Making sure you're sitting in a comfortable position,
Ensuring your spine is erect and your chest is unrestricted.
Feel your shoulders drop and relax,
Enabling a gentle broadening of your chest area and supported by your shoulder blades.
Now softly shutting the eyes,
Engaging in a rhythmic pattern of inhales and exhales through your nostrils,
Directing your awareness to the breath.
Let the rhythm of your breath mirror the qualities you wish to nurture in your thoughts,
Gentleness,
Expansiveness,
Patience,
Silence,
Depth,
Simplicity,
Liberation.
As you start feeling at ease in this meditation,
Closely observing your breath,
You may notice that the exhalations are getting a little longer.
There's no requirement to change your breath purposely,
Just dwell in the presence of this comforting breath.
Approach your breath with a profound sense of wonder,
As if it's the most enchanting thing in your day.
Consider counting your breaths,
Or softly whispering to yourself,
Inhale,
Exhale.
Gradually,
Start experiencing the breath not just through the thinking mind,
But with your physical form as well.
Sense the breath,
The feeling of air circulating in and out through your nostrils,
The movement of your chest with each breath,
Even in the most tranquil moments of breath.
There's always motion,
No matter how faint,
There is a constant movement in and out through your nostrils,
In your chest,
Shoulders or stomach.
The process of breathing is a continual exchange with your body,
Subtly lifting and descending with each breath.
In this mindful observation of your breath and its motion,
Also acknowledge the perpetual motion of your mind as you rest here,
Focused on your breath.
The mind continues its activity,
Potentially distracting you.
If you notice any distractions,
Merely identify them as motions and gently redirect your attention back to your breath's movement.
The aim of meditation is not to halt this motion,
But to become aware of it.
The objective is not to cease movement,
But to refrain from pursuing it.
Since the commitment to observing the breath is made,
We adhere to it,
Reconnecting to the breath's awareness as many times as needed.
Approach this with a sense of curiosity,
Reverence and appreciation.
Stay expansively focused on your breath,
Embracing the motion of the body.
Accept the mind's movements,
No longer clinging to them.
Stay present with the breath's movement.
Now bring your awareness to the physical sensation of the breath in your body.
Notice the gentle rise that each inhalation brings,
And the relaxation of the shoulders and the subtle softening with each exhalation.
Stay with your breath,
Stay with your body.
No more resisting the mental activity,
Recognising the mind's movement as a flow of energy.
As natural as the movement of the breath,
At this moment it is no more significant than our breath's awareness.
We can disengage from it.
We can let the mind oscillate and entertain itself,
Clinging to nothing and pushing nothing away.
Let it all drift past you,
Just like with breath.
We don't hold on to the inhale,
We don't hold on to the exhale.
We allow the process to unfold.
Breath enters,
Breath leaves.
It's just motion,
Process,
Life.
And you can find some peace here,
Finding solace here.
Simply observing,
Allowing it all to exist,
And bringing your awareness back to the body,
Back to the breath,
Back to the present moment.
Take a gentle,
Slightly deeper awakening breath.
Wiggle your toes and fingers,
Have a gentle stretch,
And when you're ready,
You can open your eyes and return to the day.
Remembering to be gentle with yourself.
