Welcome and thank you for joining me.
Please get comfortable.
Find your way to a posture that allows you to be present and awake and also at ease.
And then finding your way to stillness you might give yourself permission.
Permission to take this space and time to practice.
You can let your eyes close or let them rest open with a soft gaze.
And start by sensing the ground underneath you.
Let yourself settle into your body,
Into your seat.
And you might scan through your body for any noticeable areas of contraction or unnecessary effort.
And see what you can easily let go.
See if you can find a simple length through your spine.
I like to think of it as a simple spaciousness through my back.
Invite your hips to relax.
Your legs to be at ease.
And allow your abdomen to be soft so it can move as you breathe.
Your belly can rise and fall.
Your shoulders and your arms can rest right now.
You can feel their weight on your lap.
Letting your fingers be still and relaxed.
Easy hands.
The muscles in your face can be gentle,
Easy.
A relaxed jaw.
Soft lips.
Soft eyes.
A relaxed brow.
Inviting yourself to let go of thinking ahead into the future,
What's coming next.
Or going back over the past,
What's already gone on.
But instead to be right here in the present moment.
You might listen to the sounds of the present moment.
Effortlessly hearing the sounds of life right now come and go without needing to do anything with them.
And then from this place,
Sensing your body slowing down,
Begin to feel yourself breathing.
Very gradually drop into its rhythm,
Its pace,
Just as it is.
It's okay if it feels subtle at first.
And there's no need to control it.
Just feel each breath.
Let the breath breathe you.
And we'll listen to the sound of the bell.
And then we'll work with a handful of phrases that you can coordinate with your inhale and your exhale.
You can either use the long phrase or the short phrase.
Breathing in the first part.
Breathing out the second part.
As you breathe in,
Sensing this in-breath.
As you breathe out,
Sensing this out-breath.
Sensing this in-breath.
Sensing this out-breath.
In.
Out.
In.
Out.
The emphasis is on sensing,
Not thinking about your breath or trying to control your breath.
Just feel the breath as it comes in,
As you expand,
As you fill.
And sensing the breath as it starts to leave the body.
Breathing out.
Breathing out.
Feeling yourself soften.
Let go.
Release.
This in-breath.
This out-breath.
Bringing yourself into sensing will help your mind slow down.
Just being here in this body.
Having this time.
You can simply feel yourself breathing.
And the second phrase.
Inviting my breath to deepen.
Inviting my breath to go slowly.
As you breathe in,
Inviting my breath to deepen.
As you breathe out,
Inviting my breath to go slowly.
Breath deepening.
Breath going slowly.
And this isn't something you need to make happen.
Just by paying attention.
Sensing the breath.
It will deepen on its own.
It will go more slowly.
Feeling the full path of the breath in.
Noticing the transitions,
What it feels like when it turns and starts to leave.
And that moment,
We wait for the next breath to come in.
Breath deepening.
Breath going slowly.
And you might feel what it's like just to say those words as you breathe.
Breath deepening.
Breath going slowly.
And right now,
You're not in a rush to get to the next breath.
In,
Out,
Deep,
Slow.
In,
Out,
Deep,
Slow.
And the next phrase.
As you breathe in,
Softening my defenses.
As you breathe out,
Letting go of tension.
Softening my defenses.
Letting go of tension.
Or simply softening,
Letting go.
Softening,
Letting go.
Recognizing that in this very moment,
There's nothing you need to protect yourself from,
Guard yourself from.
In this very moment,
There's nothing you need to prove.
You can let yourself soften.
The area around your chest,
Your heart can relax.
And with letting go of the need to protect or defend or prove,
You can let go of tension in your body.
There's nothing to contract against.
Nothing to push back against.
Even if it's just for right now.
Softening,
Letting go.
In,
Out,
Deep,
Slow.
Softening,
Letting go.
In,
Out,
Deep,
Slow.
Softening,
Letting go.
And the last phrase.
As you breathe in,
Being in the present moment,
I feel solid in myself.
As you breathe out,
Being in the present moment,
I feel free.
Being in the present moment,
I feel solid in myself.
Being in the present moment,
I feel free.
Or simply solid,
Free,
Solid,
Free.
Being right here in the present moment,
Following your breathing,
Just as you are.
Softening your defenses and letting go of tension.
You can feel solid in yourself.
Solid like a mountain.
And solid not in a fixed way,
But grounded,
Centered.
And when we can be solid in ourselves,
We can feel more free.
In,
Out,
Deep,
Slow.
Softening,
Letting go.
Solid,
Free.
In,
Out,
Deep,
Slow.
Softening,
Letting go.
Solid,
Free.
And as we bring this meditation to a close,
I welcome you to take a moment,
Notice any changes in yourself.
Changes in your breathing,
A feeling,
A mood.
And then take a moment to really honor yourself by thanking yourself for your practice today.
I thank you as well.
May you go gently into your next moment.
