Okay,
Coming into a seated position where we can be upright and alert but still relaxed.
Closing your eyes if it's comfortable for you,
If not just closing them to minimize distraction and taking a moment to come into the body.
Just notice yourself in this space,
Notice the feet on the floor,
The hands in the lap.
Take a moment to adjust the posture a little bit if you need to,
To find that place of balance where the head is on top of the spine,
Allowing us to drop the shoulders down and away from the ears,
Relax the belly.
Check in with any areas where you know you tend to store tension,
Maybe the hips,
The jaw,
Maybe that little place between the eyebrows.
Just inviting in a bit of relaxation.
Then turning the attention towards the breath,
Not making any attempts to control it just now,
Just noticing the inhale,
The expansion of the rib cage,
The exhale as muscles contract.
Notice the sensation of air moving through the nose or over the lips.
Notice how the temperature against the back of the throat is a little cooler as the air comes in,
A little warmer as the air goes out.
All these subtle sensations that are happening all day,
Every day.
The reason we turn our focus towards the body is to come into the present moment.
Our minds can race all over time and space,
Particularly as writers,
I think we're prone to that.
But our bodies are always here now.
So focusing on the breath,
Focusing on the body,
It's a great way to come into the present moment and let go of all the worrying about the future or ruminating about the past.
Just be right here.
And as you do come into the body,
Turn your awareness inward.
Notice how your body is today.
Ask that question,
How are you and how do you know?
If you find that you're feeling content and well rested and everything's great,
That's lovely.
Enjoy that.
But more often than not,
We find there's something that isn't how we wish it was.
Could be a physical discomfort,
Could be a worry,
Anxiety.
Maybe you're sleepy,
Maybe you're hungry.
Try to meet these sensations with as much acceptance as you can.
I like the phrase,
Right now it's like this,
Because it's always true.
Knowing that we don't have to be happy about how we are,
We don't have to be unhappy about it.
Right now we're just observing.
And then having taken stock,
We can invite in a bit of gratitude for our bodies.
That even though they aren't perfect,
And perhaps they're not as we wish they were in whatever way,
They're well enough for us to sit here and take a few deep breaths to make this time for ourselves and our writing.
And that is a gift.
Definitely worthy of some gratitude.
So take a moment to let that gratitude just swell.
Notice what it feels like in the body.
Notice if it shifts any of the other sensations that were there before.
And then letting go of the gratitude practice,
We'll let our attention rest on an anchor.
You can either turn back towards the breath.
Choose a different physical sensation in the body,
Say the sensations of the feet on the floor or the hands in the lap.
Or turn your attention completely outside the body to the sounds in the room,
Waiting patiently for each sound to rise and pass away.
But wherever you choose to rest your attention,
Let all other thoughts drift on by.
All of our to-do's and have-to's will still be waiting for us when we're done.
We can just let them go for now.
And when you notice that your mind has wandered,
Which you will,
It's perfectly normal.
Just let that thought go.
Come back to the anchor and begin again.
No big deal.
Again,
Check in with the mind,
Just notice if it's wandered.
Come back to the anchor if you need to.
And in these last few moments,
If you'd like to go ahead and bring to mind whatever it is you're writing today,
Letting it float up into consciousness and preparing to transition from this more intentional meditation time into some focused writing time.
In a moment,
I will ring the bell three times and I invite you to maybe take one more deep breath before you open your eyes and get to work.
Happy writing.
