Welcome.
Settle yourself into a comfortable,
Seated position.
Gently rest your hands in your lap.
And when you are ready,
Close your eyes.
And just take a moment to completely soften your body now.
Relax all your muscles.
Roll back your shoulders slightly.
Relax the space between your eyebrows.
Loosen your jaw.
Drop your tongue from the roof of the mouth.
And as you settle yourself in,
Pay attention to the movements in your body.
Notice whether you can invite more stillness and peace into these movements.
Slowly becoming in tune with our breath.
Welcoming more space with every in-breath and releasing tension with every out-breath.
Acknowledge that you are right where you need to be at this very moment.
Take a moment now to realize that you are here,
Present in this moment.
Taking in the things around you.
Just a simple awareness of where you are.
As you maintain this soft awareness.
Begin to deepen your breath.
Gently inhaling through the nose,
Feeling the air expand your belly and chest,
And slowly exhaling,
Feeling your body relax as you let go of the air.
Breathing in through the nose and breathing out through the mouth.
Very slowly.
At times,
You may become distracted.
This is the simple nature of the mind.
It tends to get busy.
Even when we don't want it to.
So if you catch yourself distracted by wandering thoughts,
It's okay.
You can try to imagine your thoughts as individual clouds.
Just passing by in the sky.
You are observing them from afar.
Watching them come and watching them go.
They are all in different shapes,
Forms,
And sizes.
But you don't engage with them.
Simply allow them to pass on by on their own without any attachment.
Acknowledge that you've been distracted.
And return your attention to feeling the sensations of the breath.
So just take a couple more deep breaths,
Breathing in deeply.
And breathing out slowly and steadily.
Not rushing anywhere.
Just being with the breath.
Allowing yourself to really ground yourself.
In the present moment.
Taking a long deep breath in through the nose and releasing the breath out slowly and gently.
Breathing in.
.
.
And breathing out.
One last time.
Breathing in.
.
.
And breathing out.
Allow your breath to return to its natural rhythm.
Simply observe the breath.
With a little bit of curiosity.
Whether you're feeling it most vividly in your abdomen,
Your chest,
Or your nostrils.
Feeling the breath moving.
Noticing how the whole body expands a little on the inhale.
And relaxes.
A little on the exhale.
Allow each breath to unfold by itself.
Neither lengthening it,
Expanding it,
Nor deepening it.
Allow the body to breathe itself.
Continue to sit with your breath for a while and simply be,
Moment by moment.
Truly listen to your body.
As it is now.
Noting which parts are comfortable and which parts are not.
Feeling how you are connected to your surroundings.
Feeling your body connect more and more to the surface beneath you.
And now,
Just spend the next few unguided moments just observing what is present for you.
Noticing anything that may stand out to you.
Noticing any sensations.
Noticing the breath.
Noticing the body breathing.
And just be gentle with yourself.
Continue to observe mindfully.
And now,
Slowly begin to return to your surroundings.
Feel the surface beneath you.
Feel the contact points between your body and the surface beneath you.
Gently move your body.
Wiggle your toes and fingers.
Move your head from side to side.
Shrug your shoulders gently.
And when you are ready,
In your own time.
Gently open your eyes.
