So just get comfortable.
Make sure your sit bones are comfortably in your seat.
And you can close your eyes down if you like as well.
And that'll help prevent you from getting distracted by other things that you see going on around you in the room that you're in.
So just taking a moment or two to arrive in your space.
And just allow your shoulders to drop as well away from your ears.
And the hands can be either in the lap or down by your sides,
Resting on the belly,
Wherever is most comfortable for you.
And you might like to take three or four long deep breaths just to arrive and just help settle into the space tonight.
Taking a few deep breaths in through the nose,
All the way to the bottom of the belly.
And out through the mouth,
Sighing out,
And just releasing anything from the day that you don't want to bring into the practice tonight.
Leaving all your stress and thoughts and worries or concerns at the door.
A few breaths in your own time.
And just allowing your breath to settle into its normal breathing pattern.
And just allow yourself to spend a minute or so just in an awareness of the breath.
Coming in through the nose and out through the mouth.
And on every exhale,
Just allowing the jaw to release a little bit more.
Letting go of any holding and any tension.
Allowing the tongue to rest gently behind the front teeth as you begin to breathe in and out just through the nose.
And as we sit in practice tonight,
There will be sounds and smells and tastes that might come and go.
So just allow yourself to notice any sounds that you can hear in the room.
Just observe them.
And just let them be with you tonight in the room.
And the same goes for anything you can smell.
Just allow yourself to notice any smells in the room.
Maybe incense or a candle or a meal that was once cooked recently.
Just notice and observe and allow that to just come and go as part of your practice tonight.
And the same goes for any smells as well.
Any taste.
Sorry.
Just noticing if you can taste anything in your mouth.
Maybe dinner,
Maybe toothpaste.
Just notice it,
Observe it.
And just allow it to be either present or to fade away.
Just try not to pay too much attention to any of the sounds or smells or tastes.
Just acknowledging them here and now and perhaps letting them fade into the background as we begin our practice of anapana.
A single pointed awareness on the breath.
Drawing all your attention to the nose,
From the bridge of the nose to the tip of the nose,
The sides of the nose.
Each of the nostrils,
The space between the nostrils and the upper lip.
To the base of the upper lip.
The triangle of your nose and upper lip.
Focusing all your attention just on this space.
Feeling the air coming in through the nostrils.
And out through the nostrils.
Noticing every single breath coming in and out.
Being present to any sensations.
Perhaps feeling the cold of the air coming in.
Feeling it travel up to the top of the nose.
Noticing the temperature of the air coming out.
Noticing the temperature of the air coming out.
Passing over that top lip and what that feels like.
Noticing any sensations on the other part of your nose.
Tingling,
Itching.
Cold patches,
Warm patches,
Numbness.
Headlights.
Stinging.
You might notice your mind start to wander,
Which is completely normal and expected.
And if and when you do start to notice your mind wander or thoughts start to creep in,
Just notice without judgment and without getting annoyed at yourself and just come back to the nose and awareness on the breath coming in through the nose and out through the nose.
Just spending the next couple of minutes in silence with your focus on just that triangle of your nose and upper lip and on the breath,
The natural breath coming in and out.
If thoughts are bothering you,
You can always just breathe a little bit more deeply.
And that can sometimes help as well,
Just focus your attention on that space.
Otherwise just the normal breath coming in and out.
It can be challenging sometimes when you really need aAvadi or more healthy notion back at.
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