Welcome to this 20-minute meditation on awareness,
Breath and body.
The intention of this practice is to practice waking up from autopilot and coming back to our senses as we place our attention on our breath and the body.
So we'll be doing two things in this practice.
Being aware of the sensations of breathing,
The breath in our body and noticing that our minds have drifted away and coming back to the breath whenever this happens.
It's that simple.
So we'll practice with an attitude of non-striving,
Not needing to get anywhere or to change our experience,
Just letting it be exactly as it is,
Simply observing our experience with curiosity,
Gentleness and kindness.
So settling into a comfortable seated position,
So you might be on a chair or a cushion or a stool,
Whatever works for you.
So just taking a moment to find a position where your spine is upright,
Shoulders relaxed,
Not holding yourself too stiffly,
This feeling of alertness,
Awakeness,
Feeling dignified.
If you're on a chair,
Making sure your legs are uncrossed and your feet are resting on the floor and just making any adjustments you need.
And when you're ready,
Closing the eyes if that's comfortable for you or otherwise just softly resting your gaze on the floor in front of you.
And then just taking a moment to check in with your experience as it is now.
So just noticing what's happening in your mind,
Not getting caught up in the detail but just checking in,
Is it busy,
Is there lots happening,
Is it quiet,
Maybe it's feeling quite clear or quite messy,
Not needing to change it,
Just noticing.
And then scanning your emotions,
Seeing if there's anything you can notice,
Maybe there is,
Maybe there's not.
And whatever you find,
Just allowing it to be there,
Just being fully open to whatever emotions are present for you in this moment.
And then checking in with your body,
Feeling if there's any strong sensations,
Any tightness,
Just being aware of your body,
Feeling very alive and present in this moment.
And allowing that all to be however you find it,
Just letting yourself be exactly as you are in this moment.
And then when you're ready,
Starting to become aware of the breath.
So just starting to notice the breath as it moves through your body,
It's always there in our lives.
So taking a moment to tune in to notice it,
Letting go of any need to control the breath,
Letting go of any need to breathe in a particular way,
Just allowing the breath to be exactly as it is.
Simply observing each inhalation and each exhalation,
Just watching the breath rolling in and out of your body as best you can.
And as we practice this meditation,
Remembering that if any time,
Any thoughts,
Emotions,
Sensations become too uncomfortable,
You can always return here to the safety of the breath,
Just watching it rolling in and watching it rolling in and rolling out.
And if that's challenging for you,
You can also bring your awareness to the points of contact between your body and the ground.
So being aware of the breath,
You might want to explore if there's a particular place in this moment where you can feel the breath more strongly.
It might be your belly,
It might be your chest,
It could be the tip of your nostrils,
Just exploring if there's somewhere where you can get a real deep connection to your breath.
And if so,
You might want to place your attention there.
You know,
It's easier for you to keep this contact with the breath.
And if it's your belly,
You might want to place your hands on your belly so you also feel each breath coming in and out of your body.
Whatever helps you to keep your awareness focused on each breath,
Staying with the breath as best you can.
Noticing the breath,
Maybe the sensations in the body from the breath,
From your breathing.
And as best you can,
Noticing the full cycle of the breath,
The full duration of the inhalation,
Start,
The middle,
And the end of that.
The full duration of each exhalation.
And the moment you start to exhale,
Middle of the exhalation,
To the end of the exhalation.
And also noticing if there's any gaps in between inhalation and exhalation and exhalation and inhalation.
It's watching this cycle as best you can.
And each time you notice that your mind has wandered off somewhere,
Simply bringing it back to your breath,
An attitude of kindness and gentleness.
It's not a mistake.
It actually means you're doing the practice right.
But noticing that you're somewhere else is a moment of mindfulness and bringing your mind back is a key part of the practice.
Remembering that there's no need to control the breath.
There's no particular state to be achieved,
Nothing to be fixed.
All you have to do is be aware of the breath,
Any sensations you can feel from the breath in your body in each moment.
So noticing sensations of the breath in your body.
And this might just be fixed in a specific place where you're keeping your awareness.
Or maybe you can feel the changing sensations as the breath moves through the body.
Maybe there's a lifting and a falling of the chest or the belly.
Or maybe being curious if the contact of your body with the chair or cushion or floor feels different as you breathe in and out.
Or maybe there are other sensations you can sense in your very alive body.
When thoughts come into our mind or emotions arise,
And gently noting that this is happening,
Letting go of any judgment as best you can.
It's just what our minds do.
Maybe letting the thoughts drift by without getting caught up in them.
And then choosing to come back to the breath,
Back to the body.
No matter how many times your mind drifts,
Just bringing it back with patience and kindness.
And when you're ready,
When you're ready,
Letting go of the focus on the breath and just expanding the attention to include the entire body and the soles of the feet to the top of your head.
Becoming aware of the body here in this space,
In this moment.
Maybe you still feel the breath in your body maybe other sensations,
Contact,
The seat or the ground.
Feeling yourself supported by the ground and then starting to reconnect with your senses.
Noticing any sounds you can hear around you,
Slowly bringing your awareness back into this space.
And if it feels right,
You can start to make gentle movements,
Your fingers,
Your toes,
Stretching your body however you need.
Whenever you're ready,
Opening your eyes.
The meditation practice is now complete.
