Now,
I'm going to guide you into a mindfulness of breath and body guided meditation.
I'm using a bell.
If you can listen to the sound of the bell until you can't hear it anymore,
I'll ring it once at the start of my meditation and three times at the end.
To start,
Find a place where you will not be disturbed and where you feel comfortable enough to close or half-close your eyes.
You can sit or stand in a posture that is lit yet relaxed.
We are going to bring our attention onto our body.
Always start with bringing the attention all the way down to your toes.
What can you feel there?
If you feel it's hard to feel them,
You can wriggle them and stop.
What sensations are present?
Sometimes it might be vibration,
Pressure,
Or temperature.
We're going to move slowly from the bottom of our body to the top and focus on what we can feel,
Ankles,
Calves,
Knees,
Legs.
Where are sensations strong?
Where can you not feel anything at all?
Continue moving up,
Sit bones,
Hips,
Belly,
Lower back,
Ribcage,
Chest,
Shoulders,
Thighs,
Knees.
Are the sensations pleasant or unpleasant?
Continuing arms and going down each arm,
Elbows,
Lower arms,
Wrists,
Hands,
Each fingers,
And the space between each fingers.
What does it feel like?
Is there some pressure,
Heat,
Twisting,
Chills,
Tingling,
Vibrating?
Going back up your neck,
Your face,
The lips and all the muscles around the lips,
The nose,
The cheeks,
The muscle around the eyes,
And on the forehead,
Your eyebrows.
Are the sensation changing as you rest your attention on them?
Do they become more intense or dissipate?
Now moving back down,
Feel your entire body.
Feel it from the inside out and find the point in your body where you felt the most comfortable to focus on.
Sometimes it's the pressure of your feet on the floor,
Or it can be your sit bones against the seat you're on,
Or sometimes it's the sensation in your hands,
Either between them or the contact of them against your lap or the floor.
And the most comfortable point to focus on is where you can find your breath.
So we're going to shift slowly toward your breath and investigate the different place you could focus on your breath.
And we'll come back at the end for you to choose what point felt most comfortable on your body,
On your breath,
A mixture of the two.
So now we're shifting toward your breath.
And similar to this body scan,
I'm going to make you do a scan of your breath.
Five,
Four,
Three breaths.
Just feel your lung fully and slowly,
Slowly empty them.
And now as I'm scanning for you,
Where can you feel it easiest?
Is it the air tickling your nostrils as it comes through?
Is it just above the upper lip where the air brushes past when it comes in and goes out?
Or is it the flow of air in your throat?
Is it your chest or your tummy that is inflating and deflating?
Or maybe it is your entire body moving slightly as the air comes in and out.
Just find this point where you find it most comfortable and rest your attention on there.
The breath is going in and out slowly and comfortably.
Don't try to manipulate the breath to be longer or stronger,
Just watch it breathe itself.
And if your mind wanders,
Because that's what mind do,
Bring it back to the breath.
If it helps you,
You can count the breath.
Try focusing on the breath rather than the counting,
Or you can say a little mantra like breathing in or breathing out,
Or like ease on the in-breath and calm on the out-breath.
And now for the last few breaths,
I'd like you to go back,
Having investigated your body and your breath,
To the point that is most comfortable for you to focus on.
A little haiku from a Jewish Zen author.
Breathe in,
Breathe out.
Forget this and attaining enlightenment will be the least of your problem.
Thank you for your practice.
