Take a moment to settle into a natural,
Relaxed and alert posture with your feet flat on the floor if you're in a chair.
It may be helpful to sit away from the back of the chair so that your spine is self-supporting or perhaps finding a position on a cushion or a mat.
How we sit during meditation can be very important.
We want a relaxed posture with our spine straight and shoulders relaxed.
The head may be tilted a little forward so the eyes,
If open,
Look down at the floor.
You may choose to close your eyes or,
If more comfortable,
Soften your gaze to look at a point a few feet below you on the floor.
Just find a posture that embodies dignity and self-sufficiency while still remaining relaxed,
Not stiff.
Now allowing your belly to soften so the breath can flow easily in and out,
Softening the muscles in the face,
The jaw,
The shoulders and the neck,
Letting go as best you can of whatever thoughts or ideas you might have come in with today,
Just allowing the past to fall away and letting go of thinking or worrying about what comes next,
Seeing if you can allow yourself for the next little while to just be right here.
You might begin by bringing your attention to physical sensations,
Just feeling the weight of your body in the chair or on your cushion,
Noticing the places where your body makes contact with the floor and with your chair or cushion.
See if you can feel even the light pressure of your clothing against your skin or maybe the air touching your hands or your face.
Now gathering your attention and bringing your awareness to rest on the very next breath,
Perhaps noticing the breath as air enters at the tip of your nose or as the air moves across your upper lip,
Perhaps noticing the air move down your windpipe,
Noticing the expansion and constriction of your chest or the rise and fall of your belly.
Choose the area where you feel the breath most strongly and as best you can,
Keep your attention there,
Feeling the sensations of breathing.
Follow with your awareness the physical sensations and notice how they change with each in-breath and out-breath.
As you rest your awareness on the sensation of breathing,
Your mind will naturally wander.
This is normal.
Each time you find your mind wandering,
Just notice and gently but firmly guide your attention back to the sensation of breathing.
No need for judgment or stories.
Just bring your attention gently but firmly back to the sensation of breathing.
Perhaps see if you can notice the slight pauses between the in-breath and the out-breath and then again the slight pause before the next in-breath.
We're not trying to breathe deeply or change the breathing in any way.
Simply let your body breathe the way that it naturally does.
There's no particular way your body is supposed to feel.
We're just observing our body as it breathes,
Allowing your experience to be just as it is without judging or needing to change it.
Breathing whenever your mind wanders and just gently but firmly guiding it back to the sensation of breathing.
Perhaps,
Noticing if sleepiness has arisen and maybe investigating what it feels like to be sleepy.
Noticing with a sense of playful curiosity where it is that you feel that sleepiness in your body.
And then,
When you're able to,
Bringing your awareness back to rest on the sensation of breathing.
Letting go of stories as they come up or perhaps as you get lost into the content of your thoughts.
And when you notice that you've become lost,
Just gently but firmly guide your attention back to the sensation of breathing,
Observing it as it is right now.
When you become aware that your attention has gotten caught up in a thought or feeling or sensation,
Simply notice.
You might even gently say to yourself,
Not now,
And allow your mind to release the thought or the feeling or the sensation,
Bringing your attention once again to the very next breath.
There's no need to judge yourself when the mind wanders.
It's simply what our minds are in the habit of doing.
Just notice,
Let go,
And begin again with the next breath.
This noticing and beginning again is part of the practice.
Okay.
This noticing and beginning again may happen a hundred or a thousand times,
And that is okay.
Simply guide your attention back to the breath,
Beginning again from wherever you are right now.
Okay.
Coming back to the breath,
The anchor that's always present and with us,
Allowing us to return to our experience at this moment.
Okay.
You may notice the urge to move or shift positions,
Or perhaps you've noticed restlessness has arisen.
Perhaps see if you can observe the urge to move or the physical sensation.
Notice if it changes over time,
Perhaps increasing or perhaps decreasing,
But allowing it to be present just as it is,
No need to act,
No need to change the sensation.
And when you are ready,
Bringing your awareness gently but firmly back to the breath.
And if you do choose to act,
To move in some way,
Noticing that you have done so in a mindful manner,
You have chosen to respond rather than react.
And then bringing your attention gently but firmly back to the sensation of breathing.
Okay.
If you notice that you've become carried away from awareness in the moment by thoughts or by the intensity of a physical sensation,
Bringing your attention back to the breath and congratulating yourself for practicing mindfulness,
For noticing that you were lost,
And then bringing yourself back to awareness of the present moment.
Okay.
Let's rest and then continue.
Perhaps you've noticed thoughts of disliking this meditation,
Of wanting it to be over,
Or perhaps thoughts of wanting it to continue.
If these thoughts arise,
Just as with any other thoughts,
Noticing them and then gently but firmly guiding yourself back to the present awareness of the breath.
Let's open our mouth.
In these last few moments,
Renewing your intention to stay present as best you can,
Beginning again and again as many times as you need to,
Letting go of the thoughts and arriving again right here with attention on the sensations of breathing.
Now,
Gently expanding your focus to include the other sensations in your body,
The thoughts and emotions you are experiencing at this moment,
To include the room around you.
And when you are ready,
Very slowly and gently allow your eyes to open,
Staying with this sense of awareness as you move through your day.
