Find a comfortable seated position,
Resting your hands in your lap or on your knees.
If you prefer,
Lie down on your back,
Arms by your sides,
Palms facing up.
Allow the body to lengthen on the floor beneath you.
Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths,
Perhaps allowing yourself to make a little noise with your exhale,
Feeling as the breath helps to release any existing tension in the body or mind.
Scan your body,
Observing your connection to the floor,
Feeling your spine lengthen from the tailbone to the crown of the head,
Whether you are seated or lying down.
Feel the air on your skin.
Feel as your belly rises and falls with your breath.
Allow your shoulders to fall away from the ears and the face to soften.
As you relax,
Maybe your lips separate and the tongue falls away from the roof of the mouth.
Notice the place between your eyebrows begin to relax more deeply.
Continue to breathe with intention,
Unifying body,
Mind and breath.
With the spine long,
The belly and chest open and the face soft.
Take a few moments of silent reflection.
Think back on the hour,
Day,
Month or year that has passed.
Consider the you before this meditation began.
Perhaps ask yourself,
Who was I?
What were the thoughts I allowed to live inside of my mind?
How did those thoughts manifest in my life?
Feel what needs to be felt and think what needs to be thought.
Breathe here.
Be here.
If you like,
Place your hands on your belly.
Begin to breathe more deeply,
More fully,
Filling your torso with air.
Perhaps exhale out of the mouth,
Making a sound with your breath to help release what's stuck,
To help release the former you.
Take as much time as you need to say goodbye to what was,
So that you can provide space to welcome in what is and what will be.
Allow instead of force.
Be instead of do.
Now return to your regular breathing pattern.
Ask yourself one final question,
Giving it your full attention for the remainder of your meditation.
Who am I?
Who am I?
Without labeling or defining the answer to that question,
Allow yourself to rest in pure beingness,
In complete self-awareness with this question for the next few minutes.
Use your breath as an anchor for the present moment.
When you decide to return to your physical surroundings once again,
Do so slowly and mindfully,
Practicing a renewed sense of softness and kindness.
Be with your breath.
Be with yourself.
Be here now.
