Welcome to this short meditation.
This meditation is best done on a chair,
Whether at home or elsewhere.
Inviting you to aim for an attitude of relaxed alertness,
Where your body is fully supported by the chair and the ground beneath you.
And the idea is that you're feeling comfortable and alert at the same time.
Keeping your back straight,
Following the natural curve of the spine and gently supported.
Your shoulder blades are slightly dropped and your hands are resting on your lap and your feet are flat on the floor.
And when you are ready,
Gently closing your eyes.
First of all,
I'd like to invite you to take three slow,
Easy,
Deep breaths to relax.
Breathing in slowly and as you breathe out,
Letting go of whatever burden you're carrying around.
Breathing in slowly and as you breathe out,
Letting go.
One last one.
Breathing in slowly and as you breathe out,
Letting go.
Inviting you to form an image of yourself sitting down here and becoming aware of your whole body sitting here.
And very slowly with your awareness,
Scanning your body from your feet up for any sensations.
Starting with your feet,
Going to your ankles and your legs,
Your sitting bones,
Your belly,
Your chest,
Your back,
Your shoulders,
Your neck,
Your throat and your face.
And really having a whole sense of your body sitting here and start exploring where in the body can you feel the breath.
Can you feel it in or around the nose,
Maybe with the air coming in and out?
Can you feel the breathing around your shoulders as they move up and down with the breath?
Can you feel it with your chest rising and falling?
Or maybe in the back as it broadens on the in breath and softens back on the out breath?
Maybe even noticing the rib cage expanding and subsiding,
Your belly rising and falling.
And feeling your whole body alive here and moving as you breathe.
And inviting you now to broaden your awareness to include any sounds in the room where you are and any sounds outside the room.
Being aware of where you are,
Being aware of your posture again.
And when you're ready,
Inviting you to gently wiggle your toes and your fingers,
Noticing the sensations there.
And in your own time,
Gently opening your eyes again,
Bringing this practice to a close.
