In this little meditation,
I invite you to explore with me various options for your anchor.
The anchor is a neutral,
Uncomplicated point of focus,
A steady place that you can return to at any stage,
Either during meditation or in your everyday life.
Sometimes you may get lost in the currents of thoughts and emotions.
Remembering your anchor and placing your attention there as a place of steadiness and ease anytime you need it.
If you would like to,
Let's explore together now a few options for anchors.
The breath,
The feet,
The hands and sounds.
Firstly,
Maybe just noticing where you are right now.
It doesn't matter if you are sitting,
Standing or lying down.
Simply making yourself comfortable in a position where you can remain awake and alert.
Perhaps closing down the eyes if this is comfortable for you,
Or simply lowering the gaze and focusing softly on a point in front of you.
There is no pressure to be any way right now,
Other than how you truly are.
Just allowing yourself to stop,
To pause here for a few minutes.
I invite you to place your attention on the breath.
Just allowing the breath to be as it is.
There is no need to change the breath or force it in any way.
Just noticing each inhale and each exhale.
If the mind wanders,
Which it certainly will,
Just bringing it back to the breath as many times as needed,
Without judgment.
Keeping your attention on the sensations of the breath coming and going.
The chest as it rises and falls.
The belly as it expands and relaxes.
The feeling of air moving through the nostrils.
You might like to place your awareness on these large movements of breathing.
Placing your attention on the entire torso,
The chest,
The abdomen,
Moving with each ebb and flow of the breath.
Just trying this now,
Noticing the expansion and relaxation with each breath.
Bringing the mind back to the sensations of breathing every time it wanders.
Or you may prefer to zone in on one particular area of breathing.
Maybe the sensation of the air and the air going through the nostrils.
Centering and leaving at the nostrils.
Or focusing on the movement of the abdomen with each breath.
Experimenting with what feels right for you.
There are no right or wrong options.
Just knowing that the breath is always there for you.
A place you can rest your attention in the present moment.
Letting go now of the attention on breathing.
And if you'd like to,
I invite you to place your attention on the feet.
This means to intentionally invite your mind's eye to the feet.
Noticing the feeling of the feet.
Noticing the points of contact between the feet and the floor or whatever is beneath you.
Grounding yourself.
Noticing temperature,
Heat or cold.
Observing any sensations that are present in the feet.
Are they sweaty,
Tight,
Heavy,
Light?
Maybe there's an itch or a prickle.
Maybe the feet are tired or sore.
Or perhaps there's no sensation here at all.
Whichever way you find the feet,
Just noticing.
No judgement needed.
And if the mind wanders,
Just returning the attention to the feet over and over again,
As many times as you need to.
This is another option for an anchor.
The feeling of your feet beneath you.
Grounding you.
Stabilising you.
Steady.
Present.
Here.
Another option for an anchor is the hands.
I invite you to try this now by letting go of the attention on the feet.
And instead bringing your awareness to the hands.
Perhaps noticing if the hands are resting on something or on each other.
Noticing the points of contact between the hands and something else.
Noticing sensations here.
Perhaps the feeling of the air against the skin.
Maybe there is a tingling.
A pulsing.
Heaviness.
Warmth.
Or maybe cold.
It can sometimes be possible to use the hands as anchors even when in action.
When the hands are doing something for you.
Working.
Creating.
Making.
Touching.
Using the feelings and the movements in the hands as a place to bring your attention during your day.
Bringing you into the present moment.
This may be an option for you.
Often we may not find any discernible sensations in the hands or the feet.
This is okay.
You can instead use the presence of the hands as a place to bring your attention.
The breath as an anchor.
But also there is another choice.
Sounds.
Placing your attention on the sounds around you if you'd like to.
Just noticing sounds coming and going.
Not going out looking for sounds but allowing them to come to you.
Awareness of sounds as sensations entering through the ears.
Not making stories from sounds nor labelling any sounds you might hear.
Just noticing sounds.
Sounds that are close by.
Sounds that are far away.
Sounds that are near.
Sounds that seem constant.
Sounds that come and go.
And even silence.
Noticing also silence.
And if sounds become distracting or irritating knowing that you have other options for anchors.
The breath,
The hands,
The feet.
However,
There are times in life when anchoring in the body might feel challenging.
Knowing that during these times anchoring in sounds might be a preferable option for you.
You always have choices.
If you listen to my other meditations you will often hear me invite you to place your attention on your anchor.
You know now that when I say this I mean that you can intentionally draw your attention to sensations in the hands or feet or to the sounds inside and around you or you can choose to follow the breath.
With practice you will find the anchor that works best for you.
You can then use this anchor not only as a place of focus during meditation but also during everyday living.
Anytime you wish to bring yourself back into the present moment your anchor is there for you.
Dropping your anchor.
Finding a place of steadiness.
A place to pause.
There is no right or wrong anchor.
There is no right or wrong way to feel when dropping anchor.
Simply choosing what works best for you to bring yourself into the here and now in this moment.
Sometimes you may get lost in the currents or even the storms of thoughts or emotions remembering your anchor and placing your attention there as a place of steadiness and ease anytime you need it.
When you're ready,
Noticing the whole body now.
Perhaps inviting a little movement.
Wiggling the fingers and toes or taking a stretch or a yawn.
Rubbing the face.
Whatever you instinctively feel drawn to after spending this time in stillness.
Opening the eyes if they've been closed.
Looking around you.
Observing things in your environment.
And thanking yourself for taking this time to pause.
