Good morning everyone.
Welcome to this practice that brings together loving-kindness,
Mindfulness of the breath and body scanning.
We're going to be moving the awareness through the body,
Looking for the most loving breath for each part of the body.
So as you settle into the posture,
Seeing if that posture can express an intention of openness and love.
Intention expressed through the body.
So we're going to be listening with sensitivity to each part of the body and letting the breath merge with that sensitive listening.
Be a response to that listening.
And there's no pressure on the breath to be a particular way.
Just allowing the quality of the breath to emerge naturally out of the listening.
So grounding,
Feeling the solid,
Stable,
Peaceful earth under us.
Letting it be a reassuring presence,
Holding us.
And maybe breathing some of that peacefulness up from the earth into the body.
Letting it fill the body.
And starting to move the awareness through the body,
Beginning with the feet.
Letting the sensations in the feet come close.
The toes and the spaces between the toes.
The sole of the foot.
The heel,
The top of the foot.
And bringing the breath to the feet.
Perhaps imagining you're breathing into the feet as if through the pores of the skin.
Noticing the energizing effect of the in-breath and the release that naturally comes with the out-breath.
And still with the feet,
Just lightly noticing what would feel like the most loving breath for this part of the body in this moment.
Would it be a long breath or a short breath?
Would the breath be smooth or rough?
A deep breath or just a subtle whisper of a breath?
And moving the attention to the ankles,
Seeing if the attention can be really delicate,
Like a caress.
And looking for a loving breath.
Maybe that's a breath that's just what's needed for this part of the body.
And aware now of the calves and the shins.
Breathing in breath and out breath.
And moving to the knees.
Can they really receive the breath?
And can that breath be a loving breath?
If there's pain,
Tightness,
Letting that be felt.
And letting the breath respond.
And bringing sensitive attention to the thighs,
Front and back.
Tuning to what's needed in this part of the body.
Maybe it's a sense of space,
Ease,
Or more energy,
Aliveness.
Or a sense of openness.
Or maybe what's needed is just to be fully felt.
Letting the breath somehow bring what's needed.
Responding to this part of the body,
It might be just a subtle whisper of a response.
And sensitive to the whole pelvic area.
Pelvic floor,
Genitals,
Buttocks.
Responding with a loving breath.
And the lower back,
Noticing how it feels.
Sensing any emotional tone in that part of the body.
It might be subtle.
It might be impossible to name.
It might not be words for it.
Letting the breath respond.
The mid-back.
And the upper back and shoulders.
Noticing.
Breathing.
And aware of the lower belly.
And the solar plexus,
The middle of the torso.
Listening with sensitivity.
And letting the breath just join in with that sensitive listening.
Be part of it.
Heart area and collarbones.
What breath would feel most loving?
Tops of the shoulders.
And the upper arms.
Really tuning in.
And seeing if it's possible to feel the kindness in that sensitive listening.
And letting that kindness be reflected in the breath.
Elbows and lower arms.
Seeing how sensitive it's possible to be.
With the attention.
With the breath.
Wrists and hands.
How are the hands attending to them with love?
The fingers.
The spaces between the fingers.
Palms.
Tops of the hands.
And the neck.
Front and back.
What's it like to open fully to what's felt there?
And the whole head and scalp.
And the ears.
And the forehead.
And temples.
The eyes.
And the area around the eyes.
Nose.
Cheeks.
Mouth.
Chin.
Jaw.
And sensitive to the whole body.
The whole space of the body.
And including a sense of the space just a little bit beyond the physical body.
Holding it in a loving attention.
And a loving breath.
A breath maybe just a whisper.
But still loving.
And the whole body.
And the whole body.
And the whole body.
And the whole body.
And the whole body.
And the whole body.
And the whole body.
And the whole body.
And the whole body.
And the whole body.
And the whole body.
And the whole body.
And the whole body.
And the whole body.
And the whole body.
And the whole body.
And the whole body.
And the whole body.
And the whole body.
And the whole body.
And the whole body.
And the whole body.
And the whole body.
And as we come towards the end of the meditation,
Aware of the love,
The kindness you've been bringing to the body.
And perhaps imagining that kindness,
That love radiating outwards from the body towards all of life.
All of life now and in the future.
All of life.
All of life.