Finding a comfortable position either seated or lying down.
Allow your spine to be straight and your shoulders soft,
Maybe even slightly rolled back a bit.
Your hands rest gently in your lap or by your side if you're lying down,
Keeping your jaw soft.
Once you're feeling comfortable and settled into your position,
Gently close your eyes.
Become aware of the points of contact between your body and the support beneath you.
Noticing where the back of the legs and the hips are making contact with the support of the seat or the floor.
Allowing yourself to sink into that support.
Take a full breath in through the nose and then gently exhale through the mouth,
Releasing all of the air from the lungs.
There may even be a little sound with that exhale.
Ah,
A nice release.
Doing two more slow breaths like that.
In through the nose and then out through the mouth with a little sigh.
Beautiful.
Now letting go of your breath and allowing your breath to flow at its natural rhythm and pace.
Breathing in and out through the nose.
Each breath soft and long,
Fluid and steady.
Now bringing your attention to your head and to the muscles of your face and notice if you can invite a little more softness.
Releasing any tension around the eyes or the jaw or even the neck.
And then moving your attention to your shoulders,
Arms and torso.
Noticing what your body feels like.
What do you notice?
See what parts of your body draw your attention.
Notice that part of the body and invite it to soften just a little bit.
With each exhale your body softens a little bit more.
As thoughts grab at your attention notice these as the natural activity of the mind.
Witnessing them move across the sky of the mind much like clouds forming and dissolving.
Then gently with kindness bringing your attention to your lower body,
The hips legs and feet.
Again noticing what part of the lower body draws your attention and inviting those to soften and release as well.
Allow your body to sink further into the support beneath you.
Exhale.
Now gently bringing your attention to your breath being curious about it.
Noticing the qualities of each inhale and each exhale.
The temperature of the air as it enters the nose.
Noticing the difference in temperature as the air exits the nose.
You might become aware of the sensation of the air moving across the skin in the space between the nose and the upper lip.
And as thoughts grab your attention notice and observe these.
Each thought just moving through the mind just passing through and then gently with kindness returning your attention to the sensations of the breath moving through the body.
Noticing the breath in the chest area.
Noticing the lungs filling with air on the inhale.
The gentle movements,
The expanding and releasing of the ribcage and of the muscles of the chest with each in breath and each out breath.
Noticing the effortlessness of this.
Your body knows exactly what to do.
There is nothing at all to do here just to notice and be curious.
Now bringing your attention to your belly to the abdomen.
You might become aware of a slight rise and fall of the belly with each breath.
Belly filling up like a balloon on the inhale and gently releasing on the exhale.
Each in breath,
Each out breath bringing a natural rhythmic rise and fall to the belly.
Nothing to do here but witness and be curious.
Notice and observe.
And as thoughts grab your attention recognizing this as the natural activity of the mind.
It's okay to have thoughts.
We can watch them go by like boats on a river and then gently with kindness returning your attention to the sensations of the breath in the body.
Noticing where the breath feels most dominant for you.
The nose,
The chest,
The belly and bringing your attention back there.
Breathing in and breathing out effortless.
All that is needed is to follow your breath in this way for a few moments.
Now gently returning your attention to the points of contact between your body and the surface beneath you.
Starting to tune into the sounds that are around you.
Gently blinking your eyes open and returning to your day feeling refreshed focused and clear in your mind and body.
