Welcome to the introductory mindfulness practice.
My name is Megan Layton,
I'm the director of Simply Mindful and I'm really pleased that you're trying this out today.
When you're ready,
Finding a comfortable place to sit or lie,
Preferably somewhere you won't be disturbed.
You can have your eyes open or closed.
If they're open,
Finding something soothing to look at.
And then bringing your attention to the whole body,
Sitting or lying here,
And noticing any obvious places of tension,
Seeing if you can soften or loosen them up a little bit.
Even stretching or moving until you're as comfortable as you can be.
When we practice mindfulness,
We're not trying to get anywhere or make anything happen.
We're not even trying to relax.
We're simply bringing our attention to present moment experience,
Usually through the senses,
With a kind,
Non-judgmental curiosity.
This attitude at the heart of mindfulness turns out to be really important.
It can help us to see things more clearly and it changes the way we relate to our experience.
So when you're ready,
Inviting you to bring your attention to the contact of the body with the surfaces beneath you,
And to the whole body sitting here breathing.
There's no way of passing or failing this,
Or of being right or wrong.
Simply bringing this open,
Friendly curiosity and noticing what's here.
For example,
Noticing whether the surfaces you're in contact with are smooth,
Warm,
Soft or hard.
And then inviting you to shift your attention to the whole body breathing.
Noticing as you breathe in,
The lungs fill,
The chest rises,
And the whole body expands.
As you breathe out,
The lungs empty,
The body releases,
Relaxes and lets go.
Letting your attention rest on this rise,
On the in-breath,
And this fall on the out-breath.
One breath unfolding at a time.
If your mind wanders off or you get distracted,
That's okay,
That's what minds do.
As soon as you notice this,
Gently acknowledging it and bringing your attention back to the breath.
Thank you for joining us today,
We hope to see you again soon.
