Welcome to this meditation.
I invite you to find a comfortable seat,
One in which you can sit alert but with ease.
So you may find yourself in a chair with your feet flat on the ground and your spine straight,
Or you may make your way to the floor seated on a cushion or a pillow,
Allowing your legs to fold underneath you or stretch out.
In either position,
Just begin to align the spine by rooting down through your sitz bones,
Creating space in the torso and lifting the heart area so that the shoulders drop down and back,
Maybe slightly tucking the chin or pulling the ears back and letting the crown of the head lift to the sky and begin to arrive.
Arriving may mean orienting yourself visually to the room or the surroundings,
Looking for colors,
Shapes,
Textures,
And lights that feel interesting,
Pleasurable,
Enjoyable.
When you find those may be lingering there a moment,
Allowing the nervous system to settle.
Arriving may mean closing the eyes and checking in with the sounds around you one by one,
Not in an effort to reject or to attach,
But just to notice to notice and to ground yourself in the here and now.
Feel yourself in this place,
Maybe the floor or the surface underneath you,
The way it's coming up to meet and support you,
Feel the clothing on your skin or the temperature of the air around you,
And settle into being here for the next few moments.
Begin to cultivate breath awareness so just noticing that you have a breath that's traveling in and out.
Notice it in a way that doesn't need to change.
You're just letting it be the natural flow of your breath.
As you draw the breath in,
You may notice sensations such as temperature or movement in the body.
Notice the differences for those as you breathe out.
And for the next several moments,
Seeing if you can just notice that even flow of breath.
And if the mind wanders as it typically does,
Just noting that,
Not judging it or adding on more thoughts to those thoughts,
But just noticing that the mind has wandered and then come back to the breath.
Come back to the natural rhythm and the sensations in the body as you breathe in and out.
Noticing that this may feel unusual if it's a new practice.
And just allowing yourself to be curious about this practice.
Connecting back into the breath as needed,
Or maybe even another grounding or orienting resource.
And cultivating a sense of compassion for yourself as you begin this practice of breath awareness.
Maybe releasing the focused attention on breath.
Allowing yourself once again to feel grounded,
Rooted in your space.
Maybe feeling the surface underneath you coming up to support you.
Taking all the time in the world in this moment to finish up your practice.
Reminding yourself that you do have that time and space.
And when you feel ready,
Allowing your eyes to open,
Orienting yourself back to the environment around you.
Moving slowly,
Starting into the rest of your day,
And knowing you can return here anytime you need,
For as long as you need.
Be well.
