
I am aware of my out-breath.
Breathing awareness.
Breathing in,
I follow my in-breath from the beginning to the end.
Breathing out,
I follow my out-breath from the beginning to the end.
Breathing in,
I am aware of my in-breath following in-breath following out-breath.
Breathing in,
I am aware of my whole body.
Breathing out,
I relax my body.
Aware of the body,
Relaxing my body.
Breathing in,
I care for my body.
Breathing out,
I calm my body.
Care for the body,
Calm my body.
Calming the body.
Breathing in,
I am aware of my stable posture.
Breathing out,
I enjoy the stability.
Stable posture.
Enjoying.
Breathing in,
I smile to my body.
Breathing out,
I release the tension in my body.
Smiling,
Releasing tension.
Breathing in,
I am aware of my body.
And now slowly feel free to start calling yourself back.
Noticing your body sitting or lying here.
Feeling into the contact points perhaps between the cushion and the floor or your bed.
Taking a deeper breath in and letting it go.
Exhaling.
Whenever you are ready,
Feel free to gently start opening your eyes and perhaps taking some of this release,
Ease and calm into the rest of your day.
