Coming into a seated position where we can be upright and alert but still relaxed.
Taking a moment to come into the space,
Just noticing the feet on the floor,
Bottom on the cushion,
Closing the eyes if it's comfortable for you,
If not,
Just casting the gaze downward to minimize distraction,
And adjusting the posture a little as we need to to find a place of balance where the head is on top of the spine,
Allowing us to relax some of the peripheral muscles in the body,
Dropping the shoulders down and away from the ears,
Relaxing the belly,
Checking in with any areas where you know you tend to store tension.
The hips,
The jaw,
Maybe even between the eyebrows.
Tension can be kind of sneaky right there,
I don't know why.
Then turning the attention towards the breath,
Not making any attempt to control it right now just noticing,
Noticing the expansion of the ribcage,
The contraction of the muscles on the exhale.
Noticing the change in temperature at the back of the throat,
How the air is a little cooler on the way in a little warmer on the way out.
Seeing if you can notice that subtle moment where the inhale becomes the exhale or vice versa.
The goal here is simply to bring our attention into the body,
Into this present moment.
And as we do that,
We become more aware of the sensations in our body,
The signals that are reaching our brain.
So take a moment and just notice what constellation of sensations are you experiencing today.
Trying to bring as much acceptance as you can to whatever you find.
Sometimes we check in with the body and everything's just great and that's lovely.
But more often than not,
We find there's something we wish was a little different.
Maybe it's a physical ache or pain or maybe we're worried or anxious.
These are so perfectly normal.
So just acknowledging it,
Saying,
Okay,
I see you worry or I see you achy knees.
And we do our best to be present with the reality of this moment.
And I always like to bring in a little bit of gratitude for the body.
Even if things aren't as we wish they were,
We can still take a moment to appreciate all the things that are working well enough.
To appreciate the bones and organs and tissues and blood vessels and countless goings on inside of our body that make it possible for us to simply sit here,
Take a few deep breaths,
Make some time for our writing.
And that is a real gift.
Notice what gratitude feels like in the body.
Can you nurture it?
Can you allow it to grow a little?
Does it shift and change as you focus on it?
And letting go of the gratitude practice,
We'll rest our attention on an anchor.
Can always turn back to the breath,
Anchor there.
But if focusing on the breath makes it feel tight or uncomfortable in any way,
Just shift your attention to a different physical sensation in the body.
Or turn your attention outside the body to the sounds in the room.
Waiting patiently for each sound to rise and pass away.
Wherever you choose to rest your attention.
Let all other thoughts drift on by.
See this as a real place of rest for you.
A place to hone your focus and prepare for your writing.
And sooner or later,
You'll notice that your mind has gotten caught up in a thought.
It's perfectly normal.
Minds think it's what they do.
We don't want them to stop.
But right now,
We're just going to acknowledge that thought and let it go.
Come back to the anchor and begin again.
As many times as you need to.
Again,
Check in with your mind,
Just notice if it's wandered.
And in our last few moments here,
If you'd like to bring to mind whatever it is you're writing today,
Letting it float up into consciousness,
Preparing to transition from this more formal meditation practice into some focused writing time.
And in a moment,
I'll ring the bell three times and invite you to maybe take one more deep breath before you open your eyes and get to work.
Happy writing.
