So,
Coming into your sitting posture,
Back upright through the neck and head,
Relaxed but alert and self-supported,
Relaxing the shoulders away from the ears,
Closing down the eyes if that's comfortable for you,
And if not,
Just keeping them open with an unfocused downward gaze.
As you find your posture and come into stillness,
Just noticing what the body feels like sitting here.
You might notice what it's like in the body,
Where it makes contact with your supports,
I mean the feet,
Legs,
And buttocks,
The hands on the legs or the lap.
As best you can,
Inviting the body to relax further into these supports,
Becoming more grounded into the present moment.
You might be aware of any tension in the body and as best you can,
Letting go of it,
Just inviting the body to soften.
Now bringing a kind awareness to the breath in the body without changing anything about it,
Trying to control it,
Letting the breath breathe itself,
Observing the felt sense as it moves in and out of the body.
Trying to remember that we're not looking for anything particular to happen,
Relaxing or calm,
Not looking for the mind to be clear,
Just allowing whatever is here to be here as we place our attention on the breath.
You might try to follow the sensations of each in-breath through the nose,
Down the throat,
Into the lungs and belly,
And following the sensations of the out-breath as it leaves the body.
You'll eventually get pulled away from your breath and into thoughts.
That's okay,
Remembering that thinking is not a problem,
It's just the nature of the mind.
You might just think of this as a moment of awareness,
This is an opportunity to practice non-judgment and kindness,
Just reconnecting with the breath.
This breath can serve as that anchor back to the present moment anytime you need it because it's always here.
You might try bringing awareness to where the breath is most easily felt in the body,
Perhaps the sensations in the nose or throat,
In the movement of the chest or belly,
Where you sense the breath most clearly,
Resting the attention there.
Now expanding the awareness of the breath to include the body,
Noticing the weight of the body,
The shape of the body,
The space that the body takes up.
You might even scan through the body noticing any sensations as you do this,
Starting at the top of the head,
Into the face,
Down through the neck and shoulders,
The arms and the hands,
The chest and upper back,
Abdomen and lower back,
Pelvis and buttocks,
Down the legs and into the feet.
You might rest your attention on an area of the body,
Maybe where there's some clear sensation,
Maybe you try to hold in awareness all of the sensations in the body at once,
Resting in a whole body awareness for a few moments.
And you notice getting lost in thoughts,
Slightly noting this is thinking,
Maybe judging,
Worrying,
Reconnecting to the body,
Remembering that noticing thoughts and returning over and over is that process for building mindfulness.
And if you notice a strong sensation that's pulling for your attention,
You might try bringing a kind,
Curious awareness to that place for a while,
Just noticing the qualities of the sensation,
Maybe it's a pulsing or a pressure,
A tingling.
You might notice if it changes or moves or shifts.
Not so much thinking about the sensation,
Just taking in the felt sense of it.
Eventually,
After exploring the sensation for a moment,
Just return the attention back to the area of the body that you're using as an anchor,
Or the body as a whole.
Each time the mind wanders,
Just gently noticing this,
And coming back to the body.
And as you bring this practice still close,
Just starting to bring your awareness back to your surroundings,
Noticing sounds or smells around you,
The temperature of the room,
Might even sense the lighting of the room,
Even with the eyes closed,
Feeling the body in the room.
You might start inviting in some gentle movement.
When you're ready,
Opening the eyes and looking around,
Just noticing visually the room around you.
When you're ready,
Closing the practice and moving into the rest of your day.
