Mindfulness of body.
Take a moment now to adjust your posture.
Gently close your eyes and settle into your body.
Sit with an upright and open posture.
Now,
In your own way,
Take a few moments to relax your body.
Take a deep conscious breath and as you breathe out,
Feel your muscles softening and loosening.
With your eyes gently closed,
Become aware of the space before your eyes,
Like a field of darkness.
Perhaps there are some muted shapes or colours.
Just simply resting your attention there.
Now,
Bring your attention to any sounds coming into the room from outside.
Just listening with a gentle curiosity.
Let the sounds come to you.
Now,
Notice any sounds inside the room.
Now,
Perhaps even the sound of your own breathing,
Even if it's very soft.
Just listening.
Allow the sounds to call your attention into the present moment.
Now,
As you bring your awareness to the breath,
Notice the feeling of the breath as you breathe in.
And as you breathe out,
Feel the air moving over your nostrils.
Feel the slight movement of your chest and your belly,
Rising with the in-breath,
Sinking with the out-breath.
Listen to the gentle sound of your own breathing,
Just your natural breathing.
Follow each breath.
Now,
Take your awareness down to your feet.
Feel into your feet.
Feel the contact between your feet and the floor.
Move your awareness through your feet,
Noticing any sensations in your feet.
Again,
Just that gentle curiosity.
Perhaps you notice feelings of pressure,
Tingling,
Softness or hardness,
Warmth or coolness.
Whatever sensations are there,
Comfortable or uncomfortable,
That subtle sense of aliveness in your feet.
This is how you know your feet are there.
You feel them,
Just feel them.
Your toes,
Your heels,
The surface of your feet,
All through the feet.
And as you feel into your feet,
Feel the flow of your breath,
Just simply coming and going.
Now,
Bring your awareness up to your hands.
Rest your attention on your hands.
Feel the touch of your hands against your thighs,
Your fingers touching each other.
Notice the temperature through your hands and fingers.
Notice that subtle sense of aliveness through your hands.
Explore all the small sensations around and through your hands.
Take your awareness to your shoulders.
Notice the feeling in the muscles across the top of your shoulders and around the base of your neck.
Perhaps a softness or hardness here or there,
A pressure or a tingling.
Just notice any sensations there,
Even if the feeling is very slight.
Stay with it,
Just simply noticing.
And as you feel into the muscles of your shoulders,
Feel the flow of your breath in the background.
If you notice that your shoulders have come forward,
Make any gentle corrections to your posture.
Bring your awareness to the space before your eyes.
Become aware of any sensations in and around your eyes.
Move your attention through your eyebrows and across your forehead.
Notice whatever sensations are there.
As you feel through the eyes and across the forehead,
Feel the flow of your breath.
Now open your awareness to your whole body,
The feet,
The hands,
The shoulders,
A little of each of these areas.
Notice whatever sensations are coming into your awareness now.
Perhaps the awareness of the space in front of your eyes,
Perhaps the feeling of your breath.
Notice the movement in the body as you breathe in and as you breathe out.
Notice the slight pause between the in-breath and the out-breath,
The aware mind just noticing.
If you notice your attention wandering or becoming caught up in a stream of thought,
Simply bring your attention back to the next breath.
Feel your feet on the floor,
Feel into your belly,
Your shoulders and the flow of your breathing as you are aware of the space in front of your eyes.
Now as we come towards the end of this meditation,
Allow your breathing to become a little stronger.
Perhaps a deeper breath or two.
Start to reactivate your body by moving your fingers and toes.
Have a little stretch and when you're ready,
Slowly open your eyes and come back into the room.
