Track four,
Settling,
Grounding and resting with breath support.
So coming to sit in an upright position,
Closing your eyes or lowering your gaze.
And just noticing the breath for the first few moments.
You might like to try counting as you breathe in and as you breathe out.
Or perhaps using some phrases like breathing in,
Breathing out.
Just seeing whatever works for you.
And now when you're ready,
Bringing your awareness to the out breath,
Noticing as the body just effortlessly lets go of the out breath.
And now expanding your awareness to include the body.
We're going to practice grounding our awareness in our bodies.
So perhaps becoming aware of the feet,
Where they meet the floor.
Exploring any sensations where the body meets the chair.
Perhaps exploring any sensations in your shoulders.
And if you notice any strong physical sensations,
Pulling your attention,
Just exploring those as well,
Allowing them to become the focus for the next few moments.
And now letting go of any awareness.
Any particular part of the body and just expanding that awareness to all of the body,
Aware of the whole body sitting on the chair and breathing.
And the mind will wander again and again,
Just reminding yourself that's not a mistake,
That's just what our minds do.
When you notice the mind has wandered,
Just kindly,
Gently bring it back to being aware of the whole body,
Breathing.
Breathing.
And now we're going to expand our awareness still further.
Just going to rest in awareness.
Aware of the body and the breath,
But maybe also becoming aware of sounds,
Thoughts,
Feelings.
Just welcoming whatever comes up for us.
Nothing to do and nowhere to go.
Just resting in awareness.
And if as we rest in awareness,
The mind gets unsettled or anything becomes overwhelming,
Just return to the breath,
Allowing the breath to support your practice and connect you to this moment.
So we gather our awareness back to the breath,
Noticing the breath as it comes in,
As it goes out from the body for the next few breaths.
And whenever you're ready,
Letting go of awareness of the breath or just allowing awareness of the breath to rest in the background as we expand our awareness and continue just resting in that awareness.
Not looking for anything,
Not trying to fix anything,
Just resting in awareness with whatever comes up.
Nothing to do and nowhere to go.
Just resting.
And at any time if you feel unsettled,
Just going back to the breath.
Noticing the breath for a few moments and then continuing with your expanded awareness.
Noticing the breath for a few moments.
Nothing to do and nowhere to go.
Just resting.
And for the last few moments of this meditation,
Inviting you to just gather your awareness back to the breath,
Remembering that the breath is always there for you throughout your practice.
Just following the breath as it comes in and as it goes out from the body.
And when you're ready,
Letting go of awareness of the breath and kindly,
Gently escorting your awareness back into the room,
Perhaps becoming aware of the sounds inside or outside the room.
Opening your eyes or raising your gaze and bringing our settling,
Grounding and resting with breath support meditation to a close.
