And as you arrive in your meditation practice and you encourage your body to find stillness,
Start by noticing the parts of the body that want to move or not participate in the stillness that we are slowly working upon.
If the eyelids are closing why not let them droop and drape over the eyeballs even more.
There's that dropping action giving the eyeballs a beautiful rest and refreshment through keeping the eyelids closed for the remainder of practice.
Releasing the shoulders,
Releasing the abdomen,
The stomach,
All of the digestive organs that have been working for you today just releasing the stomach as you arrive.
All of the bones in the body start to settle toward the ground,
The muscles just softening around the bones.
You don't need to hold on.
And we welcome this practice with three intentional breaths.
You might choose to breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth.
Just notice how it feels to breathe with deep intention.
Slowly letting your mind,
Your body,
Your deeper essence arrive in practice.
And our centering thought today,
Life is happening for me through me.
Life is happening for me through me.
And we don't have to do anything for life to live through us.
Just pivoting into a state of being is enough.
Continue to be with the breath now.
And you can see all the lips and allow the breath to purely move through the nasal cavities.
Nasal breathing,
Filtering the air as it enters your system.
Breathing in and breathing out simply through the nose.
Can you witness the breath without any other thoughts taking your way for a few moments?
And at this stage the breath wants to take up a little bit more space in your physical body.
Can you open to the breath even more?
And what happens if the body softens two percent more?
How can you be more effortless?
Let go and connect to your breath.
And we're going to be moving into abdominal breathing from here.
It might feel nice and supportive for you to do so to have one or two hands on the lower stomach.
If you're choosing to do so,
Notice the warmth of the hands against your stomach.
Take a moment to appreciate that warmth of your hands.
And then simply notice with or without the hand present,
The breath rising up.
Notice with or without the hand present,
The breath rising and falling in the lower stomach.
We are going to be increasing and emphasizing this action,
But make sure not to add tension to this,
Just to let it flow.
So the next time that you breathe in,
Acknowledge the belly button rising and expanding in the space.
And as you exhale,
You witness the belly button gently drawing back in toward the spine.
You might even gently hug the tummy in as you come to the end of the breath.
And then with the inhale,
You witness and allow the belly to expand.
When we belly breathe,
We allow the diaphragm to be employed,
Which supports us with a complete oxygen exchange.
Optimal breathing for our minds,
For our bodies,
For our nervous system.
This is the practice for the next few minutes.
Belly breathing.
Can you stay with it?
And what do you sense when you're committed to it?
Explore.
So you're doing really beautifully as you are for the last minute of belly breathing.
Can you give it your full presence,
Your full commitment?
And let the back of the belly open with breath too.
So the space just near the kidneys,
Toward the lower end of the spine.
Can you let this part of your body open to the breath even more?
The breath is always with us.
It's our most trusted companion,
Loyal friend through this life.
As you breathe down into the depths of your stomach,
Can you shed a shimmer of gratitude towards your breath,
Your life giver?
Thank you.
