The meditation practice that I am offering to you,
It is called Sit on the Breath and it's a personal adaptation from the practice Awareness of Breath by Mark Stevens and another script from Susan Kayser Greenland of one of the oldest meditation practices called Sit and Know Your Sitting,
Which is also one of the simplest methods to take awareness on breath.
So let's start to quiet your body.
You can lay on your back in Shavasana posture or you can sit comfortable with your back straight into Kasana,
Easy pose.
There is an option to use this meditation to start or finish restorative Yin class and you can begin in this case in a reclined butterfly pose by the Konasana or child's pose,
Balasana.
Close your eyes and relax.
Gently begin to draw your attention away from what you are thinking now.
Observe the sensations in your forehead and around your eyes.
Your eyes closed,
Point to this place,
This sacred spot between your eyebrows,
The third eye chakra,
The place of your inner wisdom which will guide you through this practice.
Soften and free yourself from any tension.
Breathe in deeply and breathe out softly.
Smile a little and release your jaw.
The tip of your tongue touches the palate behind both front teeth.
Let your shoulders wade and drop away from your neck.
Relax your upper arms,
Lower arms,
Hands and fingers.
Relax into your breath.
Release one hand over your heart.
If you are in the child's pose,
Visualize the area that surrounds your heart.
Let your shoulders drop even more.
Where do you feel the breath?
Feel your breath move your hand up,
Then down.
Exhaling,
Up,
When you are exhaling,
Down,
Up and down.
What parts of your body are moving?
Now move your hand to your belly,
Soften,
Let go and relax.
If you are in the child's pose,
Visualize the area that surrounds your belly.
Let go and relax.
Breathing in,
Know you are breathing in.
What do you feel initiates the inhalation?
Breathing out,
Know you are breathing out.
How does it feel when you are exhaling?
Let your hands rest easy now.
Let go of any tension in your upper legs,
Soften your knees,
Soften your lower legs.
Let your feet feel heavy and sink into the ground.
Breathing in consciousness,
Notice the feeling of breathing.
What first happens in your body?
Breathing in deeply,
Breathing out softly.
Notice how your body feels as you relax and drop.
As your breath draws in,
Do you feel it in your heart center,
Across your face,
Between your temples,
Around your belly?
Breathing in deeply,
Breathing out softly.
What fluctuations do you sense in your mind?
The part of your body,
The part of your mind that is noticing,
That's awareness.
It's nothing special.
You don't need to look for it.
You don't need to do anything at all.
Commerce is always here.
Settle in and stay in your breathing for a few moments.
Breathing in deeply,
Breathing out softly.
How fully do you inhale?
Trust that your breath will find a natural rhythm.
Trust that awareness is always here.
Breathing in,
Know you're breathing in.
Breathing out,
Know you're breathing out.
What does this sound like as it flows in and out?
The part of your mind that is noticing,
That's awareness.
What changes in sensations?
If your mind gets busy,
Don't worry.
That's what it's designed to do.
How does the sensations of breath change as it flows?
To steady your attention silently,
Say in when you breathe in and silently say out when you breathe out.
Does the flow slow down,
Speed up,
Change or get stuck along the way?
Thoughts,
Images and sensations,
They will come and go.
The goal is to notice them without thinking about them.
Don't try to stop them.
Don't try to make them go away.
Don't try to change them.
They'll change on their own.
No need to reflect on them now.
There's plenty of time to do that later.
No need to add anything to your experience.
Just stay with it.
When sounds appear,
Hear them.
When sensations appear,
Feel them.
When thoughts and images come to mind,
Notice them.
That's how we sit and know we are sitting on the breath.
Inhale deeply.
Exhale softly.
Watch what's happening in your mind and body,
The way you would watch a movie or a TV show.
The storyline will twist and turn.
Threats of the plot will pass by.
Something new will emerge.
You don't need to look for this show.
Just settle in,
Relax and it will come to you.
Notice how those thoughts and sensations and images,
They don't have much effort.
Like the plot in a movie,
There's no real substance to them.
Nothing substantial to dig into or to hook onto.
Nothing to shut down,
To push away or to change.
Inhale deeply in.
And exhale softly.
You don't need to do anything at all.
Let go.
Relax your mind.
Smile a little bit and know you're sitting on the breath.
Before we end this meditation,
Take a moment to notice the ever-changing,
Always connected web of causes and conditions that lead to this and every single moment.
Staying with the breath as we feel it in the body,
We come to realize that we can breathe into the body in conscious ways,
Consciously directing the breath to places of tension or holding.
And in this,
We come to experience from inside how the breath transforms bodily sensation,
Emotional feeling and mental awareness.
Breathe in deeply.
Exhale softly.
If someone comes to mind who has been helpful,
Silently say,
Thanks.
Paying closer attention.
If someone comes to mind who has caused your arm,
Silently say,
I forgive you.
And if someone comes that you love,
Smile.
Inhale deeply.
Exhale softly.
And that's how we sit and know we're sitting on the breath.
Inhale deeply.
Exhale softly.
Inhale deeply.
Thank you.
Thank you for letting me guide you through this meditation practice.
I am grateful.
From my heart to yours,
Namaste.
