Mindful Midday

Find your way into a comfortable posture that allows your body to be still and your mind to remain alert.

Either closing the eyes or allowing the eyelids to become heavy,

Dropping until they're almost closed,

Begin to take a few rounds of full,

Slow,

Deep breaths.

With each inhale,

See if you can find a bit more length in your spine,

And with each exhale,

Allow yourself to soften and settle into whatever posture you have chosen for your practice today.

With your next exhale,

If you haven't already,

I invite you to allow the eyes to fully close as you continue to draw your focus inward.

Allow your breath to settle into a natural,

Easy rhythm.

Notice the sensations associated with this simple and automatic process of breathing.

You might notice the air passing through your nostrils,

The coolness on the inhale,

Gentle warmth on the exhale.

You might notice the sensation of the breath filling the lungs,

The expansion and contraction of your rib cage,

The rise and fall of your chest and your belly,

Or perhaps you tune into the flow of all of these things happening at one time.

The goal of this practice is to pay attention to the breathing without trying to control it in any way.

Noticing here where your thoughts are and remembering that it is not uncommon for the mind to get distracted by other things,

Especially when we're taking time away from the rest of our day to simply sit quietly.

If you find that a thought has come up and carried you off on a mental tangent,

Simply notice what happened and gently bring your thoughts right back here to your practice.

Doing so without judgment and perhaps even with a sense of satisfaction that you are able to notice the moment of distraction and redirect your attention to your practice.

When you're ready,

Allow your next breath to be a little bit deeper,

Reconnecting with any sounds or smells from your surroundings.

If you'd like,

You can gently wiggle your fingers,

Your toes,

Perhaps finding a nice easy stretch,

And eventually blinking your eyes open,

Finding yourself fully back and ready to take on the rest of your day.