Welcome to this meditation practice that will help to anchor your wandering mind.
In our practice today,
We will pay attention to the root of our awareness that connects us to the present moment.
As we become better connected to this awareness,
We can begin to dissolve anxiety,
Decrease stress and allow the body to heal in a relaxed,
Peaceful state.
To begin our meditation today,
Sit in a comfortable position,
Feeling the base of your spine connecting with the ground,
Feeling the weight of your body sinking into the floor.
You might choose to,
For a moment,
Gently sway side to side,
Just to allow your body to find its natural center of gravity.
Feel your tongue relaxing down on the roof of your mouth.
Feel your eyelids gently closing.
Sit in a position that feels dignified,
Alert,
Yet relaxed as your body begins to settle even more deeply,
Resting down into the gravity that pulls it and supports it into the floor.
Gradually allow your awareness to gather around the sensations of your breath as it moves through your body.
Where do you feel the breath most strongly?
As you continue to notice the breath,
Be curious about it,
Letting go of what you think the breath should feel like and sitting with the experience of the breath flowing in and flowing out,
Not judging or changing the breath in any way,
But for now just noticing.
Now very gently allow your awareness to turn to your whole torso.
Can you feel your body swelling on the in-breath and gently subsiding on the out-breath?
Can you feel any movement and sensations with the breath in the sides or back of the body?
Again,
Not trying to change the breath or move it in any way,
But just noticing the sensations as it flows in and out of your body.
Gradually now inhabit your body a little more deeply with a sense of curiosity towards whatever you are experiencing as you breathe.
Remember to be accepting whatever is happening,
Not judging but simply noticing.
See now if you can cultivate an awareness of the sensations of the movement of the breath in the body as they happen moment by moment.
Being careful not to strain or to change the flow of breath,
But allow your awareness to be utterly receptive as it rests upon the natural movement of the breath in the body.
Allow the breath to become filled with kindliness,
With warmth,
With compassion as it soothes any stress or discomfort that you may feel in your body.
Now welcome into your awareness any thoughts or emotions.
Remember mindfulness isn't about having a blank mind or getting rid of thoughts and emotions entirely.
It's normal to think.
But mindfulness is the training that cultivates the awareness of what's happening now physically,
Mentally and emotionally.
And because of this as you practice mindfulness you are able to choose the emotions and thoughts that you sit with at any moment and you're able to allow any others to float away like clouds in the sky.
Begin to look at your thoughts and emotions.
As you develop perspective of your thoughts and emotions,
Can you let go of being so caught up in them?
Notice how they're continually changing one moment to the next,
Exactly the same way your breath is always changing.
Continue to feel the breath moving through your body,
Allowing thoughts and emotions to enter into your mind when they come to you,
But not holding on to them,
Letting them float away.
Allow the breath all the way into the body and all the way out again.
Return your attention now to the awareness of your body and breath,
Leaving go all thoughts and emotions.
Your focus turns to the movement of the in-breath and the out-breath.
Your mind begins to wander or begins to want to stray back to thoughts and emotions,
Gently guided back,
Guided back to this focus on the movement of breath in your body.
Remember that each time you notice your mind has wandered,
It becomes a magic moment of awareness.
A magic moment where you've woken up from a distraction,
A moment of mindful choice.
When you notice that your mind has begun to wander,
You're succeeding in the practice of mindfulness.
Just as right now,
You're succeeding with your focus on the breath.
It's normal for the mind to begin to wander.
It always does.
Keeps us safe,
Keeps us alive.
But in this moment right now,
Allow your mind to focus simply on the breath.
Be aware of the sounds around you,
The movement of the breath in and out.
As we begin now to come out of this meditation,
Feel your whole body gradually,
Gently begin to move,
Making sure you're giving yourself time to make a smooth transition.
Gently shaking the body,
Reconnecting to movements.
When the time is right for you,
Open your eyes and remember that this breathing anchor is something you can return to at any point throughout the day.
