Arriving into this space,
Finding a nice comfortable seated position,
This could be on a chair,
On a cushion,
On a mat,
Or even just lying down.
Just find somewhere comfortable enough so that you can commit to being there for a few moments.
When you find that spot,
Maybe just dropping the eyes down,
Closing the eyelids or keeping a nice soft gaze if you prefer to keep your eyes open.
Noticing where you are at right now,
Without judgement,
Without trying to change it or force it,
Just allowing it to be.
Noticing your breath,
Where it's getting sent in and around the body.
Noticing the pattern of your thoughts,
Whatever is there,
Again not judging it,
Just accepting it.
Noticing any tensions or areas of holding in the body.
See if you can soften them a little bit.
And noticing as well if there's any sounds happening around you.
Not trying to label them or attach any ideas towards them.
Just listening.
Where are they coming from?
Where are they moving?
We can use sound to help us be brought closer to this present moment.
We can use our breath to help us be closer to this moment.
If we can just recognise,
Allow,
Accept our thoughts,
Often they kind of disperse.
We might feel a little bit clearer,
Just for a moment.
Start to invite a little bit more breath into the body on your inhale.
See if you can allow it to move into the belly,
Into the abdomen,
To the chest,
The sides and the back of the body.
As you breathe out,
As you exhale,
See if you can let go of any of the tensions,
Any of the holding.
Maybe contracting ever so slightly more than you usually would with a normal breath.
Staying with this breath,
Gently rising and falling.
Breathing in and breathing out.
This breath anchors us to this specific moment.
This breath gives us life,
Nourishes our entire being.
This breath is a gift.
Stay with it.
Just paying attention to those tiny little moments between each breath,
Between the inhale and between the exhale.
There's little moments of stillness,
Complete stillness within ourselves and whatever is going on in the world around us.
Just taking a little snapshot,
A little pause.
Seeing if we can soften.
The hardest thing we can do is to be soft.
Softer in this breath,
In this expansion and contraction in our bellies and our lungs,
Throughout our body.
Softening any tensions or stresses in the body.
And softening with our thoughts.
Letting go of anything which isn't serving you completely in this moment.
Allowing everything to be exactly as it is.
Over time we'll become better at associating our breath with this feeling of tranquility,
Of calm,
Of stillness.
And no matter what's going on in this world around us,
Wherever we might be,
We'll always be with our breath.
With this portal,
This connection to this place.
You can stay here as long as you wish.
You can stay here with the breath.
When you feel ready and only then,
Start to think about bringing yourself back.
Maybe inviting a little bit of movement back into the physical body.
Still being soft,
Still being gentle.
Maybe wiggling the toes,
The fingers.
Circling the wrists,
The ankles.
In a deep stretch that feels good.
And then,
When you feel ready,
Really gently lifting that gaze,
Opening those eyes.
Taking in your immediate environment without judgement still.
Just taking it in.
