Exploring difficulty.
Settling into a comfortable and supportive sitting position now.
Allowing the spine to be upright without becoming stiff.
And the shoulders as relaxed as possible.
With the head balanced comfortably.
Closing the eyes if that feels okay,
Or perhaps simply softening the gaze.
And remembering throughout this practice that you have choices.
You can open your eyes,
Return to your anchor,
Change position,
Or pause at any time.
Doing whatever you need to do to take the best care of yourself.
Beginning by finding an anchor for your attention.
So perhaps the sensations of breathing.
Or maybe the feet,
The hands.
Or maybe contact with the chair.
Or somewhere else in the body that feels steady or grounding.
Somewhere that you can return to.
And just allowing your attention to rest here.
Simply being here,
Right now.
And whenever the mind wanders,
Gently guiding attention back with a sense of celebration.
That you've noticed that the mind has wandered.
Knowing that this is a moment of mindfulness.
Now allowing awareness to expand to include the whole body.
The space the body takes up.
The contact with the chair.
Movements of breathing.
And simply receiving sensations from across the body.
Some may be clear and obvious.
Others smaller or more subtle.
Just being with the body.
And keeping some sense of your chosen anchor there in the background.
And if it feels like it's manageable for you,
Bring into mind a small difficulty.
Something that brings a little bit of reactivity.
But not your biggest problem.
And nothing that feels like it's likely to overwhelm you.
Perhaps a small concern,
A frustration or an annoyance.
And imagine placing the difficulty gently in front of you.
Allowing it to be there for a moment.
And just noticing any thoughts or emotions that arise.
Knowing there's no need to solve it or fix it.
Simply making some space for it.
And all the while keeping some connection with your anchor.
And remembering that you can return fully to that anchor whenever you choose to.
Now shifting attention away from the difficulty.
And bringing a friendly attention to the body.
Where,
If anywhere,
Is the difficulty showing up in the body?
Perhaps tightness,
Holding,
Pressure,
Heat.
Maybe a knot in the stomach.
Sensations in the chest or the throat.
And alongside any difficult sensations,
Perhaps noticing whether there are also places that feel steady,
Soft,
Warm or comfortable.
Including these sensations in your attention too.
Holding your whole experience with kindness and care.
And if it feels okay,
Perhaps moving a little closer to the difficult sensations.
Really exploring what's actually here.
Maybe breathing with them.
Noticing what happens.
Perhaps there's a little softening or opening around the sensations.
Or perhaps the right choice is to move away,
Widening attention.
Or returning fully to your anchor.
Moving closer.
Moving further away.
According to whatever feels supportive to you in this moment.
And now letting go of the difficulty as best as you can,
And coming back to your ankle point.
Feeling these sensations right here and right now.
Perhaps the breath coming and going.
Or the feet on the floor.
Or the contact with the chair.
Just resting here for these final moments.
And as we bring this practice to a close now.
Inviting you to carry this possibility of meeting difficulty with a little bit more space and a little bit more kindness into the next moments of your day.
