Hello,
And welcome to this meditation.
We'll start by getting comfortable,
Letting the pelvis land on the seat beneath you at a natural angle so that the spine is supported and upright and relaxed.
Simply placing the hands either on the legs or in the lap,
Somewhere that they won't cause strain to your back or shoulders during this practice.
We'll begin by taking three deep breaths together in through the nose and out through the mouth.
Inhale,
And exhale out through the mouth.
Nice,
Slow exhale,
Feeling the body relax.
Inhale,
Slow exhale.
Last one,
Inhale,
Slow exhale.
And now just let the breath return to normal.
Nice easy,
Natural breaths,
Not forcing them,
Just letting them happen.
We'll take a moment to touch on our intention for this practice and intention of patience with ourselves,
With the practice,
And with our minds.
Remembering that if your mind wanders at any point during this practice,
That's okay,
It's perfectly natural.
Don't try and fight it,
Just gently note where it wandered to,
And then gently guide the attention back to the breath,
As you would a small child who's gone astray.
I'll invite you now to turn your attention to the sounds and smells of the space around you.
Noting each sound and smell that you can,
No matter how subtle,
Not getting attached to it,
Just noting it,
And then moving on.
Turning your attention now to the physical senses,
And turn your attention to the physical sensations of your feet or legs on the floor or surface beneath you,
The points of contact between them.
Turn your attention to your seat and the surface beneath it,
And the points of contact between them.
And turning your attention to your hands on the legs or in the lap,
And the points of contact between them.
Letting those stay where they are,
Those sensations.
Turn our attention to the breath,
Following your next breath in through your nose and down into your belly,
And then following it back out.
Noticing the physical sensations that accompany the breath,
With each inhale and each exhale.
Maybe sensations at the nose,
Maybe the fabric moving on your skin.
With your next breath,
I'll invite you to rest your attention wherever you feel the breath the most prominently in your body.
Maybe that's at the tip of your nose,
Maybe that's your belly inflating and deflating with every breath.
And just rest the attention there,
Allowing it to observe the breath.
Again,
Not forcing it,
Just letting it happen naturally,
And observing the physical sensations in that spot,
With each inhale and each exhale.
I'll invite you now to begin to count the breaths.
Inhale,
Inhale,
One,
Exhale for two,
Inhale for three,
Up to a count of ten,
And then starting over again at one.
Gently,
Without forcing it,
Letting the attention rest with the breath,
Counting the breaths.
Inhale,
Inhale,
One,
Exhale for three,
Up to a count of ten,
And then starting over again at one.
Remembering that if your mind wanders,
That's okay.
Just know where it wandered to,
And gently guide it back.
And now I'll invite you to,
Just for a few moments,
Let the attention go,
Let the mind go.
Let it do what it has been wanting to do.
If it's been wanting to think,
Let it think.
If it's been wanting to plan or remember,
Let it plan or remember.
And just watch where it goes.
And bringing your attention back to your breath now,
At that point in your body as before,
You'll start to observe the physical sensations of the breath again.
And I'll invite you to follow your next breath in through your nose,
Down to your belly,
And back out through your nose,
Noticing those physical sensations of the breath as it passes through the body.
On your next in-breath,
I'll invite you to breathe into your lower body,
Noticing the physical sensations of your hands in your lap or on your legs,
Your seat and the surface beneath it,
Your feet or legs on the floor,
Coming back into the physical senses,
Allowing the sounds and smells of the room around you to come back to your attention,
Bringing you back into the space that you're in.
And taking a moment before we conclude our practice to send gratitude to yourself for having taken the time to do this practice a few moments out of your busy day.
We can introduce some subtle movement,
Maybe wiggling the fingers or toes,
Gently nodding the head if that feels good,
And then blinking open the eyes.
