Let's start by coming into a comfortable seated position.
You may sit on the floor or on a chair,
Kneeling or cross-legged,
Whichever feels most comfortable for your body today.
Allow your hands to rest onto your knees or in your lap.
Once you're settled and comfortable,
Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths,
Breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth.
Let your body begin to land and feel the ground beneath you,
Feeling the quiet and steady support from the earth underneath you.
Focus on the sensations that the breath is offering.
Begin to notice the way that the air feels as you inhale and the warmth as you exhale.
Notice the flow of the air from the exterior of your body as it gently brushes against the rings of the nostrils,
The tiny hair in your nasal passage,
Making its way into the body and into your belly,
Feeling a gentle expansion as the navel draws away from your spine and a slight contraction as the navel returns back to the spine.
If you find your mind wandering at any time,
Don't worry,
Just allow yourself to refocus on your breath,
Gently beginning to bring your awareness to the body,
Sitting here and noticing where it makes contact with the cushion,
The chair or the floor.
Let go of any need to adjust or fidget,
Instead make a quiet inner decision to be still.
We are practising the art of sitting like a mountain,
Inviting the qualities of stability and groundedness.
If a sensation arises like tingling,
Warmth or restlessness,
Just notice it but resist the urge to react.
Acknowledge the sensation and let it pass through you like a cloud,
Floating in the sky.
The body is still,
The breath flowing naturally and a quiet mind.
Let's start with shifting our awareness to different parts of the body,
Beginning at the feet.
As you begin to focus on these specific parts,
Your body may begin to find warmth and deeper relaxation.
Imagine that your feet are like the roots of a tree,
The tree which is your body,
Drawing awareness up from the ground into the rest of the body.
Allow this awareness to spread up through your feet and to your ankles and the lower legs.
Enjoy the relaxed and warm feeling.
Now allow this awareness to spread to your knee joints,
Slowly letting it spread further up to the upper legs,
The thighs,
The hips,
Buttocks and the pelvis.
Focusing this awareness up through the curvature of your spine,
From the tip of the tailbone,
All the way to the crown of your head.
Relax and ease the muscles around.
Feel the space in between each vertebrae of your spinal column,
The length in your torso.
Now imagine and visualise a warm ball of light at both ends of your spine,
The top and the bottom,
The light at the base of your spine,
Slowly drawing down into the ground below you,
Like an anchor.
The light at the top of your spine,
The crown of your head,
Is slowly moving up towards the sky.
Begin to notice the muscles that are holding your spine,
How they're beginning to loosen up,
Creating that little extra space in between each vertebrae.
Now shifting your focus towards the shoulders,
Relaxing them and feeling the space in between the neck and the shoulder joint.
Easing this space and letting go of any tension,
Allowing it to melt out of the body,
Like an ice cube,
Melting away on a hot afternoon.
Allow this awareness to draw into the arms,
All the way to each fingertip,
Noticing the very slight movements that they're making on their own,
Moving your awareness back up towards the throat and releasing any tension that you may be holding onto there.
Feel the warmth of your awareness moving up into the face and relaxing every facial muscle,
Noticing how sensitive it feels,
How the air feel against it,
Relaxing the jaw,
Relaxing the cheeks,
Allowing the corners of the eyes to soften and allowing the forehead to be smooth,
Free of any tension,
Covering the back of the head and finally shifting this awareness into the brain,
Becoming aware of just how amazing and powerful your brain is,
Capable of regulating the entire body,
A place which houses your mind,
Allows for you to think,
To feel and create.
Keep returning to this feeling of stillness,
Like a candle flame that is steady and undisturbed,
Allowing for this stillness to expand,
Not as stiffness or effort,
But as a quiet presence.
You are here,
You're steady and you're whole.
Let this stillness become your inner refuge.
Pause for a few moments,
Take a few quiet breaths and now gently begin to bring your awareness back,
Inviting slight movement into your body,
Wriggling your fingers,
Your toes,
And taking a fuller breath in,
Into the belly.
When you feel ready,
Open your eyes and return to the waking consciousness.
