Brief check-in practice.
If you just want to make sure that you're sitting comfortably,
Making any little adjustments,
And just taking your time as you close your eyes,
Just to tune in,
Tune inwardly.
Noticing the sensations of pressure where your body rests on the surfaces below,
Perhaps along the back of your body,
From your head to your feet.
Feeling into those sensations of pressure.
And just to really notice the feelings of weight and pressure,
How gravity gently holds you here,
And how the chair and the floor and the earth beneath you are supporting you,
Are holding you up.
Sensing that solid,
Stable floor and earth beneath.
And if it helps you to feel even more grounded,
You might imagine roots,
Just like tree roots,
Gently growing down from your feet or anywhere from your body,
And just earthing you,
Grounding you,
Growing down deep into the earth.
And maybe you can even just sense into this contact,
This connection you have with the earth,
The earth that provides you with everything you need to sustain yourself,
A home,
Food and water,
Clothing,
The garden,
Nature.
And then when you're ready,
Just allowing your attention to gently flow back up your body and perhaps up to just wherever you feel your breath the most,
The flow of air in and out of your nostrils or the gentle movement of your breath.
The movement of your chest or your belly or the whole breath as one or anywhere else you feel your breath.
And just taking some conscious breaths,
Not needing to change your breath in any way or judge it or interpret it.
But just see if you can allow the natural sense of releasing and letting go that goes with the out-breath just to help you settle and relax a little right now.
So each time you breathe out,
Just sense any subtle letting go.
Breathing in,
Breathing out and allowing your whole body to relax,
To sink down into the chair.
Relaxation happens gradually.
Each out-breath,
We can relax a little more.
And then notice your presence notice that you are the one who is aware of your body and your breathing,
That innermost sense of I,
Your calm centre.
And then from this place of centredness,
Just doing a very casual check-in on how your body and mind are feeling right now.
Just noticing,
Witnessing whatever is there for you,
Starting with your body,
Just in a very casual way,
Being curious to notice what sensations are here in your body right now.
Having an overall sense and just noticing whatever sensations become obvious to you.
Perhaps those sensations of pressure where your body rests on the chair,
Your feet rest on the floor.
Perhaps the subtle sensations of movement where your breath moves within your body.
Perhaps you notice what is touching your skin and how that feels.
And then you might begin to notice sensations inside your body,
Just whatever is here right now.
Areas of pressure or tension,
Contraction.
Areas of stiffness or softness.
You might have a sense of the temperature of your body if you're hungry or tired or heavy.
In this check-in,
There's nothing you need to do about what you notice.
It's just creating a picture of how your body is feeling right now.
There's no need to feel you need to do anything.
There's no need to try and judge or fix or change anything.
And then taking a nice conscious breath,
Again,
Feel your center,
Yourself,
You,
The one,
Aware of how your body is feeling.
Present,
Here,
Now.
And then begin to turn your attention to your mind.
And again,
With a very casual curiosity,
Just begin observing what thoughts are flowing through your mind.
There might be word thoughts or picture thoughts or just a sense.
And see if you can give a label to any thought that you might notice.
Trying to identify the feeling of the thought,
The theme of it.
There might be something like,
Ah,
A planning thought,
A worry or a memory or a judgment.
Just seeing if you can be curious to identify even just one thought.
The theme of it or the flavor of it.
And when you're ready,
Taking another conscious breath in and out.
Coming back again to your center.
Once again,
Feel your being,
That you are the one who is aware of any thoughts in your mind.
And then begin to gently turn your attention to any emotional feelings that might be here,
Perhaps from your day or from your week.
And again,
We're just observing.
We're not needing to change anything.
We're not trying to attach to or go into any particular feeling.
We're just noticing what's here.
So you might just ask yourself,
What emotions are here?
And then again,
Just see if you can name any emotions that you might notice.
There might be a subtle sense of anxiety or fear or upset,
Irritation or guilt,
Regret.
Maybe you can sense any ease or comfort or ease or contentment.
So again,
Just being curious to notice what's here.
Not touching anything,
Going into anything,
But just noticing.
And then once again,
Taking a nice conscious breath.
Feel the sensations and movements that go with breathing in and breathing out.
And once again,
Come back to your center.
Sense your being here now,
Your presence.
You,
The one who knows whatever emotions you're feeling.
That sense of I.
And then feel how your body is resting on the chair,
The weight,
The pressure,
The sense of the earth beneath you,
Holding you up,
Nurturing your roots.
And then very gently,
You might like to begin to open your eyes and see if you can remain connected as best you can to this calm center that you are.
Your true,
Strong self at the heart of it all.
