Bring your body to a comfortable seat on the floor or on a chair,
Or you could even practice this standing.
Feel the sit bones connected to the earth and ground down evenly through each side.
From this stable base,
Allow the spine to follow its natural curve.
Open the shoulders,
Relax the chest open,
Tuck the chin slightly and then grow the crown tall.
And as you feel your body connected to the surface beneath you,
Have this sense of landing.
Landing into your body,
Ready for your practice.
Now begin to bring the attention inwards towards your breath,
Without changing or controlling the breath,
Just notice how you're breathing.
Notice the pace of the breath.
Is it moving fast or slow?
Notice the quality of the breath.
Is it deep or shallow?
And then bring your awareness to your thoughts.
Notice the speed of your thoughts.
The quality of your thoughts.
And see if you can observe them without judgement or without going into narrative or story.
And then bring your awareness to your body.
What sensations can you feel in your body?
Check in with your stomach,
Your chest.
Is there gripping or tightness?
Notice if there's any tension in the shoulders or the hips.
And check in with the whole body.
And then take all three together,
Your breath,
Your thoughts,
The feelings in your body.
And ask yourself,
How am I feeling now?
Is there a fatigue?
A low mood?
An apathy?
Perhaps an anxiousness?
Buzzing?
Or restlessness?
Observe what comes up without judgement,
Without grasping and without pushing away.
And from this place of awareness,
See if you can gather what the body needs.
Does it want movement?
Is it seeking stillness?
Is it yearning for connection?
And can you give the body what it needs?
Even if it's in some small way.
Even if it means changing your plans for the rest of the day.
And not from a place of fixing yourself.
Rather,
From a place of nourishing yourself with your own body wisdom.
And from this place of embodied awareness,
You can carry on with the rest of your day.
