Hello and welcome to meditation.
My invitation today is to return to simplicity.
The most simple way to meditate is to be with the breath.
So that's the invitation for today and I'll guide us through being aware of the breath.
Okay,
So just for now closing your eyes.
Arriving at your seat.
However you choose to be seated either on a chair,
Cross-legged,
On the floor,
On a cushion,
Kneeling.
And as you close your eyes or just find a soft gaze,
Just connecting with your body,
With the presence of your body in this moment.
Now ring the bell for us to officially start and at the end as well.
The bell is invited.
So I invite you to bring your attention to your breath.
Noticing the breath from inside the body.
And just right now where you feel the breath the most in your body.
Remembering that there's no need to change the breath or to judge where it should be or shouldn't.
The invitation is to just be with the breath as it is.
And it might be that you feel the breath on your nostrils.
My invitation to you is to be curious.
Noticing each quality that comes with the breath.
The temperature.
The length.
The difference between inhale and exhale.
Cultivating this sense of curiosity.
Moment by moment.
And as you feel the breath in your nostrils,
Noticing where it goes next,
Where can you feel it next?
As it gets in.
And then as it goes out.
Maybe you can feel in the back of your throat.
And it might be that as you pay attention to the breath,
Other things come in.
Like a sensation in the body,
An itching or a thought.
And that's completely normal.
And the invitation is for you to acknowledge,
Just return.
Return to your breath.
Noticing the breath.
Next,
Somewhere in the body.
Where is it now?
How does the breath feel in your chest or in your shoulders?
Noticing if there is any note of pleasant or unpleasant when you notice the breath anywhere.
Some spaces in the body might be more tight or open.
So just noticing how it is right now.
No need to change.
Just welcoming everything as it is in this moment.
It's okay if it's tight.
It's okay if it's unpleasant.
The same way that it's okay if it's open or pleasant.
There's no need to do anything.
But just note it.
Note where the body feels the breath and where the breath travels.
Maybe bringing awareness to the breath in your belly.
Maybe allowing the belly to soften and invite the air.
Maybe noticing how the ribs move with the inhale and exhale.
Noticing what happens in your back body,
In your spine,
With your breath.
And as you notice the breath,
As you bring attention,
Loving awareness to your breath,
Notice if any other area of the body responds.
See if you can keep the awareness on the breath,
But notice the whole body.
Almost as if the whole body is breathing.
And again,
If anything else comes into your awareness,
Like a sensation,
Pain,
Or a feeling,
Pain in the body,
Or a thought that crossed your mind,
Acknowledge that,
Welcome that into your present moment as it is without trying to change.
And see if you can still return awareness to your breath.
Inviting the breath to take over your body.
Inviting the breath to take over your mind so that you can simply be the breath.
Noticing the body and the mind breathing.
As trained as it might sound,
That your mind might breathe as well.
See if you can join the playfulness of the breath.
Sharing this space of presence that is the breath,
That each moment is flowing,
Is alive,
And is different.
And see if you can let your whole body.
Breathe.
Your whole body expand with the inhale.
And the whole body coming back to center on your exhale.
Expanding and coming back to center.
Where is your breath right now?
Where is the breath in your body right now?
And see the beauty of this movement.
And appreciating the beauty.
The beauty of being alive,
Of being here,
Of being present.
And as we return to the body,
Finding a place of ground,
Maybe through your sit bones,
Or maybe through your feet.
Just feel that sensation of support,
Of ground.
Noticing that when you focus on some part of the body,
The breath is still there,
Taking care of itself,
Taking care of the body.
And you can rely on your breath to be there.
As you focus on your feet or your sit bones and ground yourself in this moment in this body.
And as I ring the bell for us to finish our practice together,
Noticing also that with the sound,
Attention goes to the sound and the breath is still there.
And you can open your eyes again and return to the space around.
Noticing also that the breath is all around you,
Is the air around you.
It's everywhere.
