Welcome to this morning mindfulness practice.
The word mindfulness means to remember.
So as we sit this morning,
Let's remember our true nature of stillness through this beautiful practice.
Begin by finding a comfortable seat.
Maybe you're on the floor or a chair.
You can even lay down.
Just allow the spine to grow tall.
As you inhale,
Bring the shoulders up and back,
Dropping them away from your ears.
Chin gently pulls in.
Your heart is open.
Your shoulders resting on the lap.
Feel your seat or your body connected.
I invite you to allow your eyes to gently close.
I'll begin this morning with a bell.
Let's begin to follow the sound as it helps us arrive in this present moment.
Let's begin with three cleansing breaths.
Inhaling through your nose.
Exhaling out the mouth.
Two more,
Inhaling.
As you exhale,
Just release any old stagnant energy.
Release anything you don't need to carry with you today.
And one more,
Inhaling through your nose.
Exhaling sign it out,
Relax.
Now just begin to notice your breath without any effort anywhere in the body.
Just pausing any mental activity occupying your mind this morning.
Become aware of your breath as it enters through the nose,
Following it through the body and observing it as it exits.
Remember we're not trying to think about our breath.
We're trying to feel our breath.
See if you can allow the body to breathe you as you really locate where you feel your breath the strongest.
Maybe it's your nose,
Maybe the chest,
Maybe the belly.
Wherever that is,
Try to keep your mind and attention on that space.
It's really letting go of any judgments,
Letting go of your to-do list.
This may be the one time you sit still throughout your day.
Let's see if we can really be here,
Really enjoy it.
You may have already noticed thoughts arriving.
It's totally normal.
Just observe and allow.
This is the practice of mindfulness when we remember to come back to our breath.
So it's not about how often our mind leaves.
So no judgment.
It's more important that we do notice when our mind leaves and we remember to come home to ourselves,
To our breath,
Our anger.
Now let's begin to find the pause this morning.
So as you inhale,
I want you to follow your inhale all the way to the very end right before it shifts into an exhale.
And you will notice a very small pause in the breath.
Let's find it right now.
Once you notice it,
Just try to keep your attention on that brief pause.
It's so small.
You may have never noticed it before.
It may take you a few breaths to find it.
Good.
Now that you've found the first pause,
Let's try to find our second pause.
So the second pause is at the end of your exhale right before you shift back into that inhale.
It's barely a second pause.
Both of them are so small.
Now see if you can breathe and find both pauses in your breath.
Stay with your breath,
Finding your pauses.
Stay with the practice.
Smoothing out the transitions in these little pauses in our breath.
Just observing them.
Recognizing the pause is a great practice for clarity,
For focus.
Helps us unite the body with our breath and awareness.
It's a simple practice you can do anywhere.
And it helps us regain that clarity.
So let's take one last breath together.
Maybe setting an intention for how you want the rest of your day to flow.
Remembering you can come back to your intention,
Back to your pauses throughout the day.
I'll ring the bell.
Just follow the tone.
And when you can no longer hear it,
Gently open the eyes coming back to your day.
Thank you for joining me.
You can find the pause anytime you need it.
