Let's begin then by just feeling the weight of yourself in the chair,
The soles of the feet on the floor.
Now you can close your eyes if you want.
If you're not completely comfortable closing your eyes,
You can just let them unfocus a few feet in front of you,
It's also fine.
Noticing the soles of your feet,
And particularly just the sensations of soles of feet on floor,
And can you even now notice that as you become aware of the soles of your feet that there's a relaxation and an opening there,
Without you needing to do anything about it.
And can you now,
And just for the next few minutes,
Let go of the idea of,
Or the image of your feet,
So that you're really just moving into your ability to experience these sensations.
Perhaps also noticing the sensations of your calves and the thighs up into the sit bones,
And now also that area just underneath the navel,
That lower lumbar region,
And letting yourself sit more heavily in your seat.
Maybe you take a little rocking side to side,
Forward and back to find your sweet spot.
And noticing any extra energy,
Any extra activity,
Extra attention that you're doing even now,
Just as you're sitting here.
And as you notice that,
Perhaps you can let that gently drift away.
So we're sitting in this slightly more solid experience of sitting in the chair,
Becoming more and more aware of just the sensations of being here.
Now as you do that,
You might notice that your upper body feels a little lighter and you can allow your spine to straighten a little.
Just gently,
There's no need to rush,
There's no imperative,
But as your lower body feels a little more solid,
And you may experience it with a little more heaviness,
It frees up your upper body and your spine to extend gently up,
Vertebra by vertebra,
Up through your shoulders,
Which might also relax as the spine stretches up into the neck and the base of the skull.
And can you take a moment now while we're also just noticing and feeling energy and sensation,
To become aware of the sensation in your hands.
And simply letting go of anything that the hands might be doing,
Feeling any extra tension that might be there.
Taking a moment now to become aware of the whole body and how you feel,
And again letting go of any ideas or images of any part of the body that you're feeling.
It's fine if those images come back,
Incidentally,
That's what the mind is trained to do.
You can also just let them go and return to these sensations.
Notice how you feel now.
And as you notice how you feel now and sensations in the body,
You might also become aware of the sensations of the breath.
Sometimes we feel as though we need to do something to take a breath,
But what happens if just for now,
You let go of that idea or that need,
And just notice the breath coming into the body,
Letting the body breathe.
Perhaps you notice the breath in the nostrils,
Maybe in your throat,
In your chest,
Maybe all the way into the belly,
Whatever's right for you,
Just breathing.
As you notice the exhale,
See if that relaxation in the exhale can just diffuse through the whole body,
All the sensations of the body.
Waiting for the next inhale to come through.
Just trusting that the body knows when it wants to breathe,
Gently inhaling,
Exhaling,
Staying alert and also experiencing this relaxation as you let the whole body breathe.
So let's do three more of those and see where the in-breath wants to come into your body.
Breathing in,
Noticing the out-breath,
Relaxed.
Two more like that,
Breathing in perhaps,
Noticing and softening through any other tensions that could possibly do with a little bit of gentle awareness and care.
And with the third breath now,
Just noticing how you're feeling in the body,
Aware of any tension,
Simply noticing that for now as you exhale and relax.
Now as you are present right here,
There is nowhere you need to go,
There's nowhere you need to be,
Nothing you need to do and perhaps most interestingly,
No one you need to be.
Keep breathing and bringing your awareness down now to the soles of the feet again as you're sitting,
Just noticing how you feel now.
And maybe just a little wiggle into the toes and into the fingers,
Just to bring your attention back to the body.
Maybe a little sway side to side when you're ready,
Not with any sense that the meditation has ended but retaining this experience,
This sense of relaxation,
Of clarity and presence.
You can open your eyes and continue with the rest of your day.
