So just before we begin,
Take in a few moments to really appreciate yourself for taking time to do this practice.
Cultivating mindful awareness helps us but it also helps everyone that we come into contact with too.
So well done.
When you're ready,
Just inviting you to get into a comfortable seated position and just ensuring that your posture is deliberate and upright and awake.
So not rigid,
Sitting relaxed but sitting with intention to practice.
When you're ready,
Gently closing the eyes or softly lowering the gaze.
Just reminding yourself that there's nothing you need to do right now.
There's nowhere you need to be.
So giving yourself permission to be here and take this time.
When you're ready,
Just taking a few moments to acknowledge the body.
So noticing how the contact points feel between the body and the surface that's supporting you.
Gently scanning through the body,
Noticing any sensations,
Aches,
Discomfort,
Tingling,
Buzzing,
Aliveness,
Any sensations,
Pleasant or unpleasant and simply breathing as you scan the body.
Softening,
Releasing and allowing with each breath.
When you're ready,
Taking three deep,
Slow,
Full breaths in and out and another two like that.
And at the end of this next exhale,
Just allowing the breath to return to its natural rhythm,
Letting the body breathe itself.
Relaxing the muscles in the face,
The forehead around the eyes and the jaw.
Relaxing the neck and shoulders.
Allowing the stomach to soften.
Legs,
Arms,
The whole body just allowing the body to settle.
Again,
Noticing any sensations in the body.
So you might,
You might notice tingling,
Movement,
Warmth,
Coolness.
Just allowing yourself to feel any sensations coming from inside the body.
And then checking in with what's arising in your experience right now.
What's on the mind?
And just acknowledging sounds,
Feelings,
Smells,
Thoughts or mental activities,
Moods and emotions.
And as the breath settles into its natural rhythm and peace,
Staying in touch with it.
Simply resting your awareness on each breath and noticing the quality and rhythm of the breath.
Noticing if it's deep,
Shallow,
More and more cool.
Noticing the feel of the breath as it enters and exits the body.
So where in the body do you feel the sensations of the breath most vividly?
Maybe the gentle rise and fall of the chest or the soft expansion and contraction of the belly.
Or maybe you notice at the bottom of the nostrils the air is slightly cooler on the in-breath and warmer on the out-breath.
So just see where your attention is naturally drawn and let your awareness just settle in here.
So feeling the flow of sensations created by the breath.
And allowing the breath to anchor you in the here and now.
And just letting everything else settle into the background.
Simply breathing in and breathing out.
And if your mind wanders off into thoughts and stories and planning for the future,
Ruminating about the past,
Not worrying.
This is normal.
This is what minds do.
And no need to try and push any thoughts away or also to get carried away by them.
Just noticing or acknowledging the thoughts like you'd acknowledge a stranger with a wee nod of the head.
And gently,
Kindly,
Intentionally bringing your attention back to the breath,
To what's happening right now in this moment.
Allowing thoughts to come and go.
Letting them be as you gently but persistently stay in touch with the feeling of the breath.
You're becoming more and more intimate with the sensations of breathing.
What do you notice as you breathe in and as you breathe out?
Feeling the breath in the body.
Feeling the breath out.
And from time to time you may find that you're no longer focusing on the breath and again that's okay.
When this happens just acknowledging that the mind has wandered off into thinking and inviting the mind to simply return to the feeling of the breath.
No need to be critical or disappointed or frustrated.
It's the same,
The same for everyone.
The idea is with mind wandering we're noticing when the mind wanders and simply inviting it back a thousand times if it wanders off a thousand times.
It's not a problem.
And if it's helpful for you seeing softly inside the mind breathing in on in-breath and breathing out on the out-breath.
Where is the mind now?
And then when you're ready bring in your awareness to the body.
So feeling the contact points between the body and the surface that's supporting you right now.
And being aware of the whole body as you sit here right now.
Whole body breathing.
And then bringing your awareness to the openness around you,
The space around you.
Sensing the space,
The spaciousness.
Reconnecting with sounds around you.
Noticing the song of this moment.
And then taking a final slow full breath in and out.
And setting an intention to take this mindful awareness that you've cultivated into the next activities,
The next moments of your day.
And when you're ready just bringing some gentle movement into the body.
Taking any gentle stretches that you need right now.
And then opening the eyes.
