Settle into your meditation space,
Whatever that looks like for you today.
Take a deep breath in and open mouth exhale.
Let whatever your morning has already created for you start to just disappear into the background for the next 10 minutes.
You made it to your meditation practice and I acknowledge you for that.
Settle into the natural rhythm of your breath.
Bring your hands somewhere that is comfortable for you either palms down on top of your legs,
Or maybe fingertips to touch in your lap.
And if already the thoughts are flooding into your mind,
Don't be discouraged.
This is a practice.
Take a deep breath in through your nose.
And with your exhale,
Let your shoulders soften down your back and your forehead relax.
Just start to notice the quality of your breath.
This morning,
Without any judgment,
Without any effort to fix or change our power in our practice.
This morning is noticing.
And taking a glimpse at our breath,
We take a glimpse into the rest of our life.
So we'll focus on our breath.
This morning.
And when the thoughts come in,
Know that that is perfectly normal.
And we start to notice when those thoughts come in,
And then gently bring our awareness back to our breath.
So keep your awareness on your breath,
The gentle rise and fall of your chest,
Your inhale and exhale through your nose.
And now shift your awareness down to your feet.
And if you have a busy mind,
Know that keeping your focus on these two points,
Your feet and your breath,
Is more than your mind normally focuses on.
We normally focus on one thing at a time.
Maybe you notice that thoughts fade away.
Keep your awareness on your feet,
Where they rest on your floor or your bed.
Notice the gentle rise and fall of your chest.
And now bring your mental awareness to your hip bones or your sit bones.
And with your exhale,
Send your breath,
All the way to your hips.
And now bring your awareness to your solar plexus,
The space between your rib cage and your belly button.
Can you notice how your belly rises and falls with your breath?
While keeping your awareness also on your nostrils,
Your inhale and your exhale.
Bring your awareness to your heart center.
Take a moment here to notice how you're feeling today.
Your breath can also be a cue of this if it's difficult to take deep inhales and exhales.
There might be some heaviness or some anxiety in your life.
But our breath is a view into the rest of our life.
And it's not a practice of changing that so much as it is a practice of awareness.
And now shift your attention to your throat,
To your neck.
Maybe you even notice a slight change in your stature and the way that you sit when your awareness comes to this part in your body.
Shoulders stacked right over hips.
The gentleness comes to your jaw.
Bring your awareness up to your third eye center,
Your forehead.
Your seat of intuition.
Bring your awareness six inches above the crown of your head.
And if your mind wanders on this abstract point,
Let it wander to the people that are meditating with you this morning.
Know that we are connected.
And as you breathe,
Come right back to your breath.
And let your awareness down those points in your body,
Landing back in your feet,
Your forehead,
Your throat,
Your heart center,
Your solar plexus,
Your hips,
And your feet.
Allow that body scan to become a deep,
Deep inhale as you gently bring your mind back up to the crown of your head.
Let's try and bring that breath to a count of four.
So bring your awareness back to your feet.
Feel rooted.
Empty your breath.
And then gently inhale all the way to the crown of your head for two,
Three,
Four.
And then all the way back down to your feet for the count of four.
And then practice on your own for the next few breaths.
Just practicing,
Lengthening your inhale and exhale.
And if you fall out of this breath,
Don't be frustrated with yourself.
It's a practice.
Come back right to your feet and start again with an inhale.
The longer your inhale and exhale,
The more room you create for patience,
For joy,
For gratitude.
And then bring your awareness up to above the crown of your head.
Let it rest there and let go of any concentration,
Any breath work.
Just let the mind do what it's going to do.
Bring your hands to your heart.
Pause here for a moment and set an intention for your day.
My intention.
We have two today.
Joy,
Gladness without circumstance,
And patience.
Because this weather is hitting me hard.
So patience.
Deep breath in.
Deep breath out.
And release your fingers,
Press open palms forward and then up to the ceiling and take some stretches.
Roll out your neck.
