Welcome to the Gentle Awareness for Inner Balance Meditation.
So inviting the body to become still.
Sitting in a relaxed yet dignified posture.
Relaxing the jaw.
Relaxing the facial muscles.
Closing the eyes or lowering the gaze.
Whatever is most comfortable for you.
Relaxing the forehead.
And directing your attention to the shoulders.
Relaxing the shoulders.
Moving down to the torso area.
Relaxing the belly.
So the breath flows freely.
And noticing the sit bones planted on the chair.
Noticing the contact points.
Legs on the back of the chair.
Maybe noticing how the chair is supporting you.
Noticing the feet.
Making contact with the floor.
Feeling the weight of gravity.
Perhaps a sense of groundedness.
And when you're ready,
Directing your attention to the hands.
Perhaps noticing how the hands are making contact with each other.
Or resting on the lap or the arms of a chair.
Feeling the weight of the hands.
Maybe noticing temperature.
Are the hands cool or warm?
Dry or moist?
Maybe there's tingling sensations in the hands.
What's here?
And if the mind has wandered off,
There's no need to be harsh on ourselves.
The mind thinks that's just what it does.
Noticing when the mind has wandered off.
And then kindly and gently bringing attention back to sensations in the hands for a new beginning.
And now shifting your awareness to the breath.
Perhaps in the belly chest area.
Or maybe through the nostrils.
Whatever feels most accessible to you in this moment.
Breathing in,
Knowing that you're breathing in.
And breathing out,
Knowing that you're breathing out.
Feeling sensations of the breath.
And if the mind wanders off,
When we notice that the mind has wandered off,
That's a moment of awareness.
And then we can choose with kindness towards ourselves to bring our attention back to the breath for a new beginning.
And now shifting your awareness from the breath to sound.
Perhaps noticing the sound of the breath.
Or a sound of a computer gently humming.
Or perhaps the sound of an HVAC system running.
Noticing the ever-changing nature of sounds.
Arising.
Maybe changing in some way.
Or dissipating.
And now choosing an anchor to focus your attention on.
That anchor can be sound.
The breath and the belly chest area or through the nostrils.
Or it can be sensations in the body like the hands.
Choosing an anchor that feels accessible to you in this moment or at least neutral.
And when the mind wanders off,
Ever so gently and kindly bringing attention back to this anchor,
This home base for a new beginning.
Again and again and again.
Checking in to see where the mind is.
When we notice that the mind has wandered off,
We're exercising that mindfulness muscle.
It's part of the practice.
And when we notice,
We can bring attention back to the anchor,
The home base of our choosing for a new beginning.
With kindness and gentleness towards ourselves.
Present to what is.
And I'll be sounding the bell to mark the closing of this practice.
And may you carry this calm with you into the rest of your day or evening.
