Just finding a comfortable way to sit,
Keeping your back straight and upright,
Allowing the chair,
The cushion,
The ground to fully support you.
Allowing your feet to rest firmly on the ground if you're seated.
Allowing your hands to rest wherever they naturally lie.
So we take a few minutes to just settle into this posture.
So settle into this meditation.
Taking a few deep breaths in and out through the nose.
Breathing in,
Breathing out,
Breathing in,
Breathing out,
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
Reminding yourself that there's nowhere else to be,
Nothing else to be doing.
There's just this moment,
There's just this experience.
Allowing yourself to settle into this experience.
Gently closing the eyes,
Softening the muscles behind them,
Softening the cheeks,
Relaxing the jaw,
Parting the lips,
Allowing the tongue to rest against the palate,
Allowing your shoulders to fall down and back away from the ears,
Letting your arms be heavy,
Your fingers to be loose and parted,
Opening up the muscles around the rib cage and softening the muscles of the belly with each breath,
Letting go on each exhale,
Getting deeper and deeper,
Heavier and heavier,
Settling into the hips,
Softening the muscles of the thighs,
The knees,
Just allowing yourself to be fully supported by the earth.
And as you settle into this posture,
Grant yourself this time to find this breath,
Knowing that you're breathing in,
Knowing that you're breathing out,
In and out through the nose,
Just gently settling your attention,
Either the tip of the nose or the rise and fall of the chest,
Using this as your anchor to this present moment,
Knowing that you're breathing in,
Knowing that you're breathing out.
If you find that your mind has wandered,
This is perfectly normal,
Perfectly natural.
It's your mind doing what it's been trained to do,
To keep occupied,
To keep vigilant.
If you find yourself thinking,
Planning,
Daydreaming,
You find yourself drawn to pain or itches.
Today,
We're just going to label these experiences as pleasant,
Unpleasant,
Or neutral.
If you find yourself drawn to them,
They may be pleasant.
If you find yourself pushing them away,
That might feel unpleasant.
It's oftentimes hard to identify the neutral,
But it may be there.
It may come up.
More than likely,
This experience,
This thought,
This daydream is going to be pleasant or unpleasant.
Just use that simple,
Silent label with each experience that draws you away from the breath,
And then bring your attention back to the breath,
Knowing if you're breathing in,
Knowing that you're breathing out,
Knowing that you're breathing out,
Seeing if when you find your attention,
If it's on the in-breath or the out-breath.
Just this breath,
Just this experience,
Just this moment.
Is it pleasant?
Is it unpleasant?
Is it neutral?
Bringing your attention back to this breath over and over again,
Finding your anchor,
Finding this moment.
The practice is about finding this moment,
Not about how many times you're lost.
It's about how many times you're able to find yourself,
Find this time,
Find this moment,
Experience this experience,
Be present.
In these last few minutes,
Just being aware of what is pleasant,
Of what is unpleasant,
Of what's neutral,
Staying with this experience,
Staying with this moment,
Staying with this breath.
Whenever you feel ready,
Taking a deep breath,
Elongating the back,
Allowing the shoulders to fall away from the ears,
The fingers to begin to move,
The skull to be looser atop the spine,
Your awareness begin to come back into the room.
Whenever you feel ready,
Just gently opening your eyes,
Keeping this awareness throughout the rest of your day.
