Let's begin by finding a comfortable seated position.
Settling into a posture that is upright and alert,
Yet comfortable.
One that allows you to feel grounded and safe.
Allowing your eyes to gently close or rest half open in a slight downward gaze and begin to rest in the present moment.
Do a quick scan of your body from head to toe,
Releasing any obvious tension,
Relaxing the brow line,
Unclenching the jaw,
Resting your shoulders down away from your ears and relaxing the belly.
Consider taking a few deep cleansing breaths,
Then allow your breath to be natural.
Noticing how the body breathes itself naturally.
Bringing your attention to wherever you most easily notice the breath.
Maybe the cool tingling sensation in the back of your throat on the inhale or a warmth on your upper lip on the exhale or the rise and fall of your chest or belly.
If the breath is difficult for you to sense,
You might consider placing a hand on your belly to stay with the breath.
Letting the breath be your anchor to the present moment.
Our minds so often dwell in the past or the future,
Spending little time paying attention to what is happening now.
Our bodies are here,
But our minds often aren't,
So it's almost like we're living in a virtual reality.
The breath is ever-present,
So our attention to it serves our awakening.
It's always there,
Bringing us back to what's happening right here,
Right now,
So that we don't take for granted the sun on our cheek or the sound of the birds chirping in the morning.
Even though each moment of our lives is not pleasant,
What's happening now is real.
So we bring our attention back to the breath,
Back to the realness of this very moment.
Resting your attention on the breath.
Anytime you notice your attention has wandered,
Sensing gratitude for this moment of awakening and kindly returning your attention back to the breath.
Each time your mind wanders,
Gently bringing it back to your anchor,
The breath,
Without judgment,
Recognizing that this busy mind is completely normal.
Be right here in this moment.
You might explore bringing your attention to the beginning,
The middle,
And the end of each in-breath and out-breath.
Notice the space between breaths,
When the in-breath has ended and the out-breath has yet to begin.
This breath,
Right here,
Holding yourself with compassion,
Noticing you've been swept away from the present moment is the practice.
Each time you return,
Dwell in the spaciousness of the present moment.
For the last couple of minutes,
See if you can bring even more loving-kindness and gratitude to yourself for taking time to be present today.
For this very moment is all we have.
This is where our opportunity for awakening and joy lies.
In this very moment.
