Welcome.
Thank you for being here.
We'll begin our practice by finding a way of sitting that is comfortable,
That invites a sense of ease and also supports you to be awake.
For these first moments,
Allow yourself to look around,
Inviting mindfulness of the body senses,
Acknowledging the space you're in,
Bringing a sense of curiosity to what you see around you,
Aware of any sounds,
Noticing the contact of the air with your skin,
The clothes on your skin,
The contact with the seat,
The support of the earth underneath you,
Letting yourself arrive and bringing now the attention inwards,
Allowing your eyes to close gently or simply lowering the gaze.
And even if you choose to close your eyes,
Remember that it is okay to open them at any point throughout this short practice.
Perhaps making a few deep intentional breaths here to collect your attention,
A deep inhale and a slow exhale,
Allowing the breath now to go back to its natural rhythm,
Inviting a smile into your face now,
An inner smile perhaps showing itself on your lips.
You might imagine a smile in between your eyebrows,
Smiling through your eyes,
Letting your face be soft,
Letting the shoulders to drop,
The arms and hands rest easily,
Bringing your attention now to a sense of your body as a whole sitting here,
Noticing how your whole body feels in this moment,
And see if you can turn your attention to the experience of your whole body breathing,
Staying with the experience of being present in your body in this moment as you breathe.
You might notice how you don't have to do anything in particular.
This is an invitation to rest and to be present in your body.
Rest in this moment while you're being breathed by life.
And as you sit here,
You might set the intention to welcome life as it is,
Welcoming whatever experience arises in this moment just because it's here,
Welcoming your present experience as it is.
You might become aware of body sensations,
Thoughts,
The state of your heart,
Whatever you find yourself experiencing in this moment,
You can say yes,
Welcome.
You might notice areas of ease or tightness,
Warmth or coolness,
Vibration,
Stillness,
All are welcome.
It might be a waterfall of thoughts,
Is it a stream of thoughts,
It might be a waterfall of thoughts,
Is there any planning,
Doubting,
Questioning,
Or is your mind quiet?
Whatever it is,
Can you let it be as it is?
How is the state of your heart?
Is there interest or gratitude,
Sadness,
Frustration,
Or it might be excitement or tenderness?
Noticing the waves of your experience,
Welcoming them all.
This is an invitation to let go of evaluating your present experience and instead welcoming it all just because it's here.
As you welcome whatever experience arises,
You can keep part of your attention in this sense of your whole body breathing.
It is from welcoming our experience,
From being present with it as it is,
That we cultivate our capacity to choose a wise response.
And for this last moment of the practice,
You can gently bring the attention back to your body seated here,
To the areas of contact with the floor,
The chair,
The cushion,
Perhaps making also any gentle movements.
Thank you for choosing to spend this time practicing together.
May you be well.
