Find a comfortable place to sit.
The head reaching up towards the sky.
Back straight,
Dropping the shoulders.
Forming a solid,
Grounded base either by sitting on the cushion or upright in the chair.
Begin by moving,
Swaying the body in circular motions or perhaps side to side until you find alignment,
Your center point.
Arriving into stillness.
Now just consciously relaxing the body.
Dropping the shoulders,
Softening the belly.
Taking some deep,
Conscious triangle breaths.
This means breathing in for the count of four or five.
Holding for the count of four or five.
Then slowly breathing out for the count of four or five.
Continue to breathe in this pattern,
Extending the count to five or six if you feel able to.
With each out breath experiencing the sensation of letting go.
Releasing tension,
Releasing worry.
Give yourself permission to be fully here now.
Allowing the breath to return now to a natural,
Normal rhythm.
Just breathing in any way the body feels like it.
For the next few minutes we're going to focus our attention on the breath.
Using the breath as a focus point and anchor point.
You can pay attention to the breath at the tip of the nose.
Noticing the cool sensation of air as it hits the nose.
The warmer air as you breathe out.
Or you might prefer to follow your breath as it rises and falls at the chest or belly.
Stay with each breath as best you can for its full duration.
As if you were riding the waves of your own breathing.
Allow yourself to get really curious about how it feels to breathe.
As if you were really paying attention to this for the first time.
Notice where each breath begins.
And where each breath ends.
Notice how it really feels to breathe.
Don't worry about thoughts coming and going,
We're not trying to empty our mind.
Instead we're focusing our attention on the breath and letting everything else just do its own thing in the background.
Like the chatter of a distant radio.
Or somebody chatting to their friend at the back of the bus.
We can be aware of the noise,
But tune into the breath,
Choose not to give attention or focus to the chatter.
This breath.
This moment.
Don't worry if your mind wanders off,
Which it will.
We're human and we're not accustomed to focusing our attention in the present moment.
We're used to being pushed and pulled by thoughts,
Judgements,
Stories,
Planned memories.
It's okay,
It's normal and natural,
But whenever you notice you've drifted off,
As soon as you catch yourself,
Take a big reset breath.
And start again.
Begin again in any moment with any breath.
Allowing each in breath to begin breathing.
And each out breath the complete letting go.
This drifting off and coming back is the process of meditation.
In the final minute or two we're going to extend and expand this awareness from our laser beam focus on the breath to a wider focus that includes the whole body.
First noticing the whole body breathing.
Notice the weight of your body supported by the cushion or chair that you're sat on.
Notice any sensations of warmth,
Pulsing,
Tingling and aliveness inside the body.
Cool feeling of air against your skin.
Notice sounds.
Both on this recording and where you are.
Any smells.
Just resting now for a minute in an open expansive awareness.
Present to or aware of everything you are experiencing right now.
With that same open curiosity as if you're experiencing what it's like to be alive.
To be human.
To be you.
For the first time really paying attention to how it is.
Right now.
And just forming the heartfelt intention and motivation to bring this presence,
This mindfulness,
This awareness,
Open,
Curious,
With you,
Out of meditation and into your everyday life.
Meditation isn't something we tick off on our list and forget about.
We're trying to cultivate a way of being,
An awareness,
A present moment awareness,
An openness that we can take with us out of meditation into the way we talk to our friends,
Our partners,
Our children,
Into the way we eat and move,
Into the way we experience the world around us.
With that present moment awareness,
That open kind curiosity.
Just ending with a moment of gratitude and appreciation for this practice,
For yourself,
For this life.
And slowly in your own time you may want to begin to wiggle your fingers and toes,
To sway your body in a circular or side to side motion,
To stretch,
To let out a big breath.
Roaring
