10-Minute Daily Centering: Breathe, Ground & Focus

Begin your day (or return to yourself at any time)with this calm, centering meditation.

Over ten quiet minutes, you’ll be guided to settle into the breath and the body, return awareness to the present moment, and cultivate a sense of grounded focus and ease and carry mindful presence into the rest of your day

This simple practice is designed to become a daily ritual—an anchor in the midst of a busy life.
(Tip: Try returning to this same meditation each morning for seven days and notice how your baseline calm begins to shift.)

Transcript

Welcome.

Take a moment to arrive.

Not somewhere else,

But exactly here.

Let the body find its own posture of ease and dignity,

The spine upright,

The face soft,

The hands resting wherever they naturally fall.

Feel the simple fact of being alive,

The quiet pulse of awareness before you.

Now bring attention to the breath,

Not controlling it,

Simply noticing.

The inhale rising of its own accord,

The exhale releasing itself.

Each breath appears,

Exists for a few moments,

Then dissolves.

You don't have to make it happen,

You only have to notice it happening.

If the mind wanders,

As it will,

See that too.

Thoughts drift through awareness like clouds across a vast sky.

Each time you realize you've been lost in thought,

That's not failure,

It's awakening.

Gently return to this inhale,

This exhale.

Now widen your attention to include the whole body breathing.

Feel the chest expand,

The belly move,

The subtle rhythm in the shoulders.

Notice gravity,

The weight of the body touching the seat,

The feet meeting the ground.

This is your anchor point in the day.

Before any emails,

Tasks or conversations,

There is simply breathing,

Standing,

Being.

Sense that the ground beneath you has always been holding you,

Nothing to prove,

Nothing to defend,

Only to rest into.

Notice the mind itself,

This open space where sounds,

Sensations and thoughts appear.

There's nothing solid to hold.

Awareness contains everything effortlessly.

From this spaciousness,

You might sense what quality you wish to bring into the day.

Not a rigid goal,

But a direction,

Perhaps clarity,

Kindness,

Steadiness,

Gratitude.

Let one word or feeling rise,

Allow it to settle gently in the heart,

Like a seed resting in soil.

Begin to sense the body again,

Breath moving,

Sounds around you.

If the eyes are closed,

Soften them open.

Take one deep,

Deliberate breath in,

And a long,

Relaxed breath out.

Remember,

Mindfulness isn't confined to this seat.

Every breath that follows can be a reminder that awareness is always here,

Quietly available,

Like light through a window.