You may sit on a meditation cushion so your hips are slightly elevated.
You may sit with your heels behind you in a kneeling position.
You may sit on a chair.
So find the position where you feel you can sit comfortably and the spine can extend up towards the sky.
So there's space in the body and there's openness in the chest.
Then noticing any sensations in the body.
You may notice the sensation of the sitting bones in contact with your mat,
Your cushion,
The earth.
Noticing the felt sense of the body surrendering to the support of the earth.
You may notice the knees in contact with the earth.
Feel the heaviness of your pelvis,
The volume of your legs.
Bring your awareness to the lower belly.
Feeling the belly gently expanding and contracting with your in-breath and the out-breath.
The belly softly moving with the breath.
And bring your awareness to the lower back.
Notice how you feel in your lower back.
You may notice tension,
Tightness,
Pressure.
You may notice openness,
Support.
There's no good or bad experience.
Just be aware that it is your experience.
And be in contact with the immediacy of your experience.
And bring awareness to your chest.
Let the chest be soft so we can feel the chest gently moving with the in-breath and the out-breath.
The chest expanding with the inhalation,
Softening in towards the spine with your exhalation.
Soften your shoulders.
Relax your shoulders even more with each exhalation.
Every time we exhale,
We let go more as if we're shedding our layer of tension of the shoulder.
Allow the chin to move back slightly and slightly tuck your chin.
So you can feel the space in the back of the neck.
And feel the crown of your head lifting up towards the sky.
The sitting bones grounding to the earth,
The crown lifting up towards the sky.
And we're receiving energy from the heavens,
From the sky,
And also from the earth.
We can feel a sense of groundedness and a sense of ease.
You may notice various sensations in the body.
Lightness some parts,
Heaviness other parts,
Coolness,
Heat,
Tension or openness.
Just pay attention to whatever sensation is moving through the space of your body.
Noticing how the sensations change.
The sensations may change from mild to strong,
From pleasant to unpleasant,
Or unpleasant to pleasant.
Just pay attention to the immediacy of your experience.
Noticing what's here now.
Listen to your body.
You may notice the whole body expanding with the inhalation,
Whole body softly contracting with the exhalation.
Pay attention to the totality of your experience.
Body expanding and contracting.
Your lungs inflating and deflating with the breath.
At any point when you notice you're holding tension in the body,
Consciously release the tension with your exhale.
Constantly checking and ask yourself,
How am I feeling now?
What am I feeling in my body?
And consciously,
Send the breath to where you feel the sensations.
As you breathe in,
Gathering the energy in your body and on the out breath,
Sending the breath to where you feel the sensations.
Stay awake and alert and relaxed in your experience.
Expand your awareness to the space around you,
Noticing any light,
Sounds,
The sensation of the air brushing your skin.
You may notice colors and shapes.
And then when you're ready,
Softly open your eyes and bring your palms to touch in front of your heart.
Bow your head to your heart,
Expressing gratitude to yourself for showing up to your practice.
Thank you for joining me today.
