In this practice,
I'm going to be leading you through a breath,
Body and sound meditation.
This is where we use the sensations of the breath and the body and the sounds around us to anchor our attention and rest our awareness in the present.
So finding a comfortable posture,
Maybe getting a sense of alertness as your crown reaches up towards the ceiling.
You might be sitting on a chair or on the floor,
But really get a sense of your sit bones grounding down into the surface beneath you.
Get a posture where you're feeling neither too tight nor too relaxed that you might fall asleep,
Comfortable and upright.
And start to get a sense of the whole body sitting here in this moment.
What does it feel like to sit?
How do you know you're sitting?
Get a sense of your whole body here right now.
We'll begin the practice by bringing our attention into the breathing,
The sensations of the breath.
The breath that's always with you,
Wherever you go,
Whether you notice it or not.
Feel the breath.
Notice how it arises in the body.
You might feel it in the nostrils as the air enters the nostrils on the inhale and leaves on the exhale.
You might notice sensations in the back of the throat or maybe some movement in the chest area,
An expansion on the inhale and a letting go on the exhale.
Or maybe you notice the gentle rising and falling of your abdomen,
Your belly as you breathe in and as you breathe out.
Using the breath as an anchor for your attention.
What does it feel like to breathe?
Maybe notice if there are any pauses between the inhale and the exhale or not.
We breathe in,
We breathe out.
As best you can,
Notice your breath doing what it does in this moment.
And you might notice that there are things that pull your attention away from the breath,
Distractions around you,
Thoughts and emotions arising.
And just when you notice them,
See if you can gently bring your attention back to the sensations of breathing.
Sometimes the breath,
When we place our attention there,
Can trigger some anxiety.
If that happens,
Then just anchor your attention back to your sit bones resting on the surface beneath you or maybe your feet on the floor or your hands in your lap.
But if it's comfortable for you,
Just continuing to notice the breath as it arises and passes.
Inhale,
We expand,
Exhale,
We let go.
You might notice almost oceanic wave-like movement of the breath,
An elevation and rising on the in-breath and a releasing on the exhale,
The out-breath as you let go.
Now bringing your attention to the body.
Get a sense to start with of the whole body sitting here.
Notice what you notice.
Where is your attention drawn to in the body?
Are there any points of tension that you immediately notice?
And maybe if you do,
Just see if you can bring a sense of softening towards them,
If that's there for you.
Now looking to gently scan your awareness through the body,
Starting at the crown of your head.
Just slowly bring your awareness down through the body,
Noticing each part coming down through the head into the neck.
You might notice the jaw.
We can hold tension in the jaw.
So if you notice that,
Just seeing if you can let go of any tension there.
Coming down through the shoulders,
The arms,
The hands and then bringing your attention into your torso.
The space across your collarbone,
Your chest area and as you bring your attention through each part of your body,
Just notice what sensations are there.
We're not looking to change anything during this meditation.
We're just being aware of what's there.
See if you can bring a sense of allowing to whatever pops up.
A gentle acceptance to what's showing up right now.
Seeing if you can let go of any stories or criticism or judgment that might come up as you go through the practice.
Just see it all as information.
Be curious.
Noticing the spine,
The muscles along the spine down the back,
Coming into the pelvis.
Feeling the buttocks,
The pressure of the buttocks on the surface beneath you.
Coming into the front of the pelvis,
The hips,
Another place that is common to store tension and just notice what's there.
A sense of letting go and easing may not be there for you right now.
No bother.
Coming into the upper legs,
The front of the thighs,
Circling round to the back of the thighs,
The knees,
Inside the knee,
The kneecap and then down into the lower legs,
The shins,
The calves.
I mean down into the ankle joint and then into the feet.
We're just trickling our awareness down through our body and then bring your focus back to the body as a whole.
Maybe noticing as you do so anything that might have changed.
You're just noting that.
Just watching sensations unfold before you and holding a non-judgmental awareness.
Now we're going to move to notice the sounds around us.
Bringing your attention to the sounds inside the room or outside the room.
Just simply listening to what's there.
Not necessarily searching for the sounds,
We're just seeing what comes and goes just like the breath does.
Just get a sense of receiving the sounds.
There might be pleasant sounds or unpleasant sounds.
Sounds that bring up memories or trigger stories and thoughts.
Just listen to them with curiosity,
With interest,
And notice the impermanent nature of them as they calm and go.
Simply listening.
You might notice sounds you've never heard before.
What is the quality of the sounds?
The volume?
Are they deep?
What's the pitch of them?
What's the texture of the sounds?
And maybe you notice the silence in between the sounds.
Just like the pause is between the breath.
What does silence sound like?
And now letting go of the sounds around you.
Maybe notice if your mind has been lost in thoughts,
Thinking,
Wandering.
Just no bother.
Bring your attention back to yourself sitting here right now.
Notice what it feels like to be sitting.
Tuning into the shape,
The posture,
The movement of yourself sitting.
And bring your attention to your surroundings as you start to prepare yourself to open your eyes and go about your day.
Thank you for practicing with me.
