Begin by taking a comfortable seat,
Either in a chair with your feet flat on the floor,
Back supported,
Or on a cushion on the ground,
Legs crossed,
Maybe support under the knees,
Or with your back against a wall if you're sitting on the ground for more support.
Whatever position you decide to take,
Make sure that it's supportive,
That you're comfortable,
And you can be relaxed and alert.
If it feels okay for you to close your eyes,
Go ahead and do that now.
Begin to move your awareness inward,
And take two or three slow,
Deep,
Diaphragmatic breaths,
Allowing the belly to expand and contract.
Let yourself settle into your seat and come into right here and right now.
Become aware of your body.
Start at the top of the head.
Notice any tension or holding on the scalp,
At the forehead or temples.
See if you can relax the inner and outer corners of the eyes,
The cheekbones.
Notice if you're holding tension in your jaw.
See if you can relax that space,
Even back towards the ears,
The front of the throat and the back of the neck.
The space across the collarbones and to the shoulders,
The upper arms,
The forearms,
The front of the hands,
The back of the hands,
All the way down into the fingers.
Notice the space across the shoulder blades.
If you're holding tension,
Do your best to invite that space to relax.
Find ease at the mid back,
The front of the chest.
Notice the slight rise and fall of the chest as you inhale and exhale.
Relax across the back of the waist and then into the belly.
Feel the softness there as you receive breath and offer breath,
The space expanding and contracting on its own.
Notice where your body meets the seat,
Either of the chest or the back of the neck.
The chair or the cushion.
Let gravity hold you.
Notice if you're gripping or there's tightness at the hips.
See if you can relax into that space.
The thighs,
The hamstrings,
Space around the knees.
And then the shins and calves,
The ankles,
The top of the feet,
The soles of the feet,
And the toes.
Feel the shape of your whole body right here and right now.
And now bring your awareness to the breath.
Bring all of your attention on how you breathe,
Not trying to change or shift or control anything about the breath.
Maybe noticing the coolness of the breath at the nostrils as you inhale and slight warming as you exhale.
Maybe noticing the chest,
The subtle movement of the lungs,
Especially in the back of the body.
Or maybe you notice more of the breath at the belly,
That expansion and contraction,
The belly button releasing forward and then pulling back towards the chest.
And the spine gently.
Just notice.
Anytime you feel pulled by thought,
With compassion,
Bring yourself back to awareness of the breath,
Either at the nostrils,
The chest,
Or the belly.
Now have the awareness of moving into the center of the chest into the energetic heart center.
Maybe even feeling the heartbeat.
And just feeling or experiencing a sense of gratitude,
A sense of gratitude for everything your body does for you every day without you even knowing,
Without having to ask or prove yourself,
Offering a thank you in your own way or bowing in appreciation.
And then a sense of gratitude for allowing yourself to be right here and right now in this moment.
Body and breath.
And remembering that this is here anytime you need it.
Simply coming back to the present moment and honoring whatever is arising without judgment or attachment.
Simply allowing to be and returning again and again.
