Go ahead and find a seated position where you can be completely comfortable.
As you're sitting down,
Go ahead and take a nice deep breath into the nose,
Really focusing on your breath and imagine it going down all the way to your stomach and then breathing it all out through your mouth.
And at this point,
Gently allow your eyes to close as you take another nice deep breath in,
Tuning into the body and making really any minor adjustments to get into a really comfortable position.
It can be helpful to remember our intentions of both ease and awareness.
As you allow yourself to just breathe normally,
See where in your body you can really feel the breath.
It may be in the stomach or abdomen as you breathe naturally.
Where can you feel the rising and falling as the body breathes?
Just focus on that point right now.
Where is the body expanding and contracting?
It might be in the chest where you may notice the expansion and contraction as the body inhales and exhales.
You might notice something in your neck or throat.
Perhaps it's at the nostrils where you can feel a slight tickle as the air comes in and the subtle warmth as you breathe out.
You can pick one spot to stick with for this meditation practice.
As you feel the body breathing,
Try to stay with the breath all the way through.
Stick with it from the beginning You may have noticed your mind wandering.
When the mind wanders,
It really offers us an opportunity to cultivate mindfulness and concentration.
Each time we bring the mind back to the breath,
We're strengthening our awareness of the breath.
Each time we bring the mind back to the breath,
We're strengthening our ability to focus on an object.
Treat it as an opportunity rather than a problem and return to the breath.
And return to the breath.
Try to connect with your own deepest intentions for happiness,
Ease,
And safety.
You don't need to dive into stories of what will make you happy,
But connect with that natural desire you have.
You can cultivate this intention to open the heart to your own well-being by silently offering yourself some phrases of metta.
In your head,
Slowly and easily say these phrases to yourself.
May I be happy.
May I be healthy.
May I be safe.
May I be at ease.
You can offer these phrases silently in your head,
Saying them slowly enough that you can really connect to their meaning and the intention behind them.
You can now bring to mind a good friend.
This may be a loved one,
A friend,
A teacher or mentor.
Or maybe a pet.
You can connect with your natural desire to see this person happy and at ease.
Just like you,
This person wants to be happy,
To feel safe,
And to be healthy.
In an effort to cultivate this intention of kindness,
You can offer this person a few phrases of metta.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be safe.
May you be at ease.
You can let this person go from your mind and bring to mind a neutral person.
This is someone you see,
Maybe regularly,
But don't know very well.
It may be somebody who works somewhere you go a lot,
A co-worker,
Or maybe a neighbor.
Although you don't know this person well,
You can recognize that this person wants to be happy as well.
You don't need to know what their happiness looks like or what exactly makes them happy.
Just offer this person the phrases of love and kindness.
Connecting with the intention to care about their well-being.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be safe.
May you be at ease.
And as you let this neutral person go,
You can bring to mind someone who you find difficult.
Maybe it's someone you find yourself agitated with or annoyed by.
You can offer the phrases,
Recognizing that this is connecting with our intention to care for this person.
Repeat these words after me,
Either in your head or out loud.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be safe.
May you be at ease.
And let's take one last breath.
Nice deep grounding breath in through our nose.
Breathing the oxygen all the way down to our stomach.
And then letting it all out through the mouth.
Thank you and Namaste.
