So welcome to Scented Meditation.
My name is Megan and I'll be guiding you through 20 minutes of Senses Awakening Meditation.
Just finding a comfortable position to settle into,
Just a reminder to silence any notifications on your phone or devices that you're using.
And then whenever you've found a nice comfortable place to settle into,
The invitation is to just close down your eyes.
You may notice that by just closing your eyes your mind begins to settle and naturally draw inward.
As you begin to find some stillness,
I invite you to tune in to how your body is feeling.
Just noticing any thoughts or feelings that may be swirling around and just accepting them as they are,
Just making space for them.
Acknowledging yourself and making the time for self-care to nourish your body and to rejuvenate your mind.
And so beginning now by noticing your breath,
Not changing it in any way,
Just noticing the natural rhythm of your breath moving in and out of your body.
Noticing the journey the breath makes that moves in through your nose,
Down the back of your throat,
Into your chest and then back out again.
Starting to take control of your breath,
Slowly deepening it,
Guiding your breath down into your belly.
I invite you if you'd like to place one hand on your belly,
The other on your chest for feedback.
Just noticing the belly rising with the inhale and falling with the exhale.
Maybe a little movement in your chest and that's perfectly fine.
For the most part it's your belly doing the rising and the falling with your breath.
And just continuing to take slow and steady breaths,
Directing them deep down into your belly.
During the practice today we'll be using different anchor points to rest our awareness on.
At the moment the anchor is your breath,
Feeling your belly rise on the inhale and fall on the exhale.
Whenever you happen to realize you have drifted away from the anchor,
The thoughts,
Noises,
Or physical sensations in the body,
Just simply and easily guiding your awareness back to your anchor without any judgment or concern.
This will occur many times throughout the practice.
This gentle movement of the mind is exactly what should be happening.
I'm returning your hand now to a comfortable position,
Your breath back to its natural easy rhythm.
I invite you to become aware of your senses.
These senses will now become the anchor on which to rest your awareness.
Just beginning by feeling the weight of your body on your seat.
You're just noticing with each exhale your body sinking a little deeper into your support.
Noticing the feeling of warmth created by the contact of your body on your seat.
Your thighs resting on the cushion.
Your back leaning against the chair.
You're noticing the clothing on your body,
Recognizing the different textures,
Noticing how they feel against your skin.
Noticing the air on your face.
And temperature of your body.
You're not passing judgment here,
Just noticing the present moment that we are in right now.
And if your mind wanders away to thoughts or a commentary on your sensations,
You're simply guiding your awareness back to the sensation as it's being experienced in the body.
And listening now to the sounds that are reaching your ears from inside the room.
You'll hear the music,
My voice.
You may even hear the sound of your breath,
As it moves in and out of your body.
Listening now for sounds outside your room.
Maybe sounds from nature,
Traffic noises.
Listening for the softer sounds,
Maybe the hum of appliances in your room.
Expanding your awareness.
Listening for sounds coming to you from far away.
You're taking in a deep breath,
Noticing any smells coming in through your nose.
These may be subtle fragrances,
Maybe your perfume or your deodorant.
Or perhaps you smell nothing at all.
You're moving your tongue around in your mouth,
Just noticing if there are any tastes lingering there,
Leftover from your last meal or a drink.
And through your closed eyes,
Observing what you can see on the inside of your lids.
And maybe patches of lightness or darkness,
Shapes or patterns.
And now taking in the senses all at once and experiencing them as they are in this moment.
Now I invite you to rest your awareness on one of your senses.
Just choose the one to use as your anchor point.
Perhaps feeling the air flowing in and out of your nostrils.
Or feeling the contact with your body on the seat.
Maybe tuning into a sound.
Or observing what you see through your closed eyes.
And just finding the sense that you most resonate with and placing your awareness there.
Remembering that the sense is simply an anchor and not a place to focus on.
Just a place to return to whenever you happen to remember.
And you will notice thoughts arising.
Thoughts are very normal.
During the meditation we are not trying to push them away.
Just returning your awareness to rest on your anchor.
I invite you now to let go of your anchor.
And to gradually begin to deepen your breath.
Deepening your breath.
Becoming aware of your body.
Sitting on your chair.
And feeling your feet on the ground.
Becoming aware of your surroundings once more.
And just keeping your eyes closed.
And in your own time just bringing some gentle movement back into your body.
Maybe starting by wriggling your fingers and your toes.
And expanding this movement into your arms and your legs.
And just twisting and moving in any way that feels right for you.
And then just noticing how you are feeling.
Just noticing if you feeling a little more calm.
A little more connected to yourself.
To the present moment.
I invite you to carry these feelings with you into the rest of your day.
And thank you for sharing your meditation with me today.
