We begin the practice by bringing our awareness down into the body,
Noticing the sensations of our body being in contact with the ground,
Surrendering muscles to gravity,
And then performing an abbreviated body scan in which we spend some time with our feet and toes,
Releasing muscle tension,
Noticing the sensations there,
Then moving on to our pelvic floor,
And the area around our hips,
Spending some time with our torso,
Releasing tension,
Noticing the sensations,
Breathing freely,
Then exploring the shoulders,
The arms,
The hands and fingers,
And finally visiting our face,
Softening the muscles,
Enjoying the sensations,
And then extending our awareness to the entirety of the body,
Consciously allowing our breath to move freely,
And with the body resting,
Generating a positive motivation for this practice,
Revisiting our highest aspirations and goals,
And breathing life into them,
While firmly orienting this practice towards the fulfillment of those beautiful aspirations for our own happiness and the happiness of all who live.
Then with that,
Once again bringing our awareness to the body,
And in particular,
Paying attention to our abdominal area,
Noticing the part of our abdomen that gently expands and contracts when we breathe in and when we breathe out.
First,
Simply noticing these movements and focusing our awareness on the sensations associated with them,
Then while still attending to this area,
Adding the intention of inviting the energy of the breath there,
Inviting the energy of the breath into our abdominal field,
Perceiving it as an open,
Welcoming space,
Which can hold more of that energy,
Which can be nourished with it.
And doing this process of consciously inviting it there,
While still breathing naturally,
Not forcing the breath,
For just nine cycles of breathing,
Which we can mentally,
Gently count,
Or just for a few cycles,
Without counting,
And then eventually,
At the conclusion of this period,
Returning to the process of natural breathing,
Without this specific perception,
Without the invitation,
Simply noticing breathing in general,
Resting with it,
Eventually returning to the natural breathing in which we're noticing the entire field of the body,
All of the sensations associated with the breath,
Temporarily not fixing our attention on the abdominal area,
But just enjoying the overall dance.
And then once again coming to the abdominal area,
Noticing the sensations there,
Feeling that spaciousness and inviting the energy of the breath there.
But now,
After the inhalation,
We can very gently hold the breath just for a few moments,
For as long as it feels comfortable to do so,
And then of course releasing it with the out-breath.
Inviting with the inhalation,
Very gently holding,
And then releasing with equal gentleness.
And repeating this,
Once again,
For just a few cycles of breathing,
Without counting,
Or,
If counting feels more inspiring right now,
For nine cycles in particular.
And then after that coming back to the uncontrived naturalness,
And to the entirety of the body,
Still breathing.
Eventually,
Once again arriving in the process of natural breathing and just enjoying it,
While noticing all the sensations throughout the body,
As they change with each inhalation and with each exhalation.
Then no longer even focusing on the breath itself,
But simply resting in spacious clarity,
Without any particular reference point.
Releasing all reference points with the exhalation and simply resting right there,
In the immediacy of the present moment.
And then,
From that spaciousness,
Coming to the dedication of effort and energy,
Mentally orienting the energy and the insights of this practice to our highest aspirations for the well-being of the world,
For the awakening of all who live.
And then introducing some movement to the body,
Rocking back and forth,
Moving our fingers,
Reactivating our facial muscles,
And slowly concluding the practice.
