Hello and welcome to this meditation.
As we get started I'll invite you to find a comfortable seat allowing your pelvis to land in a way that it feels naturally aligned and in a way that it supports your spine in a nice vertical upright yet relaxed position.
Consciously place your hands in your lap or somewhere on your legs that they won't create strain in your back during this practice.
And before we continue we'll set a little mini intention for this practice.
One of patience,
Patience with ourself,
Patience with this practice and patience with our mind.
And as we look to begin the practice we'll start by taking three deep breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth to relax the body and relax the mind.
So let's do them together.
Breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth.
Breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth.
Feeling the body relax.
Last one in through the nose and out through the mouth.
Feeling the body relax and settle.
And now I'll invite you to turn your attention to the sounds and smells of the room around you.
Noticing all the sounds and smells no matter how subtle they are.
Just noting them,
Letting them be and moving on.
And as you let those rest in your awareness I'll now invite you to turn your attention to the physical sensations of your feet or legs on the floor or surface beneath you and the points of contact.
Allow your attention to move to your seat and its contact with the surface beneath it and the support that it's providing.
And turn your attention to your hands on your legs or in your lap and the physical contact there.
And on your next inhale I'll invite you to follow your breath in through your nose and down into your belly and then back out through your nose noticing the physical sensations of the breath as it passes through your body.
Maybe that's nose hairs moving in your nose.
Maybe it's the chest or belly inflating and deflating with every inhale and exhale.
Or maybe it's the fabric moving on your skin.
Again just as before just noticing these physical sensations no matter how subtle.
Letting them stay where they are and moving on.
And on your next inhale I'll invite you to gently guide your attention to wherever you feel the breath the most in your body.
Whether that's at your nose or in your chest or in your belly as they rise and fall.
Maybe it's in the shoulders.
And just allow your attention to rest there somewhere that it can observe the breath.
We're just going to allow the breath to proceed naturally as we observe the physical sensations of the breath in this one spot.
And on your next inhale I'll invite you to start counting the breaths.
As you breathe in count one and breathe out count two in for three out for four up to a count of ten and then starting over.
Gently reminding yourself that if your attention wanders during this practice that's perfectly alright.
In fact it's perfectly natural.
Just note where it wandered to.
Ah thinking and then gently guide the attention back to the breath.
As gently as you would a small child who's gone astray.
Continuing to count the breaths letting the breath happen naturally and just counting.
And if the attention wanders it's okay.
Just note where it wandered to and gently guide it back.
And now I'll invite you to just for a couple of moments just let the mind go.
Let it do what it's been wanting to do.
If it's been wanting to think let it think.
If it's been wanting to plan let it plan and just watch where it goes.
Bringing the attention back to the breath and the physical sensations in that place where you notice it most.
I'll invite you to follow your next breath in through your nose and down into your belly and follow it back out.
Coming back into contact with the physical sensations of the breath and the whole body.
On your next breath in breathe in to your lower body and notice the physical sensations of your hands on your legs or in your lap.
Notice the physical sensations of your seat and the surface beneath it.
Notice the physical sensations of your feet or legs on the floor or surface beneath you.
From your awareness let the sounds and smells of the space around you come back to your attention as we come back into contact with the physical space that we're in.
Gently introducing some subtle movement.
Maybe wiggling the fingers or the toes.
Gently nodding the head if that feels good.
And then just taking a moment to show gratitude to yourself for having taken the time for this practice and for having given yourself the gift.
The gift of these few precious moments that you've taken to just be with yourself and be with your breath.
Just being present.
And with that I'll invite you to blink open the eyes when you're ready and enjoy the rest of your day.
