The intention of this meditation is to leave you feeling calm and at ease through long,
Elongated exhales and then a short concentration practice to gather what might be a scattered mind.
Finally,
We finish with a little gratitude practice,
Allowing a sense of appreciation,
Calm and ease to ripple out into the rest of your day.
So for the next few minutes,
Just know that you have nowhere else to be,
Nothing else to do,
Other than just be.
Right here,
Right now.
Just be.
So take a moment to establish your seat for meditation.
Spine long,
So that the body is alert yet relaxed.
Stable yet at ease.
Belly soft.
Pelvic floor just dropping away.
Shoulders relaxed,
Both on the surface and deep down into the shoulders themselves.
Relax the face,
Especially the muscles around the eyes,
Between the eyebrows and the jaw.
Breathing soft and steady in and out through your nose.
So we're going to begin with a breath work practice,
Breathing in for a count of four and out for six,
So that we're all on the same page.
Just take a casual breath in.
Inhale everything out.
And breathe in for a count of four.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Exhale,
Six.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Inhale.
Four.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Three.
Four.
Exhale,
Six.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Keep going like this,
Your own internal count.
The breath should feel smooth,
Like a steady stream,
A tap turned half way on.
No sense of forcing or striving.
The breath should be smooth and silky.
So it's in for four,
Out for six.
Keeping the counting at a nice even steady tempo.
Keep going like this.
Just noticing how each inhale is rejuvenating and replenishing.
Whilst each exhale helps you empty and let go.
Those of you comfortable with this breath count may like to stretch your exhale out to an eight count.
So it's in four and out eight.
Each time you breathe out,
The whole body softens.
Letting go of all tension,
All holding,
Any gripping in the muscle.
One more round like this.
And then whatever breath count you're working with,
Next time that you reach the bottom of the exhale,
Just pause for a two count.
So it's in four,
Out six or eight.
Pausing for two.
On the exhale,
Retention.
Notice how it feels to be in this space between the breath.
A moment of sweet surrender.
Nothing to do here,
Just be.
Take one more round of breath like this.
And then we'll begin to wind the breath back in.
So if you're at a four,
Eight,
Two count,
Drop it back to four,
Six,
Two.
And then wind it in again.
So you're breathing in for two and out for four.
And this time just pause at the bottom of the exhale.
No counting.
Pause for as long as feels comfortable before breathing in again.
So we're not necessarily trying to hold the breath here,
But rather just being in that space where the exhale ends before the inhale begins again.
Lovely then winding the breath right back in one,
Out two.
So the breath is almost a whisper.
Subtle,
Easy and effortless.
Until the counting dissolves altogether.
You allow your breath to return back to its natural rhythm.
And then softly guide your attention to the top lip.
From the tip of the nose to the corners of the mouth all the way across the top lip.
Just holding your attention here in this triangle,
Parameter that you have created.
Softly aware of the breath on the top lip.
Each time the attention wanders,
Without getting annoyed or frustrated,
Just gently guide your attention back to the sensation of the breath at that triangle at the top lip.
Know that it's completely normal for thoughts to come and go.
Each time the mind gets caught up in those thoughts,
Gently escort your attention back to the triangle on your top lip.
If it helps you can even say to yourself,
Start again.
Start again.
Start again.
Good job now that we're down here in this space of calm and ease.
Just take a moment to think of one thing you feel truly grateful for.
Truly appreciative of.
That might bubble from within as words.
Or maybe an image comes to mind.
A presence even within the body.
Whatever it is that arises,
See if you can turn it up.
Make that image,
Sound or colour truly clear.
No distortion.
Feel how that thing that you feel so appreciative of rests in the body as perhaps sensation.
And then in your mind's eye,
Just see yourself walking through the rest of the day with this same sense of appreciation and gratitude.
How does it look to see the world in this way?
To feel the world in this way?
To be the centre of that sense of appreciation?
Now when you're ready,
Take a couple of deeper breaths.
Breathing right down to tips of fingers and tips of toes.
Take your time to come back around and when you're ready,
A little movement back to the body.
Perhaps even blinking the eyes open and allowing the light back in.
