Welcome and thank you for joining me today for this meditation to focus on the breath and to help refine your awareness.
So begin by finding a comfortable position.
Letting the hands rest wherever they're most comfortable today.
You may allow the eyes to gently soften or fall closed completely.
Our meditation practice is a mental discipline and like anything else it's a practice.
When we first begin it may feel a bit awkward,
Even difficult at first.
But it's important to let go of your expectations,
To not carry judgment and allow your practice to unfold organically and naturally for you.
And acknowledge anything that comes up with acceptance.
Begin after closing or softening the eyes and start to draw the attention to the connection of the body to the earth beneath you.
Noticing each point of contact,
Of support.
Start to take notice of the sensation of your breath as it moves in and out.
Noticing how the body is moving,
How it's moving,
How it's moving,
How it's moving.
Noticing how the body responds to the breath.
How it softly moves,
Expands and contracts.
Closing the eyes pulls a sort of a veil over the outside world to help draw the attention inward.
Still aware of the different sounds around you.
If in a seated position,
Try to find a little bit of length up the spine through the crown of the head.
Not rigid,
But just an encouragement of length and light.
Allow the awareness to move to the physical body.
Noticing if there are any areas of tension you may be holding on to.
Allow the shoulders to drop down away from the ears.
Soften the jaw.
And offer yourself permission to begin to relax.
Not making any changes to the breath,
But just perhaps noticing the gentle flow and natural rhythm of the breath as it moves in and out.
As the body begins to relax,
Allow the mind to begin to follow.
Bring your awareness to any intrusive or streaming thoughts.
We don't want to empty the mind completely in our practice.
We want to learn to slow things down.
To release some of our chitta or mind chatter.
To know that thoughts will arise during your practice.
But to not meet those thoughts with fear or judgment,
But with love,
Acceptance and redirection.
Redirection to the sensation of your breath.
And redirection to the present moment.
Beginning to let go of any thoughts about the past,
Any worries about the future.
And nothing exists but this present moment.
Imagine being able to start to peel away the different layers of yourself.
Starting from your outermost shell.
Releasing any labels that we carry around with us.
Taking off the many hats that we wear each and every day.
And each layer that we remove offers a sense of lightness.
And the ability to get a little bit closer to that central core,
Calm and peaceful aspect of ourselves.
Our true nature of peace,
Of love and of contentment.
That everything is just as it should be in this moment.
There is no want.
There is no need.
Just the awareness of self.
If you find you meet some distractions or obstacles,
Acknowledge any of those thoughts.
See them for what they are.
And then press them off to the side and redirect your focus back to your breath.
Allowing the thoughts to continue to slow.
And allowing yourself to surrender into that rhythm and pulse of your breath.
Like a gentle flow of water,
Allowing the breath to wash over you.
And then receive.
Continue to settle into a sense of mindfulness.
Allowing yourself to be at peace,
But to be present.
To quote John Kabat-Zinn,
He says,
You cannot control the waves,
But you can learn how to surf.
So imagine meditation as learning how to surf,
How to redirect when you find thoughts coming into your consciousness.
Offer thanks to those thoughts for coming to you.
Then giving them permission to release and dropping your anchor,
Which is the connection to your breath.
Hold on to that anchor throughout your practice.
When you find you're distracted,
Redrop it so that you don't drift.
If the thoughts coming into your awareness.
Are about uncomfortable sensations in the body.
Then honor those and make any physical adjustments to expel that energy.
And then drop your anchor.
Allowing yourself to be at peace.
Allowing yourself to be at peace.
Eyes still closed.
Become aware once again of the connection of the body to the earth beneath you.
Each point of contact.
Start to allow some movement to return back to your fingers and back to your toes.
Reconnect the body with the mind.
Knowing that you can return to this calm,
Peaceful,
Essential part of yourself at any time.
And it's always there waiting for you.
And I offer you a deep cleansing breath to release your meditation in through the nose and out through the mouth.
I offer you peace,
Love and light in your day today.
Namaste.
