So getting yourself comfortable.
Relax into your posture,
Whether you're sitting or lying down just taking a few moments.
I remember being told once this idea of can you be 10% more comfortable.
If you can,
Shuffle about.
The thing I love most about meditation is actually how much I love it.
Just resting.
And we're going to start absolutely there.
I just want you to rest.
Now resting isn't about trying to rest.
There's no resting pose.
There's no better rest.
Just letting go.
Busy mind,
Busy day,
Easy day,
Tired,
Alert.
All ok.
Resting doesn't touch any of that.
It's just that gentle acceptance of everything that's been or will be.
So for the next two minutes we're just going to rest.
Then gently guiding some of that awareness.
Onto the breathing body.
Now it is an effortless shift.
Now maybe as you're resting you're already noticing how the body breathes.
It does it all on its own.
It's that weird place of meeting the sense of doing and non-doing.
You know that the body is breathing and yet there's been no action taken by you.
You can notice it all.
In fact when we try and breathe it makes it harder,
Less enjoyable or can do.
The body knows and we're just letting the body know that we know and watching it.
I'm just seeing how much of each breath we can feel.
Now how much of this next breath can you notice?
Can you get a sense of it passing in through the nose as the stomach expands?
And as the stomach subsides the breath releases.
Now it doesn't matter what sensations you can feel or can't feel.
The most important part right now is the rest.
Just resting and noticing.
And so just for the next minute or two just rest with a gentle interest in that breathing body.
Enjoy.
Thank you.
And now as we're practicing we're watching distraction.
It's difficult to even really call it practice but it's an opportunity to look a little closer.
And so as we rest and we notice the breath happen and all the associated sounds.
We watch how the mind is distracted maybe by sounds,
Maybe by thoughts.
We realise that we didn't really do any of these things.
They just happened.
The thoughts happened.
The sounds happened.
And we've just allowed ourself to be disturbed by them.
So for the next two minutes I want you to see if you can just practice not being disturbed.
Now it may seem a little harder than what it sounds but really you're just bringing some acceptance to whatever disturbs you.
You don't need to worry about what you're thinking.
You don't need to worry about what sounds are passing by.
You can just begin to notice it all like movement.
You sat quite comfortably and watched the movement of your body in that being the breath.
Can we see sounds as being that same movement?
Is thoughts being movements of the mind?
Just relax and notice.
Rest into each moment.
Not perfect,
Imperfect.
Not doing anything.
Not trying to do something.
Radical acceptance as Tara Brackman said.
Just beginning to accept things for how they are.
The sounds are there.
The thoughts are there.
The breath is there.
Taste and smells.
And there you are watching it all.
This dance of life.
Enjoy.
And any time you get distracted allow it as much space as it needs.
Just watch how the distraction can pass you by.
Sometimes you'll do better.
Sometimes it will seem harder.
Both are wonderful.
As we see distraction don't do anything.
Don't think anything.
We can use our breath as an opportunity or an anchor.
If the mind is a little busier than normal and we're finding it a little harder.
Then seeing if we can just let go of the breath.
Let breath happen.
Let thoughts happen.
Let sound happen.
Let everything happen.
It is any way.
Effortless.
Now as we begin to bring this guided part of the practice to a close.
I want you to take the headphones off.
I just want you to sit wherever you are.
Embrace the life that's happening right now for you.
It could be a minute,
It could be 10,
It could be 20.
It could be just a few seconds.
But don't let the movement of the hands,
The headphones coming off.
Don't let any of this disturb you.
Just take it off.
Rest a few moments as long as you'd like.
Then get up and take this simplicity on into the rest of your day.
