This meditation is a mindful awareness meditation.
We'll be shifting our attention to different anchors throughout the meditation just to give you an opportunity to experience each one.
So find a comfortable position,
Whether it's on a chair with your feet flat on the floor and spine erect,
Sitting on a cushion,
Or laying down.
Take a moment to just notice where you are in the room,
Gazing about,
Allowing yourself this opportunity to spend here with me on this awareness,
Mindful awareness meditation.
And when you're ready,
Close your eyes or gaze softly at the floor.
And know that at any time during this meditation,
If it feels uncomfortable,
You're feeling triggered,
You're feeling as if to be in the meditation is distressing,
You can always open your eyes,
Move your body,
And come back to it another time.
So when with your eyes closed or gazing softly at the floor,
Take a few slow,
Deep breaths.
And with the in breath,
Trying to breathe deeply into your belly,
Feeling the breath throughout your body and your back,
And exhaling,
Emptying the lungs,
The chest,
The belly as fully as you can.
And now allowing your breath to return to its natural rhythm.
Notice your attention on your breath where you notice it most.
It might be the tip of your nose with the cool air entering and warmer air leaving.
It may be your chest rising and falling or your belly expanding and contracting.
Or you may feel your breath in your whole body.
Whatever sensation feels most prominent to you,
Focus your attention there.
And if you're having trouble noticing your breath,
You can always place your hand on your belly or your chest to help you bring an awareness there.
And when your mind wanders,
Which it will,
Just gently,
Non-judgmentally bring your awareness and your attention,
Your focus back to your breath.
And now I want you to shift your attention to the sounds that you might be hearing.
Wherever you are,
Just tune into the sounds as they come and go out of your awareness without focusing too much on one particular sound.
Just letting the sounds come and go like waves on the ocean rising and falling.
And again,
When your mind wanders,
Because it's prone to do that,
Just bring your attention back to the sounds.
And now we're going to shift our attention to our bodies.
Bringing your attention to your whole body.
Noticing any sensations,
Tingling,
Pain,
Contact with the chair or the floor.
Any sensations that you're feeling right now,
Just tune into those in your whole body from head to toe without trying to focus too much on any one sensation,
But just the sensation of the whole body,
Here and now.
And if your mind wanders,
Just bringing it back to the body and the sensations that you're feeling there without judgment.
And now we're going to bring our awareness back to the breath.
Wherever you're feeling it now,
Just tuning into your body as it moves,
As your body breathes.
Just allowing the breath to enter and exit your body.
And feeling your breath in the whole body as it moves in and out.
And your attention will probably wander and you may lose focus of the breath.
Just pause for a moment in that awareness and bring your attention and your focus back to the body,
Back to the body breathing.
And now take a moment and just thank yourself for giving yourself this time to bring some mindful awareness to your present experience in the here and now.
Wiggling your toes and your fingers and slowly moving your body however feels comfortable to you,
Opening your eyes when you're ready and remember you can make mindful awareness a part of your everyday experiences.
