Welcome to the sitting meditation practice.
Take this time for yourself with compassion and kindness.
In this practice,
We'll begin by focusing on the breath,
Then gently notice the body sensations and finally open awareness to thoughts as they arise.
Let's start by adopting an upright sitting position.
Gently place your arm on your thigh or knee.
Relax your shoulder.
Soften your neck.
When you are ready,
You can gently close your eyes or soften your gaze.
Let's begin with three deep breaths.
Slowly breathe in and slowly breathe out.
Again,
Breathe in then slowly breathe out.
One last time,
A deep breath in and slowly breathe out.
Now,
Allow the breath to return to its natural rhythm.
Let's bring our attention to the breath,
Noticing the natural rhythm of air flowing in and out at the nostril and the space above the upper lip.
You may also observe the breath deep in the belly,
Feeling the abdomen gently expand on the in-breath and fall back on the out-breath.
There's no need to control or change the breath.
Simply allow the breath to be as it is,
Resting in awareness.
Continue noticing each in-breath and out-breath.
From time to time,
The mind may wander into thoughts,
Into the past or the future.
When you notice your attention has drifted from the breath,
Gently and without judgment,
Guiding your attention back to the breathing.
As you maintain awareness of the breath,
Expand your attention to include the whole body.
Feel the body from head to toe,
Becoming aware of any sensation that arise.
Stay here with whatever feeling or sensation arise,
Without judging.
Without reacting.
Simply being full present,
Fully aware of your experience.
And whenever the mind wanders,
Gently guide it back to the present moment,
Back to the breath,
Back to the body.
Sitting here,
Not going anywhere,
Not doing anything.
Just being fully with yourself.
Now slowly expand your awareness to include thoughts as they move through the mind.
Letting your breathing and sense of the body be in the background.
Allowing your focus to be on observing any thoughts that arise.
Simply seeing each thought as it come up as a thought and letting the thought just come and go without getting involved.
Whatever the thoughts may be,
Observe them as events in awareness,
Appearing,
Lingering,
Dissolving.
If you find yourself caught up in the content of a thought,
Gently return to observing.
Use the breath and body as anchor to stay grounded in the present.
Thoughts can take any form.
They are like clouds in the sky.
While awareness is the open blue sky itself,
The sky allows cloud to drift by without resistance.
In the same way,
Expand your awareness like the sky.
Simply noticing thoughts as they pass by.
As we close this session,
Bring your awareness back to the body,
To this sitting position.
Resting on the cushion or mat in the space where you are in.
Take a moment of gratitude before gently opening your eyes.
Thank you for practicing together.
May you be well and happy.
