Welcome.
So making any final adjustments to posture,
Like micro adjustments.
And you can do this practice sitting down,
Lying down,
Standing up even.
And you are welcome to close your eyes or simply let your eyes rest,
Lowering the gaze.
Holding space for yourself.
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Arriving here,
Stopping.
And becoming aware of points of contact between the body and the chair or the stool or the bed.
Shoulders relaxed.
Allowing the facial muscles to relax.
The back of your head,
The neck.
Being here with a sense of wakefulness,
Alertness,
Presence.
What brings me here?
And how am I here?
What is my attitude in this moment?
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Purposefully checking in with the mind,
With kindness,
With compassion.
Is the mind restless?
Is it still?
There is no right or wrong.
The invitation is to observe how busy or calm the mind is right now.
As if you were in a movie theater.
Watching your mind's activity on the big screen from a safe and kind distance.
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And if you notice perhaps the mind rebelling against you,
Holding space for yourself in this way.
You may want to try acknowledging it by as best you can labeling what's here for you.
Here is a stressful thought.
Here is a work-related thought.
Busyness.
Joy.
And so forth.
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Knowing that you can always come back to this practice.
For now,
Allowing the mind and the labeling of its activities fade into the background.
And bring your awareness to your breath.
Wherever you feel your breath the most.
The nostrils or the lips.
The rising and falling of your belly perhaps or the chest.
There is no need to change your breathing.
Simply bringing a kindly awareness to observing the breath.
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This is an in-breath.
And this is an out-breath.
Perhaps also becoming aware of that tiny,
Tiny pause in between breathing in and breathing out.
And vice versa.
This tiny little pause without forcing anything,
Without changing the way you are breathing.
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And briefly checking in with ourselves.
Am I still here with the sense of wakefulness?
Returning the awareness to your breath.
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And now,
As best you can,
Becoming aware of the body as a whole.
So expanding your awareness beyond just the breath.
Bringing the whole body into your field of awareness.
The head,
Arms,
Legs,
The feet,
The hands,
The front of the body,
The back of the body.
Seeing if you can breathe even more consciously with your whole body.
Inhaling up through the legs and out through the crown chakra or the other way around.
Just playing with this.
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You can take this stillness that you have cultivated for yourself with you into the next part of the day.
This gear change that is about to follow.
What can you do to take this energy with you?
What can you do to take this energy with you?
Gently allowing yourself to reconnect with your environment,
The room,
The house,
The apartment,
The street and the wider world.
Very gently and consciously transitioning.
The bell is invited.
The bell is invited.
