Come into a comfortable seated position.
You may choose to be seated with your legs crossed.
In that case,
Sitting on a cushion often helps so that your hips are above the knees.
Or you may choose to be seated in a chair with your feet firmly on the floor or on blocks or a book so that the feet can really rest.
And the legs are at a 90 degree angle so that the knee is creating a 90 degree angle with the calf and the thigh.
And then similarly at the hip,
90 degree angle is most supportive for the body and the posture so that you're not straining in any way.
Make sure that the body is supported in the way that you need.
Let the breath flow in and out naturally and observe the breath and observe the body how it feels without judgment.
Notice how you feel.
Take a nice deep inhale through the nose nice and slow.
And when you're ready,
Exhale through the mouth and let the exhale be long.
Do this again to help relax a nice deep inhale through the nose and see if you can do it even more slowly this time.
And when you're ready,
A long exhale through the mouth.
One more time,
Deep nice inhale,
Expanding the belly and then a nice long exhale bringing the belly button back toward the spine to help release all the air.
Return to normal breathing and adjust your seat if you need to,
To get more comfortable for meditation.
The breath flows in and flows out.
Let the breath be natural as you feel your sitting bones rooting into the cushion.
The spine is tall and the crown of the head points toward the sky so the chin is slightly down and back a little bit letting the back of the neck be long while still keeping the natural curve.
Notice the special quality of how the body and the mind and the emotions are this morning without needing it to be any different.
The breath flows in and flows out.
Let the jaw relax.
Allow the tongue to relax in the mouth.
In the most relaxed position is for the tongue to be soft in the mouth and the tip of the tongue rests up and behind the back of the front teeth.
Invite all the muscles of the face to relax as though any wrinkles could smooth from the forehead.
All expression melts from the face.
As the breath continues to flow in and flow out at its own pace,
Invite the shoulders to relax.
Invite the arms and the hands and the fingers to relax.
Invite the muscles of the back and the torso and the belly to relax except for the muscles that are holding you upright.
Let the legs and the feet and the toes relax as you breathe in and out.
If you haven't closed the eyes and you would like to,
Close the eyes now.
Otherwise you may keep the eyes open with a soft,
Gentle gaze.
Maybe gazing straight ahead out the window as some people do without interpreting or analyzing what you see,
Just gazing out.
Or others have the eyes slightly down in a gentle gaze,
A gentle drishti gaze,
Anchoring the awareness on a spot in front of you,
On something that's not moving.
As the mind pulls the awareness away,
As thoughts come to mind,
Once you notice that you're thinking,
Allow those thoughts to drift by,
Stop the train of thought,
Whatever it is,
And allow that to just float away as you bring your awareness back to the focal point.
If your eyes are open,
You can bring it to the focal point with your eyes.
If your eyes are closed,
You can bring your awareness back to the inhale and the exhale.
Or if that's uncomfortable for you,
Then to the feeling of where your sitting bones meet the cushion or another sense in the body,
Another feeling where the body perhaps meets the chair.
Choose your focal point now.
If you choose the breath,
You may want to choose a phrase to help your awareness follow the breath.
When the breath comes in,
You could follow it with breathing in.
And when the exhale happens,
You can follow that with silently the phrase,
Breathing out.
On the inhale,
Simply following it with breathing in.
On the exhale,
Breathing out.
It's natural that the mind will wander.
Once you notice that,
Bring your awareness back,
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
Relax the jaw.
If you notice tension anywhere in the body,
Just gently invite it to relax.
It may help to imagine you're directing the breath into that area of tension,
Imagining that the inhale brings air and space into that tense spot without forcing,
Just relaxing.
And then when the exhale happens,
Tension releases.
Imagine that for several breaths.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
Now bring your awareness to the heart center as though you could feel the heartbeat.
Miraculous breath,
Miraculous heart.
If you'd like to place a hand or both hands on the heart,
That's something you could do now.
Feeling the soothing touch of your hand on your heart and also helping you to connect to that space.
That space of the heart that is wise and compassionate.
And silently say to yourself,
May I be happy.
And really wish this for yourself,
A kind of contentedness,
Happiness.
May I be happy.
Wishing happiness for yourself.
And as the breath flows in and out,
Silently wish for yourself,
May I be healthy.
Imagine this as so,
May I be healthy.
May I go through this day with ease.
May I go through this day with ease.
As the breath flows in and out naturally,
Hold in your awareness someone it's so easy to love.
And with genuine friendliness and kindness,
Silently send the wish.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you go through this day with ease.
Now hold in your awareness someone who is dear to you whom you haven't seen in a while.
Silently send the wish,
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you go through this day with ease.
Hold in your awareness someone you don't know very well,
But you see on a somewhat regular basis.
Perhaps somebody who works at the market or the grocery store or the post office or at your children's school.
Someone you see but you don't know all that well.
Send the wish,
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you go through this day with ease.
Now hold in your awareness all beings,
Those you know,
Your relatives,
Neighbors,
Friends,
Loved ones,
Colleagues,
Past roommates,
All relationships,
And all those you don't know in other countries,
Other beings,
Fish in the ocean,
Birds in the trees,
All beings everywhere.
May all beings be happy.
May all beings be healthy.
May all beings go through this day with ease.
And now bring your awareness to feeling how it feels in the body now without judgment with only compassion.
And still holding your awareness on the focus whether your eyes are open or closed.
Just feel the room around you.
Feel the room.
Feel the sitting bones rooting down.
And set an intention for how you wish to feel this day.
Stating it three times in the present tense so if you'd like to feel focused it can be I am focused.
If you want to feel calm,
I am calm,
Choose your word.
Whatever it is,
State it three times in the present tense.
And see that as so for the day.
Take a nice deep,
Deep inhale through the nose.
When you're ready,
A long exhale through the mouth.
Open your eyes.
Release your gentle gaze from your drishti.
Give yourself time to now adjust to the room around you.
Begin to wiggle your fingers and toes and bring movement back into the body.
And head slowly into the next part of your day,
Carrying this feeling with you.
And starting your day now after having had this moment,
These special moments of transition from sleep to waking.
Coffee time!
