So,
For these practices,
I like to sit in an upright position,
But you're obviously welcome to stand or lie down,
Whatever you find most comfortable,
And as much as possible bringing an alertness to your posture.
I'll close my eyes,
And you're welcome to keep yours open,
But it may help to have your gaze slightly lowered.
And at the sound of the bell,
We'll begin the practice,
Okay?
So just taking a moment to settle in.
Your shoulders and arms can be relaxed by your sides,
Your hands resting in your lap or also by your sides,
And just giving yourself an extra bit of comfort and adjustment if you need to.
And in the practice ahead,
We may notice our mind being pulled away,
Maybe morning where you are,
Maybe afternoon or evening,
And there may be a lot going on,
Thoughts about what we're going to do,
The to-do list,
That one priority that has a whole series of tasks,
That conversation,
That weekend plan.
Whatever's going on,
The practice ahead,
We'll put them aside and just bring our attention to what's going on in the body and the breath.
And today the first focus of our attention will be our feet.
Wherever you find the feet resting or planted now,
This may be on a hard surface or a soft one.
Just tuning in to whatever sensations you notice,
Maybe a feeling of pressure,
A feeling of contact,
A feeling of warmth or coolness,
Perhaps if the air meets the skin.
And you may notice no sensations,
And that's okay,
There's no right or wrong way to feel.
Tuning in as best you can to the sensations in the feet,
The underside of the feet,
Making contact,
Any sensations present in the toes,
Any tingling,
Pulsing,
Vibration,
And again if there's no sensation,
Then noticing this.
And in the practice ahead,
If we get pulled away by thoughts,
By distractions,
Sounds,
That's okay,
That's what the busy mind does,
That's what all minds do.
Each and every time we are pulled away,
Get caught up in a story,
Just simply acknowledge where the mind has gone,
And with kindness and without any judgement,
Gently bringing your attention back,
Back to where you're focusing.
And in this moment,
We're focusing on the feet,
Planted,
Grounded,
Wherever they may be,
And moving upwards from the feet,
Taking in the ankles,
Perhaps parts of the body we don't pay much attention to.
And if you notice any sensations here,
However subtle,
And then moving upwards to the calves,
Large muscles in the backs of our legs,
Lower legs,
Which may do a lot of work for us.
And from the calves around to the front of the lower leg,
The shins,
Noticing any and all the sensations present.
Upwards towards the knees,
The front and backs of the knees,
The sides of the knees.
And again,
If the mind gets carried away,
As it's likely to do,
Each time,
Without any judgement,
We'll bring the mind back,
Back to focusing our attention on sensations at this moment in the knees.
See if this is comfortable for you,
Doing this for a few more moments.
And now upwards again towards the thighs,
The quad muscles,
Again large muscles which may move us about and provide support.
And then around to the hamstrings,
Perhaps meeting a surface beneath,
Noticing any feeling of contact or pressure,
Feeling of weight.
And then again moving upwards towards the sitting bones,
To the pelvic region,
Taking in the hips,
Tuning in to any sensations that are present for you,
Noticing how they change from moment to moment.
And now bringing our attention to the lower navel,
Noticing any movement perhaps in this part of the body and any sensations.
We may notice the breath coming in and going out,
A gentle rise and fall,
This breath coming in and this breath going out,
And if it's comfortable for you,
Moving upwards,
Taking the whole of the belly,
The abdomen,
Perhaps noticing as you do this how the movements become bigger,
But if they don't,
That's okay too.
Noticing how the sensations change,
Noticing how much the abdomen moves inwards and outwards or upwards and downwards as you breathe in and breathe out.
And now moving up again towards the ribcage,
Part of the body which protects our vital organs,
Our heart and lungs.
What do you notice now?
And if it's comfortable,
As we move towards the chest,
Bringing your attention more closely to the sensations of the breath.
Notice how the breath comes in perhaps through the nose or mouth,
Passes down past the throat and into the chest,
And maybe down into the belly.
And if it's comfortable,
Focusing on the sensations of the in-breath,
And doing this for the next few breaths ahead.
Now reversing this,
Focusing on the sensations of the out-breath,
The breath perhaps leaving the belly,
Travelling up past the chest,
Past the back of the throat and out through the nose or mouth,
And tuning in to the sensations of the out-breath for the next few breaths ahead.
Now bringing both together,
The in-breath and the out-breath,
Perhaps noticing the slight space at the end of each breath.
With this in-breath,
And this out-breath,
And doing this for the next few breaths ahead.
Perhaps noticing now any difference between how you felt at the beginning of the practice and how you felt now.
And remembering there's no right or wrong way to feel,
There's no judgement.
And just checking in on where your attention is right now,
Focusing on the breath coming in and the breath coming out.
And remembering if the mind has wandered,
Just gently bringing it back without any judgement,
Each and every time this happens,
To this breath,
And this breath.
As we come towards the end of the practice,
Choosing the breath or sensations in the feet or hands,
And staying here until you hear the bell.
