I invite you to take this opportunity to find a position that can support you during this mind training practice today.
And that position could be sitting in a chair,
It could be lying on the floor or on a bed.
And generally just being in a position that is supportive for your body today and in a position that you can feel comfortable and at ease and very much in your body.
So I invite you to take that time right now to allow the body to start to settle.
You might find that the mind is quite busy right now.
Activity of the day,
Bringing it into this moment.
That's alright,
We're just starting to take some time right now just to pause.
Take a moment out of our day.
For just being.
I invite you to bring one of your hands to the chest or the abdomen.
Just placing a hand on the body.
Just notice how that feels.
The weight of the hand resting on the body.
What do you find?
Can you notice your breath?
Can you notice that the body is breathing?
Without any need to do anything,
The body breathes itself.
The breathing has been happening this whole time.
And just now we're inviting you,
I'm inviting you to tune into it.
Notice the rate of your breathing.
Noticing the breath coming in,
Going out of the body.
You might notice there's perhaps a quickness to the breath.
Maybe there's quite a speed,
Perhaps a feeling of tension in the chest.
Perhaps you notice that the breath is slowing down.
Perhaps you notice some ease in the body.
Whatever you notice,
Invite you to just be with it right now.
There's no need to judge what you find.
Invite you to just allow it.
Open to how it is.
Without any need to change it.
And continuing to practice in this way.
Breathing,
Allowing.
Allowing whatever feelings move through the body to just move.
You may notice times where the breath becomes quicker,
Speeds up.
The chest becomes tight.
The breath becomes shallow.
And then other times where the breath starts to slow down.
It might even catch in the body,
Feel like it pauses.
Whatever you notice,
Inviting,
Allowing,
Whatever you find to be here.
To be here today,
Right now.
And then,
Even though it's very difficult to keep the attention on the breath,
Invite you to add a mental noting.
So as the breath comes into the body,
Invite you to just silently say in your mind,
Breathing in.
And as the breath goes out,
Just silently saying,
Breathing out.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
Just noticing the rate of your breathing.
However it is.
Keeping close watch on it.
Being in contact with the actuality of your experience.
So let's practice like this for a bit.
And of course when you notice that the mind begins to wander.
Caught in thoughts.
A future or the past.
Caught in some emotion or some problem that you need to solve.
Some sensation catches the attention.
Invite you to come back to the hand resting on the body.
This feeling of breathing.
Even if it's a thousand times that you're coming back.
Each time just coming back with kindness,
Persistence,
Gentleness,
Guiding the mind back.
Guiding the attention back.
Just coming back here.
Breathing.
Feeling this breathing body.
If you like you can now remove that hand from the chest or from the abdomen.
Just noticing the process of that movement.
The hand starts to move away.
Noticing the muscles involved.
And taking a breath.
I'd like to invite you now to bring the attention into your feet.
Just notice where your feet are placed.
Noticing any sensations in the feet and the toes.
Bottoms of the feet,
The heels.
Sides of the feet.
Just noticing any sensations.
Allowing whatever you find to be here.
Breathing with these sensations.
Breathing with the awareness of your feet.
Noticing between the toes.
The tops of the feet.
And then when you're ready bringing the attention back into the chest or the abdomen.
Feeling the body sitting or lying here.
And breathing.
Where is the mind right now?
Are you caught in some thought?
Invite the attention back.
Start again right now.
Come back here.
Right now.
In this space.
In this body.
Feel your breathing.
Notice how is the body right now?
Do you notice areas of ease and tension in the body?
Maybe most of the body is at ease.
Maybe there's particular areas that are holding tension.
Take some time now just to notice what's happening in the body.
Perhaps aware of the face.
Any tensions that might be in the face.
The head.
Just breathing with what you find.
Perhaps noticing ease in the throat.
Some other types of sensations.
In the neck.
Shoulders.
Front of the body.
The torso.
Back of the body.
Sides of the body,
The arms.
Hips.
Pelvic region.
Just noticing what types of sensations are here.
Noticing the body breathing.
Feeling the buttocks.
The legs.
Front of the legs,
The back.
All the way down the knees,
The shins.
All the way down into the feet.
And just aware of the whole body sitting here or lying here.
Aware of this breathing body.
Take a moment to thank yourself for taking this time.
Tuning in,
Nourishing the body.
Through this kind attention.
I invite you to do this practice often.
These last few moments of the practice,
Gathering the attention once more.
And then stretching,
Moving the body.
Carrying on with your day.
Keeping in contact with the body.
Bringing the attention back into the body whenever you're feeling distressed or some intense emotion.
Carrying on with your day.
Bell.
