I would like to invite you to stand if you can,
But if this is not possible,
This practice can also be done in a seated position.
And if standing,
Your feet flat on the ground,
About a hip's width apart,
Your knees soft and unlocked,
Your spine upright and self-supporting,
Your shoulders loose and also relaxed,
Your arms dangling by the side of your hips,
Your neck and your head poised comfortably between your shoulders.
In this practice,
You may wish to close your eyes for a moment if that is comfortable for you,
But if not,
You can just simply soften your gaze or drop your gaze to the ground in front of you.
And just taking this time to just stand here,
Feeling the ground beneath you,
Supporting you,
Holding you,
Feeling the sense of gravity pulling your weight down,
Rooting you into the ground.
Just taking a few moments to be in this posture,
Standing upright with the solidity of a mountain,
Rooted to the earth and rising tall into the sky.
And just tuning into how the body feels standing here,
Noticing how the body is constantly adjusting with little movements to keep you balanced,
Constantly swaying back to front,
Side to side,
To stop you from falling.
Just tuning into the body standing here,
Tuning into sensations in the body.
And then becoming aware that you are breathing.
Indeed,
You have always been breathing.
The breath has always been there.
But now feeling sensations of the in-breath followed by the out-breath.
And focusing your awareness on where you feel the breath the most.
Perhaps in your belly as it expands out and upwards on the in-breath and releasing on the out-breath.
Just following in the breath moment by moment.
Standing tall,
The body breathing.
And then expanding your awareness to include the whole body standing here.
As if the whole body is breathing.
And perhaps playing with the idea of the breath coming in all the way from the top of the head through the rest of the body and all the way down to your feet.
And then the out-breath coming out from your feet,
Up your legs,
Through the body and all the way out through the top of your head.
The whole body breathing.
Feeling this sense of the breath nourishing the whole body.
This breath and this breath.
Moment by moment.
Breath by breath.
The body breathing.
Standing here.
Standing tall.
And if at any point there is any areas of discomfort or tension in the body,
Guiding the breath into this area.
Breathing in kindness and ease on the in-breath and releasing tightness and discomfort with the out-breath.
And if need be,
Making any necessary adjustments as well to relieve any discomfort if that is what is needed.
Listening to what the body needs and adjusting to what the body needs.
Feeling the breath in the whole body.
Every cell in the body bathed by the breath.
The whole body breathing.
And then letting go of your focus on the breath or any one particular area in the body and tuning into how the body feels standing here.
Tuning into any sensations in the body.
Sensations on the boundary that envelopes the body.
The skin.
And sensations outside the body.
And as we come to the end of this meditation,
Taking this sense of awareness of the body into the next moments of your day.
Remembering that the body gives us an additional place to stand and reconnect with mindful awareness.
And if your eyes have been closed,
Opening your eyes and taking in the room.
