Welcome to a guided meditation using Pratyahara and four minutes of focused breathing.
So let's begin by finding your seat.
And just give yourself some wiggles from side to side.
Just allowing the weight of your body to spread out evenly below you.
And with your eyes open,
Let's take a few deep breaths.
Inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth.
And taking a few more deep breaths here,
Let's begin using a sigh on the exhale.
Just releasing any energy that's clinging from your day,
Let's sigh one more time.
And allow your eyelids to close gently.
And take a moment to experience the change in light from bright to shadow.
And move your attention now to any sounds taking place outside of the room.
Don't worry about naming them,
Just notice them.
Experience the sounds as raw energy just passing through you.
Moving your awareness,
Try to experience any sounds taking place closer to your body.
Let the sounds take form however they do right now in this moment.
And moving even closer to the body now,
Experience the sound of your breath as it enters and exits the nostrils.
And float your attention up to the temples.
Just release any tension that's stored there.
And feel into the release.
Experience the temples relaxing and melting down and down.
And roll your attention now down to the shoulders.
Just allowing them to relax.
And releasing the tension of the day as they drop down and down.
And traveling deeper now into the stillness.
See if you can hear the beating of your own heart.
And drift your attention now to the body.
And feel into the spaces where your body is making contact with the chair or the floor.
And just hold your focus here for a moment.
And see if you can give 10% more of your body weight to whatever is supporting you below.
Move your awareness now to the skin.
And sense the temperature of the air on any skin that you have exposed.
And observe the difference in temperature on your skin that is covered.
And drift your awareness up to the face now.
And focus in on the point between your eyebrows.
And just rest your attention here for a moment.
And just imagine a melting ice cube between the eyebrows.
And glide your attention downwards like melting water,
Slowly traveling down the bridge of your nose.
And gently landing at the tip.
And experience the air as it travels in and out of your nostrils.
Begin to ride the breath for a moment as it travels into the cave of your nostrils and back out.
And on the next inhale,
Just allow your attention to be carried into the nostrils and settle here.
And experience any subtle smells in the room.
And bringing your attention closer now,
Sense any smells emanating from your body.
And allow your attention to roll upwards and land in the jaw.
And allow the jaw to hang gently,
Releasing any tension that you're holding there.
And as the jaw relaxes and finds a comfortable spot to hover,
Glide your awareness into the mouth.
And feel into the squishiness of the tongue.
And gently float your tongue up to the roof of the mouth.
And allow it to gently drop back down.
And again,
Float the tongue up to the roof of your mouth and gently back down.
And just try to experience any lingering tastes in the mouth.
And don't worry about naming them,
Just experience them.
And we will now take some time to focus on the breath.
And allow your awareness to be carried away with the rhythm of the breath's movement.
You may prefer to count the breath as it moves in and out.
Five on the inhale,
Five on the exhale.
Or if you prefer imagining the breath to move like the tide of the ocean.
It's now time to float your awareness on the breath.
And now,
Let's take a moment to focus on the breath.
And now,
Let's take a moment to focus on the breath.
And now,
Let's take a moment to focus on the breath.
And notice where your attention is.
And if you've been distracted,
Just simply release what attracted your attention,
Perhaps using a little bit of an inner smile.
And guide your focus back to the breath.
And now,
Let's take a moment to focus on the breath.
And again,
Just check in with where your focus is.
You may have become distracted by thought or by a sensation in the body,
And that's okay.
Just let the distraction move slowly away.
And allow your attention to be carried back to the movement of the breath.
And now,
Floating your attention back to the nostrils,
Experience the change in temperature between the air on the inhale and the air on the exhale.
And ride your awareness downwards and place your attention on the body.
Experience the weight of your clothes on your body.
And zone in on the places that are making contact with the chair or the floor below.
And begin to sense where your body ends and the room begins.
And coast your attention outwards and experience any sounds taking place close to you.
And expanding your awareness now,
Try to experience any sounds taking place outside of the room.
Become aware of the spaces behind your eyelids.
And on the dark screens of the inner eyelids,
Start to visualize the room you are in,
Where the furniture is placed,
What colors surround you,
And your position in the room.
And when you're ready,
Gently blink your eyes open.
Thank you for meditating with me today.
