Firstly,
Before you do anything at all,
Maybe you need to wriggle or shake off some fidgets.
Maybe you need to place a cushion at your back or lie down flat.
Whether you're sitting or lying,
Make sure that you're supported in all the places that might feel a little uncomfortable right now.
Allow your bones to get heavier in your body and settle into the place that you are on this earth right now.
When you have completed the last few bits of movement,
Then embrace the stillness.
Scan through the body from your feet,
Through the legs,
Hips,
Back,
Chest,
Shoulders,
Arms and hands and just notice if anywhere is holding tension.
Release it.
Let it go.
Take a deep breath in through your nose and out through your mouth.
In through your nose,
Out through your mouth.
One more time.
This time,
When you inhale,
Holding the breath at the top,
Letting it permeate,
Letting it cook.
And then opening the mouth,
Sighing out with an audible sigh,
The other shoulders get heavier,
Drawing down towards the earth.
Feel your head resting back on the earth if you're lying down or just feel the upper back supporting the whole upper body if you're sitting.
Make sure there's no tension in your body.
You are embracing this moment,
This brief moment in your day to embrace the experience of yourself living this life.
You are embracing a moment in time where you are not distracted by the outside world,
Where you are tuned inwards,
Assessing,
Accepting and loving yourself.
If it feels comfortable in your body today,
Close your eyes.
If you haven't already done so,
Then close your eyes.
Notice the sounds around you,
The distractions that are trying to pull you away,
People,
Traffic,
Activity and life around you.
Notice maybe the colours dancing behind your eyelids,
Shapes,
Perhaps intercepted by images floating past,
Perhaps swallowing,
Coating your throat and noticing if there's any residual taste left in the mouth from earlier today.
Take a breath in through your nose and just notice as you inhale and exhale now through the nose if there's any faint smell in the area.
Your laundry detergent,
Some perfume,
Flowers in the corner or the candle that you've lit for your meditation.
Notice where your hands are,
Perhaps moving them slightly so that they can rest more,
Maybe turning the palms up,
A gesture receptive to this time that you have gifted yourself.
Feeling your whole body truly resting for this brief moment today,
Embracing this time by fully surrendering yourself into the chair,
Into the floor,
Into this moment.
Everything can wait.
Now that we have chosen to be here,
We can now hone our attention a little more finitely to our presence,
Breathing in through the nose and out through the nose.
I want you to trace your breath now just for a few moments of silence,
Experiencing what it's like to just experience yourself.
Noticing that rise and fall of the chest with the inhale and exhale through the nose.
Coming back to notice the breath,
To feel it move the body,
That body-breath connection.
Maybe deepening for the last few breaths,
That delicious drinking in of the air,
And the releasing of it out as you exhale.
A little deeper each time,
This short pause in your day to truly feel your aliveness,
To experience your you-ness.
This time has now come to an end.
Getting ready to step forward back into your day,
A little more presence from this short time.
Tuning out of the exterior to tune into the interior,
To the abundance,
To that deep well of you.
Moving slowly,
Maybe removing the arms and fingers,
Yawning,
Maybe looking around you gently,
Letting those eyes flutter open.
Coming back into your space,
Intentionally stepping forward into your day.
