Hey,
I'm Ali and welcome to this short practice in everyday mindfulness.
This is an incredible way to bring awareness and presence to something that you're already doing.
It could be a whole variety of things,
You know,
You could be on your own with others,
You could be in a dancing,
Taking a shower,
Doing some housework,
Tendering to the garden.
So you could be doing pretty much anything,
But there is a caveat here,
Just make sure you're not operating machinery or driving a car because your well-being is paramount and we want to focus on those things.
Yeah,
But other than that,
If you're going to be safe,
You can be doing absolutely anything.
So take this recording to whatever it is that you want to do and whatever you've chosen,
You can treat it as a few gentle moments of awareness.
So we're removing that doing aspect or something,
A task that you need to complete and we're shifting the focus into a being perspective.
A chance to reconnect with yourself in the present moment and what a lovely skill that is.
Let's begin by taking a few easy breaths.
Again,
No need to force or control,
Taking your time,
Noticing your breath,
Maybe feeling the rhythm of your breath as an anchor to your here and now.
That's right.
And you could invite your body to soften,
Maybe your shoulders to relax,
If that feels good to you.
And continuing with what you're doing,
Begin to bring awareness to your body.
Begin noticing how your body is right now and feeling how it is to be connected to the ground in whichever way that you are.
For instance,
If you're walking,
You can feel your feet touching the ground.
Or if you're sitting or lying,
You may just give a little wiggle and feel all those points of contact where your body meets the support beneath you.
And then you can begin to notice how your body moves.
Maybe it's not moving very much or moving a little bit too much.
Maybe it's moving lots.
Are your movements soft and easy?
Or you may notice that edgy,
Maybe repetitive.
And can you soften into what you're doing,
Not rushing or forcing but allowing your movements to unfold naturally,
One movement blending into the next.
Notice any sensations.
You know,
Is your body noticing the temperature or the texture of the fabric around you?
Let all this awareness draw you more deeply into this present moment with your activity.
And maybe smiling at your body and thanking it for all it does for you before engaging in the senses.
Sight,
Hearing,
Touch,
Smell.
What's the sounds around you?
If you're in a busy place,
There may be voices in the background,
In the foreground,
Cars,
Birds.
You may hear the gentle hum of a bus or a train in the background.
And this will be different for all of us because we're all doing different things,
Right?
And are there any scents that you can smell at the moment?
And maybe if you're in a cafe,
There's the smell of coffee and cake.
Or if you're in the garden or in a field,
You may be smelling the smell of freshly cut grass or flowers.
And sensations here.
If you're washing dishes,
For instance,
Maybe it's the warmth of the water or the sound of it flowing.
Or you may notice even the bubbles shining through your hands.
If you're walking,
Perhaps you notice the rhythm of your steps or the breeze on your skin.
If you're gardening,
Maybe it's the texture of the soil or the smell of the earth.
Whatever your situation,
Let the sensory detail be your meditation.
There's no need to analyze or label it.
Just feeling and noticing.
So again,
We'll move on.
And so you can say thank you to your senses for engaging in this exercise before you notice your mind,
Your crazily wonderful,
Incredible mind.
You know,
From time to time,
You may notice your mind wander.
You may even be thinking,
What on earth am I doing?
Or you could be planning,
Remembering,
Judging,
Judging how you're doing.
Yeah,
And this is completely normal.
What you're doing is noticing the thinking and how your mind can quite easily pick up on stories,
Moving from one thing to the next.
And when it happens,
As it will,
Gently acknowledge it,
Maybe giving it a label even.
Thinking,
Planning,
Wondering,
Worrying.
A whole host of different places your mind can take you to.
Before guiding your attention back to what's happening right now,
Right in this moment.
Feel your way back to bringing your mental focus to the feelings of your body,
The movement,
The sound,
And the breath.
And each time you come back to your body,
To this moment,
To the present,
You are strengthening your capacity to be here.
You're becoming more resilient,
More focused,
And more steady,
More balanced.
So we're going to close now.
So as you take these final moments of this mindfulness practice,
Congratulate yourself for doing this.
It's pretty awesome,
Right?
And maybe take a moment to pause and say,
Yeah,
I've done this now.
I'm beginning to get what mindfulness is all about.
And feel your body and breath within you.
Maybe something feels different from before,
And maybe it doesn't.
Mindfulness isn't about achieving a special state or being present.
It's bringing awareness and compassion and gentleness to all your ordinary moments so you can enjoy and fully engage with what it is to be human.
Thank you so much for taking this time to practice,
And I will see you next time.
Namaste,
Have a good day,
And thank you for listening.
