Present Moment Awareness - Vipassana Inspired

Welcome to this guided meditation that is going to guide you and support you in simply being present in this moment.

And for that reason,

There will be no background music.

I invite you to silence your space,

To turn off your phone,

And to remove any distractions,

So that you can simply be here in the now and be present.

So if you need to take a moment to pause this recording to ensure that you can be 100% present,

Please do so.

For this meditation,

It's recommended that you find a comfortable spot to sit down.

However,

If you can maintain presence while lying down and not accidentally drift off to sleep,

Then you are welcome to lie down as well.

Find a comfortable spot with your body.

Close your eyes.

Take a deep breath in through your nose.

And open mouth exhale,

Let it go with a sigh.

We'll do that two more times.

Take a deep breath in through your nose,

Noticing the air as it travels up through the nostrils.

And open mouth exhale,

Let it go,

Noticing the warm rush of air out of your mouth as you exhale.

And one more time,

A slow,

Deep,

Cool breath in through your nose as you inhale,

Noticing the feeling,

The sensation of the breath as it travels in.

Feel the expansion of your belly,

Holding the breath,

Maybe even the lifting of your chest and shoulders as you hold the breath.

And then open mouth exhale,

Feel the rush of that warm breath leaving your body.

And now,

A rhythmic breathing in and out of your nose,

Doing nothing to force your breath.

Just allow it to move in whatever rhythm it wants to.

Pick one part of the journey of breathing to focus upon.

Perhaps it's the rise and the fall of your belly.

Perhaps it's the lift and the lowering of your shoulders.

Or maybe it's the nostrils,

Where you notice the breath moving into your body and out of your body.

Or perhaps there's somewhere else that you'd like to place your focus,

That is part of the journey of inhalation and exhalation.

Concentrate your focus there.

And now I'd like you to bring your awareness,

Your focus,

To the tip of your nose.

See if you can feel the tip of your nose with your mind.

Sensing where it is energetically in space.

And now shift your awareness slightly to the left nostril.

Can you feel the movement of breath in through the left nostril and out through the left nostril?

Shift your awareness to the right nostril.

Can you feel your breath moving in the right nostril and out the right nostril?

And now focus on both of the nostrils at the same time.

Feeling the breath move in through both and out through both.

And now can you see a difference?

Can you feel a difference between left and right nostril?

Is the breath traveling in through the left,

Through the right,

Or through both nostrils?

Can you feel a difference in temperature between the inhalation and the exhalation?

Do you feel any sensations on your nose?

Do you feel any sensations on your upper lip?

Just allow yourself to stay present to that small area on your face,

Your nose,

Your nostrils,

Your upper lip.

And now for the next couple of minutes,

You're just going to practice being aware of your breath flowing in and out of your nose.

And now we want you to bring your awareness to the top of your head.

And slowly explore the top of your head.

Any sensations?

Any feelings?

Perhaps you don't notice anything at all.

Just notice your scalp,

Your hair.

And extend your exploration from the top of the head down to the back of the head,

Around the sides,

To both of the ears.

And then you're going to explore the face,

Your forehead,

Your eyes,

The right cheek,

The left cheek,

Your chin.

Just gently traveling your awareness over different parts of your body.

Just noticing what's going on,

No judgment.

Just acknowledging what is.

Without movement or desire to change or shift positions.

Just notice.

And now move your awareness from your chin down the front of your neck.

Circling around the back of your neck.

And bringing your awareness to the top of your right shoulder.

And you'll slowly travel down the right arm.

Exploring the space between right shoulder and right elbow.

And then exploring the entire space between the right elbow and the right wrist.

And now exploring the right hand.

Top of the hand.

Palm of the hand.

Fingers.

Fingertips,

Knuckles.

Just notice.

What can you feel?

Now you're going to bring your awareness up to your left shoulder.

And do the same thing.

Explore the space between your left shoulder and your left elbow.

Explore the space between your left elbow and your left wrist.

Just scanning.

Being aware and present.

And then traveling the left hand.

Top of the hand.

Palm of the hand.

The fingers and the tips.

No judgment.

Just exploring what's going on.

How are you feeling in your body?

Now bring your awareness to your chest.

What do you feel and notice in your chest?

Bring your awareness down into your belly.

What do you feel?

What do you sense in your belly?

And then go deeper,

Lower.

What do you feel in your root chakra?

Now bring your awareness back to the top of your shoulders.

What do you notice in your upper back?

As you explore from left to right shoulder.

The shoulder blades.

The space in between.

Traveling down the spine towards the middle of your back.

How do you feel?

What do you notice?

Doing your best to simply sit with what is.

Without needing to shift your position.

Without creating a story or judgment.

Just acceptance of what is.

Now traveling down to your lower back.

The space between left and right hip bone.

Exploring the left and right buttocks.

Just noticing any subtle sensations or perhaps loud sensations.

Just aware of what is.

Knowing that sensations come and go.

Now focusing on the right hip bone.

Exploring the space between your right hip bone and your right knee.

The thigh.

The quad.

The hamstring.

What do you feel in that area of your body?

Now your right knee.

What do you feel there?

Travel your awareness from right knee to right ankle.

Both sides of the leg.

The shin.

The calf.

Now the entire right foot.

Top of the foot.

Bottom of the foot.

Your toes.

The space between the toes.

Just notice what is happening in that area of the body.

Now bring your awareness to your left hip flexor.

What sensations do you feel in your left hip?

No judgment.

Just acknowledgement and acceptance of what is.

Now exploring the space between your left hip and your left knee.

The quad.

The hamstring.

Everywhere in between.

What do you feel?

Exploring your left knee.

Any sensations that are going on.

And then exploring the space between your left knee and left ankle.

The shin.

The calf.

And everywhere in between.

And finally your left foot.

Top of the foot.

Bottom of the foot.

And finally your left foot.

Top of the foot.

Bottom of the foot.

The toes and the spaces in between.

Just use your mind,

Your awareness,

To explore that space of your body.

Without judgment.

Just gentle awareness.

Now,

For the next couple of minutes,

You'll simply observe your body.

Scanning up and down your body.

Gently moving from one part of your body to the next.

Without judgment.

If you have subtle sensations or more intense sensations,

Just acknowledge what's happening.

And I'll let you know when it's time to bring your awareness back.

Take a deep breath in through your nose.

Hold the breath at the top.

Feel your belly filled with air.

Your chest,

Your shoulders lifted.

And then open mouth exhale and let it go with a sigh.

And do that just one more time.

Take a nice slow,

Deep inhalation in through your nose.

Noticing the breath traveling in to your body.

Down into your belly.

When you can take in no more air,

Hold your breath at the top.

Noticing how it feels to be filled with oxygen.

And then taking your time,

Open mouth exhale and let it go with a sigh.

Gently open your eyes.

Come back into the room.

Stay here in this space as long as it feels right for you.

When you're ready to move,

Do so with intention.