Morning Practice: Waking Wave

Often we wake up and rush straight into our busy day. This meditation practice is a chance to begin your day, by tuning in deeply to your present moment experience. And in 3 steps, it connects and anchors you - to the sensations in your body, the sounds you hear, and finally to your breath. It is a gentle and calming way, to deepen awareness. And to prepare and energise your mind and body, for the day ahead. So you can reach the horizon of your day, feeling happier & healthier, with less stress.

Transcript

Welcome to Waking Waves.

It's well known that how we spend the first minutes of a day can have a significant impact on our experience and enjoyment of the rest of the day ahead.

We may have awoken from a peaceful sleep,

But our stillness and calm can quickly evaporate if we're distracted by the busyness and noise of our daily lives.

If however these first moments and minutes are spent on a self-caring or nourishing activity,

It really supports and encourages a happier,

More balanced,

Energised and focused day ahead.

A day where we're better able to respond to the push and pull of life's currents,

And to navigate the more challenging waters we may face.

And when moments of happiness,

Interest or wonder arrive,

We can welcome them with open arms and ride the waves of joy or contentment they bring,

Till we return again to rest,

To sleep and begin again.

So I'd like to invite you to try my morning practice,

Where we take three steps to explore sensations in the body,

Sounds and the breath.

It's designed to gently launch our day in the direction of greater calm,

Awareness and happiness.

To recognise the stability available when we welcome stillness.

To respond with kindness to any challenging thoughts,

Feelings or emotions that may surface.

And to set an intention to maintain this awareness,

So we can reach the horizon of our day,

Having supported ourselves throughout,

Enjoying all the nourishing moments life has to offer.

So taking a moment to find a comfortable position,

Whether sitting,

Lying down or standing up,

And bringing a sense of awakeness to your posture,

So that you're alert and present,

So that you know you are here,

But not tensed.

Your shoulders and arms can be relaxed by your sides,

And your hands resting in your lap.

Give yourself a moment to do this.

And as your body settles,

And any ripples of tension begin to subside,

Perhaps pausing to reflect that this is a time you have set aside for yourself to be fully present,

To be aware of the gentle flow of life that washes over you.

This may be a good moment to invite an intention for the day ahead,

An attitude,

A quality or behaviour you'd like to bring or embody today.

Perhaps a commitment to yourself,

Or to others you might wish to make.

Now allow yourself a moment to do this if you wish.

And in our first step today,

We'll bring our attention to sensations in the body,

Scanning from head to toe,

Your head balanced on the neck,

Or resting on the surface that's aborted.

The weight of the shoulders,

Arms and hands resting by your side.

Narrowing our attention in particular to the hands now.

Seeing any sensations that are present,

However slight,

Any tingling,

Pulsing or vibration.

Tuning in closely to anything you notice,

What is present for you right now.

And if there's no sensation,

That is okay too.

We're not attempting to be any particular way,

No requirement for your hands to either.

Whenever you notice sensation or no sensation,

Rest your attention gently here for a few moments.

And if thoughts or distractions come,

Allow them to be as they are,

Floating past like ripples on water.

And return back to your hands and whatever you notice in the palms,

The fingers,

The joints,

The whole hands anchoring our attention here.

We'll now make a conscious shift to our chest and ribs and upper back.

Our hearts and lungs kept safe here,

Then our lower back and belly,

Our stomach held and nourished.

The whole of the torso in our awareness,

Pausing for a moment to sense into this busy area of the body that does so much work for us.

Perhaps a moment to be grateful for the work it does.

And letting our attention flow downwards and out to the sitting bones,

The groin and hips,

The thighs and knees,

The lower legs,

The calves and ankles,

The feet,

The whole lower part of the body supporting our weight every day,

Helping us move,

Balance and steady when needed.

Noticing the contact and pressure with the surface beneath.

And as we did with the hands,

Steering our attention specifically towards our feet.

Tuning into whatever is present for you in this moment.

What obvious or subtle sensations are present in your toes?

What tingling vibration or pulsing ebbs and flows through the lowest part of your body right now?

And again,

If there's a pull for your attention elsewhere,

This is okay.

Our mind will create distractions,

Thoughts about the future or past,

Plans you may have for the day or that list of priorities.

Each time it does,

Recalling that we set aside the time to simply be here.

