Find a seated posture that allows you to be both awake and at ease.
You can close your eyes if that's comfortable.
Otherwise allow your gaze to soften down on the floor.
Begin to settle into your physical posture and into this moment.
And until you hear the bells,
Try to release your sense of time.
Try to embrace each moment as if it's the only moment that there is.
There is nowhere to go,
Nothing to do except to be here right now.
During the periods of silence in this meditation,
Try to be with what is without the need to adjust or change anything.
And using the breath as your anchor,
Your place to come back to as many times as you need.
As you sit here,
Notice the physical sensations in your body.
Perhaps the soles of your feet on the floor or your sitting bones on your cushion or your chair.
See if you can grow a little taller through your spine and then allow your shoulders to soften away from your ears.
Allow your belly to soften and begin to observe the rise and fall of each breath.
No need to manipulate or change it,
But simply noticing what's already here.
Seeing the slight expansion as you inhale and the slight contraction as you exhale.
Perhaps placing a hand on the belly to more directly experience this movement.
Allow your attention to ride the wave of your breath,
Being here for every sensation.
Again,
No need to do anything,
But simply bringing a new curiosity and awareness to this active breathing.
As you breathe in,
Notice your breathing in.
As you breathe out,
Notice that you're breathing out.
As you notice your mind wandering gently and without judgment,
Bring it back to this breath,
This moment right here.
Follow your breath as it moves in through your nose and down into your lungs.
As you breathe out,
Notice how your breath moves back out through your body.
You might notice the slight warmth of the in-breath through your nostrils and the slight coolness of the out-breath.
As you breathe in,
Notice that your breath moves back out through your nose and down into your lungs.
As many times as is needed,
We bring ourselves right back,
Retraining our mind that we can be with ourselves in this way,
Not needing to change anything,
But simply being right here.
As you breathe in,
Know that you're breathing in.
And as you breathe out,
Know that you're breathing out.
As you breathe out,
Know that you're breathing in.
Allowing your awareness to dwell in this natural rhythm of your breath,
This breath that's always here for you.
The natural expansion as you inhale and fill all the way up.
And the slight contraction as you exhale and release the out-breath.
And for every time you bring yourself back to this moment,
The recognition that your mind has wandered and gently guiding it back to this breath,
Knowing that that is mindfulness.
This practice of guiding ourselves back again and again.
Knowing that this moment is all that there is.
And as we begin to close,
Take a moment to give gratitude for this space that you created for yourself.
This space to be here with your breath and your body.
Not needing to change or to do anything,
But simply to be right here,
Right now.
And consider setting an intention to continue this practice into the rest of your day.
Recognizing that you can pause to feel your feet on the ground or place a hand on your belly,
Coming back to the breath and back to the present moment.
