Welcome to today's practice.
Let's begin by assuming a posture for meditation,
One that keeps your spine erect,
But not rigid.
Let your head tilt slightly forward and gently close your eyes,
Or leave them open if you prefer.
First,
Let's bring attention to the points of contact between you and the surface beneath you.
Notice the weight of your body,
The sensations where your feet,
Your legs,
Your seat meet the ground.
From these points of contact,
Begin scanning your body from the bottom up.
Feel your feet,
Your calves,
Your knees,
Your thighs,
The hips,
The belly,
The chest,
The shoulders,
Hands,
The neck,
Your chin,
Your face,
And the top of your head.
As you acknowledge each part of your body,
You begin to come back to yourself,
Stepping away from the mental chatter,
The emotions,
The judgments,
And returning to the simple,
Vivid experience of being alive.
Take a deep breath in,
And a long breath out.
Again,
Let's breathe in through your nose,
And breathe out through your mouth.
One more time,
A slow inhale,
And a full,
Gentle exhale.
There is nothing you need to change.
Simply observe the breath as it flows.
Notice where it's most vivid for you,
Perhaps the cool air at your nostrils,
Or the rise and fall of your belly.
With each breath,
Imagine descending deeper in the body.
Let your thinking,
Planning,
Even your joys and worries sink gently into the earth with each exhale.
There's no need to fix anything.
No need to be anywhere else.
Simply be here.
When a thought arises,
Notice it,
Gently label it,
And allow it to drift away like a cloud.
Let's practice becoming ourselves again.
Feeling,
Sensing,
Being.
As you breathe,
You might notice your mind wander.
This is completely natural.
Our minds are designed to think,
To plan,
To remember,
To create.
But with practice,
We can gently return again and again to the body,
To the breath.
It's important to remember.
The body doesn't always distinguish between thoughts and reality.
When we ruminate on stress,
Sadness,
Or even excitement,
Our bodies react as if those events were happening right now.
Over time,
This constant reactivity can wear us down,
Keeping our systems in a state of alertness and attention.
But with mindfulness,
Through grounding ourselves in breath and body,
We offer ourselves the gift of recovery,
A chance to return to balance,
To homeostasis.
If your mind feels restless,
You might find it helpful to count your breaths.
This is an ancient,
Very effective technique.
On each out-breath,
Silently count one,
Two,
Three,
And so on until you've reached ten.
Then start again at one.
If you lose count,
That's okay.
Simply notice,
Smile inwardly,
And begin again.
Each time you notice you've drifted is a triumph of mindfulness.
You're not training just the concentration,
But also patience and self-compassion.
Let's continue this way for a few minutes.
Just checking in,
Checking where the mind wandered.
If the mind wandered,
Gently return it to the breath,
To the process of counting.
As we count the breath,
Our mind is provided with the need of labeling,
Naming,
While keeping our attention on the breath,
On the present moment.
It is important to treat this practice with self-compassion,
To celebrate each triumph of mindfulness each time we notice wandering away.
Let us continue for another few moments with this sentiment in mind.
Welcome back.
As we come toward the close of our meditation today,
Allow your awareness to gently expand.
Feel your whole body at once.
Notice any sensations,
Emotions,
Or energies present.
Simply acknowledging them.
No need to judge or change anything.
Feel the air on your skin.
Notice the sounds around you.
The sensations of being alive,
Here,
Right now.
You might feel calmer.
You might feel restless.
Whatever is here is welcome.
Let's take a deep breath in,
And exhale with a sigh.
Begin to move gently.
You might want to rock back and forward.
Start wiggling your fingers.
Your toes.
Roll your shoulders.
Stretch if it feels good.
If your eyes were closed,
Let them slowly open.
Let the light come in.
Let the colors return.
As best as you can,
Carry this presence,
This clarity,
Into your day ahead.
Thank you for practicing with me today.
Take care.
