Welcome to this brief sitting practice,
An opportunity to pause in God's presence and drop into your experience for a few minutes.
You can start by finding a comfortable sitting position that allows your body to be both alert and at ease.
Back straight,
Without being over-arched,
Legs and feet firmly grounded,
Hands on the thighs or in the lap.
Feeling a sense of dignity and energy in the body,
If that's available to you,
While you also settle into a comfortable position.
And remembering that you have choice throughout this practice regarding your posture,
Where you focus your attention,
And anything else.
You're invited to adapt the practice as needed and to care well for yourself throughout.
So starting with a couple deep breaths,
If you choose.
Feeling the rise and fall of your shoulders,
And then allowing your breath to return to its natural rate.
And as your body settles and comes to stillness,
Receiving these words from Isaiah chapter 41.
Do not fear,
For I am with you.
Do not be afraid,
For I am your God.
Resting here where God is,
Bringing your attention into your body,
The physical sensations of your body sitting here.
Noticing points of contact on the skin,
Perhaps contact with the seat,
The floor,
Clothing,
Air,
Feeling the weight of gravity holding you,
The solidness of your body in this place.
Seeing if you can be present to this moment with an attitude of openness to whatever God is doing here.
Noticing also thoughts and feelings that are here for you.
Checking in with how you're doing,
What is here for you right now in this moment?
And perhaps saying,
Okay,
That's how it is right now.
What is here is already here.
And then if you choose,
Narrowing your attention to focus on the breath,
The physical sensations of breathing.
Perhaps choosing a place where you are most cognizant of the breath,
Such as in the movement of the shoulders,
The expansion of the chest,
The up and down of the diaphragm,
Or perhaps the coolness and warmth of the air moving across the upper lip through the nose.
Seeing if you're able to focus on the in-breath as it comes in and on the out-breath as it goes out.
Noticing the slight pause between each in and out breath,
Between each out and in breath as the breath changes direction in the body.
And seeing if it's possible to be present to the full cycle of the breath in these four parts.
In,
Pause,
Out,
Pause.
No need to control or count or change the breath,
Just paying attention to the breath provided by God in each moment,
Sustaining you.
And when your mind wanders during this practice,
See if you can respond with a smile,
Gently bringing your mind back to wherever you intended to focus,
Letting go as much as you can of any harshness as you allow your attention to be light and at ease,
Returning your attention over and over to the sensations of breathing,
One breath at a time.
And now broadening your attention to focus on the whole body breathing,
The breath coming in through the nose,
Filling the chest and the torso and filling the whole body all the way down to the toes.
And then the breath going out from the whole body through the chest and leaving through the nose once again.
Feeling the breath as if the whole body is breathing.
Feeling your whole being nourished and sustained by the breath of God coursing through your body.
This breath that has been passed down from generation to generation since the creation of the world.
And perhaps recognizing with a smile,
God's standing invitation to release fear and to breathe in grace.
Grace for this place,
For this body,
For this mind.
Grace for you in this moment.
And as you're ready,
Opening up your attention to the space around you as you gently open your eyes if they've been closed,
Acknowledging your place as a being in this vast and beautiful universe that God has made.
Perhaps taking a deep breath and offering a prayer of thanks for this time of quiet restoration,
This gift of God's care and attention.
Bringing some movement into your body,
Stretching if that feels good to you.
Seeing if it's possible to bring some of this attentiveness and this gentleness of attention with you as you move into your next activity.
Go in peace.
