Settling into a comfortable posture,
Sitting on a chair or cushion,
Or lying on the floor.
If you're sitting on a cushion,
Making sure your knees comfortably reach the floor.
If they don't,
Putting a pillow or cushion underneath your knees to support them.
In this short guided mindfulness session,
We're going to be bringing attention into our body and using the breath as an anchor.
Starting by tuning into the sensations that are here right now in your body.
Taking a moment to feel the weight of your body resting on whatever is supporting you right now.
And then feeling the heaviness of your legs.
And the contact of your feet with the floor.
Bringing your attention all the way down into your toes and starting to notice the sensations here in your toes.
A tingling or a warmth or coolness.
Whatever sensations you can notice.
Even if that's noticing that the toes feel blank.
Being aware that parts of your body feel blank is also tuning into how your body is in this moment.
And then expanding your attention to include the soles and heel of each foot.
Feeling the sensations here,
The tingling,
Pulsing,
Changing sensations moment by moment.
And then bringing your attention up into your lower legs,
The calf and shin.
Noticing the sensations here on the surface and inside.
Noticing how quickly your mind might get pulled away into thoughts.
And then dropping back down,
Noticing the sensations again in your body as a way of anchoring your attention into the present moment.
Then bringing attention into the upper legs,
The thighs and hamstrings.
And noticing the sensations here.
Bringing your attention into the pelvis and feeling the weight of your body,
The contact with the seat.
And all the sensations here throughout this space of the pelvis.
You may notice a gentle rocking movement here in the pelvis as you breathe,
The tailbone tucking under as you breathe in and releasing as you breathe out.
Taking a few breaths,
Seeing if you notice this rocking movement or if your body feels still.
Now as you feel the weight of your lower body,
The heaviness of your legs,
The contact of your feet with the floor.
Bringing your attention to the breath in the belly,
Seeing if you can invite the breath down into the abdomen,
Releasing any holding here if you find that you're only breathing into the upper chest.
Seeing if you can soften the muscles of the abdomen so as you breathe in,
The belly fills.
Breathing out,
Emptying.
Feeling this movement of the breath filling your belly as you breathe in.
Breathing as you breathe out.
Then feeling that whole wave of the breath filling the belly and then filling the chest as you breathe in,
Emptying from the belly,
Emptying from the chest as you breathe out.
As you follow this flow of the breath,
Gently saying to yourself,
Breathing in,
I know I'm breathing in.
Breathing out,
I know I'm breathing out.
As you breathe out,
Noticing that pause at the end of the out breath before the next breath flows back in again.
Feeling how much you can enjoy the sensation of the breath flowing in and flowing out.
Feeling the sensations in your body connected with the breath,
The movement in the belly and the chest,
The movement in your back,
The ribs and shoulder blades.
Then noticing a gentle movement in the arms,
Lifting and dropping with each breath.
And the moment you notice your mind has wandered,
Gently bringing your attention back to this feeling of the breath in your body,
Using one sensation as an anchor for your attention.
So you may enjoy feeling the breath in your belly or the chest.
Maybe you notice it more in the back.
And every time your mind wanders,
Coming back to this anchor of the breath.
You're simply allowing thoughts to be here,
Like clouds passing through the sky,
So you don't have to fight them.
At the same time,
Stepping back so you don't get involved in your thoughts,
Simply letting them pass by.
And if you get caught in a thought,
Saying to yourself thinking,
Gently acknowledging what's happening and directing your attention back to the breath again,
Back to the sensations in your body you can feel this moment.
Noticing how you are now at the end of this practice.
Noticing how it feels in your body.
Noticing all the changing sensations throughout your body.
Noticing how you're feeling.
And what's happening with thoughts,
Is the mind the same as when you started?
Has the flow of thoughts in any way become calmer or more still?
Or have you become aware of some tension or difficulty you didn't previously know and now you've brought it into awareness?
As you finish the meditation,
Knowing there isn't a right way to feel or a right outcome to have,
You're simply wanting to become awake to how you are in this moment.
And then holding that with kindness.
So each time you return to this meditation,
Allowing yourself to sit and breathe,
Notice what's here in your body as physical sensations and emotions and noticing your thoughts.
Taking time to simply breathe and allow whatever is arising here to be present right now.
Using the breath as an anchor to come back again and again whenever your attention is distracted.
Bringing the practice to a close now.
Feeling the weight of your body,
The contact of your feet with the floor,
And noticing the sounds around you.
Getting some movement into the fingers and toes.
Taking a deep breath.
Breathing out,
Opening your eyes.
