Sit in a way that's relaxed and comfortable and take a few moments to relax the body and the mind.
You could take a few full deep breaths and let your awareness come into the body and relax and let go on the out-breath.
Imagine you're releasing all the stresses and cares of the day as you exhale.
Breathing in,
Relaxing the body.
Breathing out,
Relaxing the mind.
You can sit with your eyes closed or with them open with a soft,
Unfocused gaze.
You might invite a smile to the corners of your mouth and your eyes and visualize meeting everything you experience with the welcoming expression of a smile.
Sitting in a way that is both relaxed and alert.
Bring your attention to the sensations of breathing,
The feeling of breathing in and breathing out.
As you breathe in,
Know that you're breathing in.
And as you breathe out,
Know that you're breathing out.
Allow the breath to be just as it is without trying to deepen the breath or change it in any way.
If it's helpful,
You can make a gentle note of in for the in-breath and out for the out-breath.
Or rise and fall as the chest and the belly rise and fall.
You can establish a home base wherever the breath is most noticeable or you experience most ease with the breath.
It might be at the chest or the belly or at the nostrils where the cool air enters and the warmer breath is released.
Let your attention rest in the direct experience of your breathing.
When you become aware that your attention has moved from the breath into thought,
Perhaps planning your day or remembering a conversation or having an internal dialogue or daydreaming,
Pause and gently bring your attention back to the breath,
In-breath and out-breath.
If it's helpful,
Note thinking or planning or daydreaming and come back to the breath.
Thinking is not a problem.
Simply note when you're lost in thought and incline your mind back to the breath.
You can begin again in any moment.
So you might just sit quietly for a couple of minutes,
With kind attention to your breathing and to being here.