Our priority now is simply our attention on this moment.

So without the pressure,

Without the need to complete anything,

To plan anything,

To create anything,

Just alive to the sensations in your feet and toes and allowing anything else to drift past.

And doing this in the silence ahead.

Now in the second step,

We leave the sensations in the body for the moment and allow our attention to come to sounds.

To any and all sounds that may be present inside the room or space you find yourself in,

To the sounds coming from outside the room,

To the sounds from your own body,

To what lies between sounds,

The silence.

We don't need to search for any sounds or worry if there's very little or too much.

There's no right or wrong amount of sound.

You might notice how quickly we rush to judge,

Label or categorize sounds and then how quickly thoughts,

Feelings or even sensations spring from the sounds themselves.

Today we're simply hearing the sounds without judgment,

Without the need to change a label,

Just hearing each sound as they come and go.

Not holding on,

Just noticing how they happen and how they disperse and we can let them go.

Some sounds are obvious,

Some are less so,

Some repeat,

Some sounds overlap.

All sounds are vibrations we sense on the air,

The vibrating waves reach our ears,

We hear them and they go.

They come again,

The waves reaching our ears,

We hear them and they go.

The temptation to analyze,

To involve,

To make connections can be very powerful and this is not a surprise.

For most of us we've heard interpreted and labeled sound for so many years,

We're conditioned in this way.

But today we only need to notice them,

The soft sounds,

The loud sounds,

The sounds that come and go,

The sounds that are always here,

The sounds that are yet to arrive and the silence in between us all.

Now in the third step we let go of sounds and move our attention to rest on the breath,

Making a conscious shift and gently guiding your attention to wherever you notice the breath right now.

This could be at the nose,

The throat,

The chest or the belly.

You may notice a coolness as the air comes in or a sense of the body rising and falling with each in-breath and out-breath as a wave might rise and fall.

Whatever you notice,

Staying here in the silent moments ahead if it's comfortable.

Sometimes our breath flows effortlessly and sometimes when we pay close attention it can become strained or uncomfortable.

If at any point this happens or if distracting or challenging thoughts,

Feelings or emotions arise,

You can pause and give yourself some space.

You could refocus your attention on the body or sounds again and return to the breath when it's comfortable for you.

But if you're comfortable being here with those sensations,

Thoughts or feelings,

Perhaps allowing them to surface,

You could note each one as they enter your awareness,

Planning,

Tension in the shoulders,

A worry,

A memory or an image and then allow them to float by.

Noticing how the pull on your attention recedes and how with the next breath you take you can release a little more with this breath and this breath.

And if you are with the breath now,

Noticing the inward and outward flow,

This rhythmic tide which happens daily when we wake while we sleep,

By the hour,

The minute and second for all of us,

Perhaps bring some special attention to the in-breath for the next few breaths.

And now the out-breath for the next few breaths.

And now both breaths,

The in-breath followed by the out-breath and the space between the breaths,

The pause.

Notice how the body also moves gently with the ebb and flow of the breath,

Arising and falling,

Coming inwards and releasing outwards.

Staying now with whatever movement you notice most for the breaths ahead.

And as we move towards the end of our practice,

Perhaps taking another moment to reflect on the time you have given yourself today,

To recognize what is present in your mind,

Body and heart,

To the intention you have invited in,

To what you have gently released,

To notice the flow of life all around you in sensations,

Sounds and the breath.

How our attention can pass from each object like waves through water,

Rising and falling away but always part of the ocean that contains it,

From the moment you wake up right through to the horizon of your day.

Reviews

Amazing theee-part meditation for when you have time to go deeper.

Lovely! Bookmarked this to come back to again. Great way to start my morning with calm intention!

Your words and your voice really resonate with me. Lovely! Thank you David. 🙏💜🕊

Good for slow awakening, or falling back asleep. Well paced.

An effective creative practice that led me to be prepared for the day grounded, centered and balanced. The three-part awareness approach minimized my morning mind's wandering to the day's "To Do's." The just-right timed flow from body, sound to breath did not over-focus on one meditation aspect, but kept my morning mind gently in the present moment. Thank you for sharing...✨😌✨

Beautiful! Your voice is very soothing and calming. This meditation brought a needed peace and quietness to me. Thank you. You have an amazing gift.