Welcome.
Find a comfortable seated or lying down position and you can close your eyes or soften your gaze.
Take three deep breaths in and out of your nose and start to notice the surface that's supporting your body.
You might feel the weight of your body supported by the earth beneath you and then notice your breath,
Just the natural rhythm of your breath without trying to change anything.
Breathing in and out of your nose.
I'll guide you through each of your five senses to help you bring awareness to the present moment.
Starting with hearing,
Bringing attention to your ears and noticing any sounds that are far away,
Maybe outside of the room where you are,
Or the absence of far away sounds.
And then bringing your attention a little bit closer to sounds near you,
Not trying to identify the sounds,
Just noticing them.
How sounds arise and then fade away.
And then notice if there are any sounds coming from your body,
Maybe the sound of your breath.
And you might send yourself some gratitude,
Gratitude for the sense of hearing.
And then bringing your attention to your mouth,
Noticing the sensation of your tongue,
Your teeth,
And your gums,
And notice if there's any sense of taste right now,
Maybe a sour or a bitter taste,
Just noticing whatever tastes you can sense in your mouth right now.
Sensing the weight of your tongue in your mouth,
The sense of taste.
And maybe sending some gratitude to yourself for the sense of taste.
And then shifting your attention to your nose,
Notice the air as it enters your nostrils,
And the air as you exhale,
Maybe there's a temperature difference between the inhale and the exhale.
And then noticing if there are any smells present,
And if not,
Noticing the absence of smell as you breathe in and out of your nostrils.
Noticing any smells,
Maybe sensing some gratitude for the sense of smell.
And then shifting your attention to your eyes,
You can keep your eyes closed and just notice the light that comes in through your eyelids.
Or if you want,
You could open your eyes just a little bit,
Just enough to sense some colors as you bring your attention to sight.
Maybe noticing areas of light or shadow,
And any colors you see through your closed or open eyes.
And if your eyes are open,
Go ahead and close them again,
Noticing that you can bring your attention to the sense of sight even with your eyes closed.
Noticing the weight of your eyes and their sockets,
Seeing if you can soften the muscles at the back of your eyes,
Maybe having a sense of appreciation for the ability to see,
Appreciation for your eyes.
And then shifting to the sense of touch,
Maybe noticing the sensation of air on any exposed areas of your skin,
Maybe your face or hands,
Arms.
Noticing the temperature of the air.
And then noticing the sensation of clothing touching your skin.
Slowly scanning your body to notice all the areas where you can sense clothing or any coverings touching your skin.
And then noticing all the places where your body is supported by the surface underneath you,
Maybe a chair or a cushion or the floor,
As you're supported by the earth beneath you,
Sensing appreciation for the sense of touch.
And then bringing your attention back to your breath,
Noticing where you sense your breath most strongly,
Maybe in your nostrils or noticing the rise and fall of your chest with each breath or the expansion and contraction of your abdomen as you breathe in and breathe out.
Just choosing one of those areas to direct your attention to for the next couple of minutes.
You might silently repeat to yourself the word in as you breathe in and the word out as you breathe out.
And when your mind wanders,
Just noticing that your mind has wandered and gently bringing your attention back to the breath.
In as you breathe in,
Out as you breathe out.
Breathing in,
Awareness.
Breathing out,
Sinking a little more deeply into the surface that's supporting you.
Is there anywhere where you can soften?
Maybe softening the muscles of your face.
Softening your jaw.
Releasing your shoulders.
Releasing any tension in your back.
Coming back to your breath.
And then taking three final deep breaths in and out of your nose.
Breathing in deeply.
Breathing out slowly.
And as the practice comes to a close,
You can slowly open your eyes.
Noticing light and colors.
Notice any sounds around you.
Start to bring some movement back to your fingers and toes.
Maybe circling your wrists and ankles.
Stretching your body in any way that feels right to you right now.
And I invite you to put your right hand over your heart and left hand over your right hand.
Noticing the warmth of your hands,
The pressure of your hands over your chest.
Just sending some gratitude to yourself for your practice today.
Thank you for practicing with me today.
Namaste.
