Finding your comfortable sitting posture or you can lie down for this one.
Listen to what your body needs right now.
Gently close your eyes.
And take a deep breath in.
Breathing out.
And this sends a little message to your body that it's time to let go,
Relax and shift into your own space to be present.
And then gently shift your attention to your breathing,
Noticing the air coming in and out of your nose.
And our breath is always with us and it's the thread that connects us to every moment of our lives.
So sitting and being alongside this thread,
Maybe feeling the cool air coming in and the warm air going out,
All the while accepting any busyness that might still be with you.
You may have a busy mind,
There may be a particular energy in your body,
So acknowledging that's there if it is and trusting in your breath to hold you in the present moment.
And noticing that little pause between your in-breath and your out-breath and your out-breath and your in-breath.
Feeling your breathing build as you breathe in into a crescendo and it gradually fades in that short pause and as you breathe out your breath builds again and then gently fades.
And you can notice the tone of your breathing,
Does it feel shallow or deep,
Is there a lightness to it or heaviness,
What are the qualities of your breathing,
Does it feel smooth or rough,
Maybe energised or is there a sense of fatigue,
Of tiredness.
And noticing with your felt senses rather than answering in your head,
Maybe some thoughts will come,
So let them be and come back to a direct experience of your breathing,
Allowing your breath to guide you to a still quiet place of non-doing or what is sometimes called being.
And this is a state of awakeness and aliveness and a caring attention that can hold anything that arises.
And the well-known Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh once said,
Our breath is like a bridge connecting our bodies and our minds.
In our daily lives,
Our bodies may be in one place and our minds somewhere else,
In the past or in the future,
This is called the state of distraction.
And our breath is a connection between the mind and the body and when you begin to breathe in and out mindfully,
Your body will come back to your mind and your mind will go back to your body,
You will be able to realise the oneness of body and mind and become fully present and fully alive in the here and now.
Allowing these words to go wherever they want to and letting them go if they don't serve you in this moment.
And as you breathe,
Sensing any stillness that arises,
Offering a kindly acceptance to any busyness that remains and remaining awake and present.
Now gently opening your eyes as we end this meditation.
