This is an eight-minute guided meditation to help us connect to our breath and practice with the breath as an anchor to bring us to this moment here and now.
Let's start by finding a comfortable position,
Relaxed,
Yet alert.
That can be seated or laying down,
Standing,
Or walking slowly can be more supportive if we're feeling tired or fidgety.
And maybe closing the eyes to shut out the external stimulation.
Or we can keep our eyes open if that feels better.
Maybe looking towards the ground.
Following our own personal needs is what's always best.
And anything I share in this meditation is always an invitation.
Try it out,
Take what feels right,
And make any adjustments that are needed.
This is all about trusting our wisdom,
So please don't do anything that doesn't feel safe or supportive right now.
Inviting us to start by moving the body a little to help it get settled,
Especially if there's some feelings of tension or restlessness.
Maybe rolling the shoulders,
Shrugging them up by the ears a few times and dropping them.
Or moving the neck slowly from side to side.
Or maybe rolling the wrists and ankles.
And then settling in,
Noticing if there are any areas of tension left that want to relax.
If there is tension,
Restlessness,
Tiredness,
Or whatever feelings and sensations are here right now,
It is okay.
That's exactly where we can start this practice today.
I invite us to start connecting to the breath by taking a few deep breaths in and out.
Maybe adding a sigh on a few of those out breaths.
Perhaps starting to lengthen the breath out a bit so that the out breath is a little bit longer than the breath in.
Noticing if the breath helps to slow things down a bit,
Helping us feel a bit more relaxed.
And now returning to our regular breathing,
Allowing the breath to move at its own natural pace without needing to do anything.
Noticing the breath moving in and out of the nose or mouth,
Feeling the air pass through.
Where is it easiest to feel the breath?
Maybe the nose,
The chest,
Throat,
Or belly.
Expanding and contracting.
Wherever it feels most enjoyable,
We can rest our attention there.
And if it's hard to feel the breath,
There's an option to rest a hand on the belly or chest to feel it moving.
Noticing if there's any struggle here.
If so,
We have the option to shift our attention away from the breath for a bit to a different anchor,
Like sound.
Noticing what feels helpful right now.
And it's completely normal for the mind to wander or get distracted,
Maybe by the sounds in the area or an uncomfortable sensation in the body,
Or maybe planning what we're going to do this evening or tomorrow.
In this moment,
We can just pause and notice,
Oh,
The mind is thinking about something else.
It's wandered off.
And we can use this as a gentle invitation to come back to the breath,
Helping us return home to right here,
Right now.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Before we end this practice,
I'll share this quote by Well.
In a world full of doing,
Doing,
Doing,
It's important to take a moment to just breathe,
To just be.
In a world full of doing,
Doing,
Doing,
It's important to take a moment to just breathe,
To just be.
When you're ready,
Slowly coming back into the room,
Opening the eyes if they were closed,
Looking around the room for a moment and reorienting.
Thank you for this practice.
