Welcome to the practice.
I invite you to find a comfortable but attentive posture.
It could be standing,
Sitting or lying down.
Settling into the posture.
Feeling as comfortable as you can,
And remembering that if you become uncomfortable in the course of this meditation,
To give yourself permission to adjust your posture as necessary.
To start,
Gently close your eyes,
Either fully or partially,
Whichever works best for you.
And setting the intention now of following my guidance as best you can.
And bringing a sense of childlike curiosity to the experience.
Feeling now the points of contact with the surface beneath you.
And gradually becoming aware of how safe and supported you are right now.
Reminding yourself that you can trust this support.
And gently letting go of any sense of holding on.
And now taking a deep breath in through the nose and releasing any tension on the out-breath through the mouth.
And then repeating this two more times,
Without any need to rush.
And when you're ready,
Gently letting your breathing return to normal.
Bringing your attention now to a sense of your body as a whole,
However it is in this moment.
From your head all the way down to your toes.
Allowing yourself to be present.
Resting in an awareness of the body as a whole.
Breathing moment by moment.
And breath by breath.
Then simply observing your breath with curiosity.
Is it fast or slow?
Shallow or deep.
Mainly from the chest or more in the belly.
Now shifting the focus of your attention to the top of your head.
Noticing any sensations in the scalp.
Moving down the back of the head.
To the right side of the head and the right ear.
And noticing any sounds which come to the right ear.
Moving to the left side of the head and the left ear.
Noticing any sounds which come to the left ear.
And then moving your attention to the face.
Allowing your attention to rest on the face as a whole.
Now allowing the eyes to be still.
The forehead to be smooth.
The cheeks to soften.
And any tension in the jaw to dissolve.
Letting go of the face now and becoming aware of the neck.
And then filling the shoulders with awareness.
Allowing the shoulders to relax.
So not forcing any relaxation,
Just allowing the body to release any tension that might be there.
And as we scan through the body,
Bringing attention to different areas,
You're not struggling to find particular sensations.
Just becoming aware if there are any.
And in some cases perhaps you notice a lack of sensations.
And that too is okay.
And now,
Starting from your right shoulder,
Moving your attention slowly down through the upper arm.
To the elbow.
The forearm.
The wrist.
And Om.
And fingers.
Filling your right hand with awareness and noticing any sensations there.
Perhaps vibrating,
Pulsing or tingling.
And then releasing the hand and switching your awareness now to your left shoulder.
Sweeping down the left arm.
To the elbow.
Forearm.
And Han.
Noticing and experiencing awareness in the left hand.
Becoming aware of any sense of aliveness inside the hand.
And if at any moment you notice that your mind has wandered,
Just remembering that it's in the nature of the mind to wander and to think.
So it's bound to happen a lot and it's not a sign that you're doing anything wrong.
And when it happens,
Simply noticing what is on your mind and then gently bringing your attention back to the region of the body we are focusing on.
Shifting the focus of your attention now and resting it on the upper back.
And then on the lower back.
Noticing any sensations and seeing if you can view these sensations for a second or two with curiosity and without reacting to them in any way.
And then going further down and becoming aware of the hips.
Pelvis.
And the buttocks in contact with the surface below you,
If you're sitting or lying down.
And then letting go of that area and shifting the focus of your attention again.
Allowing it to rest now on the area of the chest.
And noticing if you can feel your heartbeat.
And if you can,
Noting whether it's calm and steady,
Or perhaps pulsing a little bit faster.
And then moving down to the stomach.
Noticing if the stomach is relaxed and soft.
Or whether it's tight and full of tension.
And then shifting the focus of your attention once again,
Starting now with your right thigh.
Moving down the leg to the knee.
The cow.
And shin.
The ankle,
And bringing your attention to the foot.
The sole of the foot.
And the toes.
Noticing perhaps any sense of coolness or warmth.
Moisture,
Tingling or numbness in the foot.
And then releasing that foot and switching your attention to your left thigh.
Sweeping down that leg.
To the knee.
The call.
And Shane.
The ankle,
And finally bringing your attention to the foot.
The sole of the foot.
And the toes.
Experiencing awareness in the left foot now.
And noticing any sensations that may be arising.
Gently releasing the foot now,
And I invite you to notice again the body as a whole.
From the head all the way down to the toes.
Staying with this sense of the whole body for a few more breaths.
And finally,
Taking a deep breath in and allowing the breath out to be long and smooth and soft.
I'm very gently starting to bring this meditation to an end.
And when you're ready,
Opening the eyes if they're still closed.
And starting to bring movement back into the body.
Perhaps moving the toes.
The feet.
Fingers.
And Han.
