If you like,
You can take a moment before we get settled in to move your body in any way that feels helpful.
Stretching,
Adjusting your clothing or the cushion of your chair.
And then giving yourself permission to find a posture that feels good for your body right now.
You might choose to stand up,
Lay down,
Or sit where you are or in a different spot.
Remember that over the next 10 minutes,
If you feel the need to move,
You're welcome to.
You might notice your discomfort for a time,
Maybe for a few breaths,
And then move mindfully.
Once you've found your posture,
Notice if your shoulders could relax a little bit more or if you could soften the muscles in your face.
You might find it helpful to take in a couple of deep,
Full breaths,
Filling your lungs,
Feeling your body expand,
And allowing yourself on the exhale to settle into your seat or feeling your feet on the floor.
I'll invite you now to bring a curious attention to your breathing,
To your relaxed,
Natural cycle of breath.
Where can you feel your breath most easily or most pleasantly right now?
You might notice a gentle rise and fall in your chest or belly or a subtle cooling sensation at the nostrils when you inhale or maybe a tickling at the back of the throat.
If it's hard to sense your breath,
It might be helpful to place a hand on your belly or your lower rib cage and feel your hand rise and fall like the waves in the ocean.
Continually guiding your attention,
Gently back to your breath.
You might experiment with counting your breaths,
Maybe from one to ten and then backwards.
Or you might invite the gentle whisper of,
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
Noticing with curiosity how distraction arises in various forms,
Maybe through thoughts or sounds.
And how each time we notice this,
We can guide ourselves with kindness,
With patience,
Gently back to our breathing.
This breath right here.
Noticing again after a time when the mind wanders away.
And noticing how as you become aware of the distraction,
You can once again kindly,
Patiently bring your attention back to the next breath.
.
As you continue to pay attention to your breathing,
Focusing on that one spot where you can feel your breath most easily,
You might begin to notice how your breathing changes over time.
That the breath becomes deeper or maybe more shallow.
That the length of your inhale and your exhale are a little different from one another.
You might notice a pause between the two halves of your breath.
In and out.
This breath right here.
In this moment.
And this breath.
And this one.
.
As Thich Nhat Hanh might say,
I breathe and I know that I am breathing.
Breathing is what is happening.
.
.
