Welcome to this breath focused meditation.
Give yourself a chance to settle in.
Find a comfy position.
I like to think of settling into a little imaginary cocoon as I set my posture up.
Perhaps welcome in a sense of ease into your body.
Take a few moments to move and shift.
Maybe lift your shoulders up to your ears.
Move around your face.
Open your mouth super wide.
And then just start to soften.
Direct your awareness to any areas of obvious tension in your body.
And just give them permission to soften.
Sometimes those spaces just need our attention in order to let go.
At other times they may remain stiff.
And that's okay too.
At least taking a moment to set the intention for a sense of ease in your body.
Checking in and simply asking yourself,
Is there any way that I can become 10% more comfortable?
As you shift and adjust,
Start to make your way into physical stillness.
We'll start just by taking a few deep expansive breaths.
Breathing in through your nose,
Expanding your chest down into your belly,
Opening up your mouth,
Letting out a nice slow long sigh.
Again inhaling deeply in through your nose,
Filling up full lung capacity,
Opening your mouth,
Gentle slow sigh.
Once again,
Deep full breath,
Waking up the lungs,
Opening the mouth.
Perhaps noticing the sense of arriving into this present moment.
Noticing like peeling back layers of an onion.
Every moment and every breath becoming more and more aware of exactly this moment,
Of exactly right now.
Perhaps taking a moment to check in with your environment.
Opening your ears and just detecting all the subtle sounds around you.
And slowly settling in.
If it's comfortable for you,
You can do this meditation with eyes closed.
Starting to really tune in.
Perhaps bringing awareness to the space between your eyebrows.
And just feeling that space nice and soft.
Jaw released.
Directing focus now to the natural flow of your breath.
Perhaps without changing the flow.
Simply observing,
Inhale and exhale.
Simply watching the breath feels too elusive.
You can add an inward dialogue as you breathe,
As you inhale,
Inwardly saying,
Breathing in.
As you exhale,
Breathing out.
You may also choose to place a hand over your chest or your belly.
To physically feel and sense the rise and fall of your breath.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
As you continue to arrive in this space,
Your mind will wander.
Thoughts will come and go.
Allow this process.
Allow the experience of your humanness.
When you notice,
Simply return to your breath.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Again,
Like peeling back layers of an onion.
Every time we bring our awareness into the breath.
We're peeling back another layer,
Getting closer and closer into this essence of ourselves and this present moment.
How inwardly still can you become?
So that your senses are so dialed in to the subtle sensations of your breath.
Perhaps noticing the experience around your nose and your nostrils as you breathe.
Sensations within the airway.
Perhaps noting the coolness or the warmth of your breath.
Breathing in and breathing out.
And it's this process of finding kind and even playful compassion towards your own humanness as you observe how many little thoughts wriggle themselves in.
Being patient.
Allowing.
And when you can,
Returning to your breath.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Just taking note of what your inward experience is like when you give yourself the opportunity to hone in your focus to the subtle but profound experience of your breath.
Sometimes we may note a big shift.
And then other times we may notice nothing at all.
Give yourself a chance here to check in.
How do I feel?
What's different?
What is it like when I take the time to fully,
Truly experience the breath?
Concluding our practice today with a final deep,
Full breath in and a soft,
Gentle sigh.
