Settling into a comfortable position now.
Allowing your hands to rest in your lap or gently by your side.
Allowing your spine to be long and straight and relaxed at the same time.
You might like to roll your shoulders back and down a little to help open up your chest.
And tucking your chin slightly in towards your chest now to keep that long straight spine going all the way up through the back of your neck.
Taking a few long,
Slow,
Deep breaths in now.
And long slow deep breaths out.
Now allowing your energy to settle into this place,
Into this time,
Letting go of any to-do lists.
Planning and worrying about the future and remembering the past,
To be here now,
To be here in this place,
In this time,
In this space.
If your eyes are closed,
You might like to open them.
Spend a few moments taking a look around the room that you're in.
Noticing what you can see.
And if this is a space that's familiar to you.
.
.
See if you can look at it as though it's with fresh eyes,
Noticing all the detail you wouldn't ordinarily see.
Details that fade into the background.
Noticing the different colours and textures of the objects in the room.
The layout of the furniture.
.
.
Becoming aware of the space that you occupy in the room,
The distance between you and the door and the walls,
The ceiling.
The play of light,
The areas of darkness and lightness.
Shadows created.
As the light is intersected by the different objects and furniture in the room.
Noticing the different materials,
Becoming aware of whether they're man-made or natural materials.
And how they're put together.
And the different surfaces,
Are they shiny,
Smooth,
Rough?
Reflective,
Dull.
The different colours,
Are they bright?
Earthy.
Noticing into what you can see.
When you're ready and in your own time,
Gently and slowly closing your eyes.
Becoming aware of your inner landscape.
Becoming aware of any residual colors or abstract shapes that might be there.
The darkness behind closed eyelids,
The absence of anything to see.
Simply noticing what's there for you.
And on your next in-breath.
.
.
Bringing awareness to.
Sounds around you now.
Becoming aware of sound without looking for sound.
Noticing the different sounds arriving at your ears without any effort from you.
Sounds arising in your awareness.
Changing and passing away.
Changing nature of sound.
Impermanence of sound.
Reminding us of the impermanence of all things.
You might like to notice into the space between sounds.
Between the end of one sound.
Before the beginning of another sound.
It might only be for a fraction of a second.
Noticing in that space is silence.
Same silence that sits underneath all sound.
For it's from silence that all sound emerges.
Silence is always there.
It's the sound that changes,
Comes and goes.
And then your next in-breath.
.
.
Becoming aware of any fragrances in the room,
In the space that you're in.
Incense or essential oils perhaps.
Flowers,
Perfume or aftershave.
Noticing any fragrances that are there.
Thinking about how you would describe that fragrance to a close friend.
What words would you use?
Is a pleasant or unpleasant.
Is it an earthy tone?
Smoky,
Floral.
Strong or soft.
About the word you use to describe the fragrance that's there.
And if there's no fragrance,
Being aware of that too,
Being aware of the absence of any fragrance,
Of any aroma.
Simply noticing what's there for you,
In your experience,
In your awareness.
On your next in-breath,
You might like to follow your breath down through your nose,
Down the back of your throat,
Into your mouth.
And noticing if the fragrance has a flavor.
And what else you can taste in your mouth.
You might like to run your tongue along your teeth and swallow a couple of times,
Noticing if your saliva has a taste.
Just to help accentuate any flavours,
Any tastes that might be there for you.
And like fragrance if there's no taste.
Being aware of the absence of any flavors,
The absence of anything to taste.
Letting go of taste now.
Becoming aware of the sensation of pressure where your body makes contact with the supporting surface.
Noticing any sense of pressure that might be there.
Weight of your body pressing down so it's resting directly on the earth.
Gravity holding in there.
Mother Earth rising up to support you unconditionally,
Holding you in a warm embrace,
Holding you there.
Noticing to any other points of pressure where your body makes contact with the supporting surface.
And the sensation of the contact of your clothing on your skin.
See how it feels underneath your clothing.
Is your clothing scratchy or soft and smooth,
Light,
Heavy?
To giving your body warmth.
And is there any difference in temperature?
Between the clothed parts of your body and the parts of your body that are exposed to the air.
Paying attention to what's happening in your experience.
Noticing what's there for you.
And noticing into the sensation of the air as it makes contact with your skin.
And placing your awareness on the tip of your nose now,
Feeling into the sensation of your air passing through your nostrils as you breathe in and out.
Your life-giving,
Life-affirming breath.
Feeling into the sensation of the breath as you breathe in and out,
Watching its natural rhythm and flow.
Without trying to change it or control it.
Simply resting back,
Observing your breath.
Feeling into the sensation of the air passing through your nostrils.
And as you breathe in,
You might notice the air a little cool and dry as you breathe in.
Turning warm and moist as you breathe out,
The air passing out through your nostrils.
Brushing over your top lip.
Noticing any difference in the length of your in-breath and your out-breath.
Is one longer than the other or are they about the same?
Noticing into any pause between the in and the out breath.
Watching the natural rhythm and flow of your breath.
Just noticing the quality of your breath,
The length and any pause that's there.
Feeling the sensation of the air passing through your nostrils as you breathe in and out.
You might like to continue to observe your breath.
Just rest back.
Resting in the stillness.
And when you're ready.
.
.
Bring yourself back to watching the breath.
Feeling into the sensation of the air passing through your nostrils as you breathe in and out.
The healing and the sensation of the air.
Life-giving,
Life-affirming breath.
Letting go of your breath now,
You might like to bring a little bit of gentle movement to your body now by wriggling your fingers and toes,
Rocking back and forth and side to side.
And stretching out in whatever way feels right to you,
And as you stretch out,
Gently and slowly blinking your eyes open,
And coming back to the room.
