As you sit in your chair,
Take a big breath in,
And as you release it,
Feel your energy just dropping.
Feel your weight dropping into your chair.
Feel your shoulders dropping.
Then with another in-breath,
As you release,
Feel yourself stilling a little more.
Close your eyes,
And be aware of your feet on the ground,
Planted on the earth beneath you.
Be aware of your bottom on the chair,
And the support the chair is offering you,
Another anchor point.
And now allow your spine to rise vertically from that firm base.
Imagine there's a string at the top of your head pulling you taller.
And be aware of the space above you,
And how your spine is the connection between space above,
And earth beneath.
As your spine is tall and straight,
Without effort,
Just allow your shoulders to hang.
Notice they are free to hang,
And invite them to release,
And let go of any tension.
Take another big breath,
And as you exhale,
Let your shoulders drop.
There's nothing for them to do.
Take your attention to the belly,
And notice the slight movement of your belly as you breathe.
And you can begin counting on the breath.
Counting in for three.
Holding for three.
Counting out for five.
Holding for three.
In for three.
Hold.
Out for five.
Hold,
Two,
Three.
In.
Hold.
Out,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Hold.
In,
Two,
Three.
Hold.
Out,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Continue this,
And as you count and breathe,
Just notice your belly,
The slight movement in your belly.
There are three things to do.
Concentrating on the belly,
Focusing on the belly,
Counting to the breath,
And breathing,
Allowing the out-breath to be longer.
And if your attention wanders,
When you notice,
Bring it back to the breath and the counting.
You may start to notice a stillness in the core of you,
Right in that belly area,
A stillness.
Let go of the counting,
And allow the breathing to return to normal.
And focus on this still spot in the core of your being.
And just repeat to yourself,
As you focus on this spot,
Be still.
Be still.
Be still.
And again,
If the thoughts invade,
You've taken off on a thought,
Just gently bring your attention back to your belly,
And ask yourself,
Be still.
Be still.
Be still.
And keep repeating this to yourself,
As you keep your focus on your belly.
And turn your attention deeper into this still spot in your belly,
Deep within,
And go deeper.
And notice that this stillness is bottomless beneath you.
Sink deeper into stillness.
Notice this stillness extends in front of you.
It's to both sides.
And it's sky-like,
Space-like above you.
It's inside you.
And outside you,
There's no boundary.
All there is,
Is this stillness.
And drop even deeper.
Be still.
And as your mind wanders,
As it well do,
Bring it back,
With the invitation again,
To focus on the depths of that stillness.
And be still.
Be still.
Be still.
And you will notice,
As any thoughts occur,
Any feelings are noticed,
That they happen in the stillness,
And the stillness itself is untouched.
All life happens in this stillness.
Emotions rise up and fall away.
Activities happen.
Thoughts happen.
They happen in this,
This stillness that connects,
This vast,
Boundless ocean of stillness.
A tree knows this stillness.
A cloud knows this stillness.
A bird knows this stillness.
We are one in this.
No separation.
Be still.
Unperturbed.
Deep.
Vast.
Be still.
And know this stillness is who you are.
This unchanging,
Endless stillness.
It's the essence of who you are.
And the more you pay attention to it,
Rest in it,
The more it supports you,
Holds you,
Calms you.
Be still.
You're breathing in this stillness.
Bring your attention back to the breath.
Now noticing your body,
Your bum on the chair,
Your feet on the ground,
Your spine,
Your shoulders.
And take a bigger breath and turn up the energy in your body.
And bring it back,
Bring your awareness back to the room.
And noticing you can open your eyes and this stillness remains.
Be still.
And now you can take another deep breath and end your meditation.
Have a great day.
