Take a moment to have both feet planted into the ground,
The earth.
You're comfortable closing the eyes.
You're just keeping a gentle gaze.
Starting to settle the breath.
Taking an inhale through both nostrils.
And exhale through parted lips to sigh release.
And inhale to fill up.
And exhale letting go.
One more inhale.
And exhale.
Just from here,
From this space,
Take a moment to settle on an intention.
An area that you want to focus on for your day,
Your morning.
It could be a feeling,
Peace,
Calm,
Relaxing.
Could be an action you want to put into place for the day.
Or it could even just be keeping a loved one in mind.
Just making it personal to you.
Take a deep inhale to fill up with that intention.
And exhale through the nose.
As we move through today's meditation,
We'll be moving through our senses.
Just holding that intention in the back of the mind throughout the rest of today's practice.
Starting with our sense of physical touch.
Just notice the body in the seat.
Notice if any shift where you can make yourself just 5% more comfortable.
So go ahead and do that now for yourself.
Notice the feet resting into the ground,
The earth.
Maybe the weight,
The pressure of the feet into the ground.
Notice any texture against the soles of the feet,
Carpets,
Sock,
The inside of your shoe.
Notice the temperature.
Maybe there's a coolness to the toes versus that that they're resting upon.
Bringing that attention to the backside,
The seat that it's rested upon.
And noticing weight of the body,
Texture of the seat.
Noticing the air around your body.
Can you feel the subtle difference between the temperature of the body and that around it?
Bringing this attention,
This focus to our sense of hearing.
Starting to notice the difference between sounds coming to you versus seeking sounds out.
Maybe there's a hum in the air.
The creeks and cracks that buildings make.
The subtle sound of your own breath.
Notice the emptiness of sound.
Shift that attention to our sense of sight behind the eyes.
Noticing any colors that show up behind the eyelids.
Noticing if they dance or move when you hear my voice or if they start to grow or shrink if the mind starts to wander.
Can you notice any colors behind the eyelids?
Bringing that attention and focus to our sense of smell.
Noticing the subtle sense that might linger in the air around.
Maybe some coffee smell from the morning.
Any hand soap or lotion you've recently used.
Maybe even this faint smell in your deodorant perfume.
More of the freshness of the air.
Bringing that focus to our sense of taste.
Noticing if anything lingers in the mouth.
Hints of breakfast.
Toothpaste.
From this space,
This moment,
We'll move to focus the attention on our breath.
Starting to notice your individual inhale and each exhale.
Not trying to change it in any way.
Just notice how it comes and goes.
How it naturally moves on its own.
The breath is the one thing we don't have to remind ourselves to do.
Everybody knows to do it on its own.
Start to notice the qualities of your breath.
With the inhale,
Feel easy,
Constricted,
Long,
Short.
Just notice without trying to change it.
Notice the exhales.
You feel forced,
Strained,
Flowing.
Noticing how the breath and the body move together.
As you inhale,
The belly may fill up.
The chest may lift.
The shoulders rise.
As you exhale,
The shoulders release.
The chest falls.
The belly compresses.
Using all three parts to each inhale and each exhale.
Once the mind feels especially busy this morning,
You can always add a phrase,
Breathing in,
Breathing out to help keep the focus on your breath.
Letting the space,
Without guidance,
Be the space for you.
You can start to deepen your inhale,
Drawing in the air,
The breath to refresh.
Lengthen the exhale to a slow,
Controlled release.
Taking another deep inhale to lengthen and a slow release.
One more just like that,
Filling up and exhaling to let go.
Take a moment to see here the connection with the body,
The mind,
Your intention for the practice.
Seeing how it feels now compared to where we started.
Taking a moment to send some kindness to yourself,
Some gratitude.
I'm thankful to myself because I'm sending that kindness,
Compassion,
Maybe with a simple phrase,
May we all feel healthy and safe.
Take another deep inhale,
Exhale,
Starting to make small movements,
Fingers and toes just to kind of come back into the room,
The body gently starting to blink the eyes open,
Maybe looking around the room,
Kind of gazing at the objects around.
If anyone's in the room with you to give them a smile and then to take this sensation and feeling throughout the rest of your day.
