Welcome to a guided Zen meditation using awareness of breath as an anchor for our attention,
Allowing an open awareness and simply noticing what arises,
Allowing all these things to come and go.
So settling into a comfortable yet alert position could be seated,
Kneeling or lying down,
Feeling a sense of connection with the ground and letting any tensions release into the surface supporting us.
Upper body is grounded,
Upper body free and open.
Scanning through the body now,
Letting go of any tightness,
Releasing feet,
Ankles,
Legs,
Allowing the belly to soften and relax.
Shoulders can drop away,
Chin can tuck in,
Neck lengthens,
Tongue gently resting on the roof of the mouth,
Breathing through the nose if that's possible or using the mouth if necessary.
Allow jaw to release,
Temples soften.
The eyes are relaxed,
Either slightly open,
Resting downwards or gently closed.
Feeling and stilling the body,
Making any last adjustments mindfully.
And starting to notice sensations,
Touch of air or clothing on skin,
Warmth or coolness of the environment,
A light and shadow across the eyelids,
Distant sounds,
Sounds around you,
Sounds inside of you.
And start to notice the breath,
The body just naturally breathing by itself,
Nothing to change or control,
A gentle inquisitive attention of breath.
Feeling air passing through the nostrils,
Tuning into sensations within the nostrils.
And following the breath deeper now,
Down the throat and into the chest and back out again.
Feeling the complete journey of the breath,
Noticing too the natural pauses after each in-breath and after each out-breath.
Letting go of any thoughts,
Plans,
Stories,
Just being as fully present as possible with the breath.
Starting to notice the breath naturally moving the body now,
Expansion and contraction caused by each breath.
And feeling how deeply down in the body we can notice this movement taking place,
Allowing the awareness to gently drop to the slowest point of movement,
Drop like a leaf falling on water.
Paying close attention to the lowest point we can feel natural movement,
Allowing the attention to rest at this lowest point,
Deep in the chest,
Perhaps lower down in the ribs,
Perhaps lower down still in the belly.
Feeling relaxed breathing,
Not trying to control,
Not getting involved,
Just allowing the body to naturally breathe by itself,
Remaining alert and inquisitive.
Awareness is gently riding on the breath,
No need to exclude or suppress anything,
We simply don't get involved,
Anything at all comes up we just don't get involved.
All sorts of things might appear,
Whenever they are treating them all the same way,
Allowing anything at all to arise and fade without attaching labels,
Without judging,
Without trying to explain,
Just allowing it all to happen,
Remaining with the movement of the breath.
Every time we meditate we experience distraction,
It's perfectly normal,
Nothing to worry about,
No need to beat yourself up,
It's part of the training.
As soon as you notice awareness being carried away,
Simply bring the focus gently back to the breath,
Maintaining this awareness,
Remaining relaxed,
Alert and bright,
Open mind,
Open body,
Open being.
Using the breath to stay connected,
Connected with every moment,
Allowing us to appreciate the here and now,
Every moment fresh and wonderful,
No need to wish for things to be any different,
Accepting they can only be as they are,
Just sitting and experiencing the moment as it is and staying aware of the breath.
I'm releasing the awareness now from the breath,
Just spending a moment relaxing in the present,
Letting go and enjoying a sense of just being.
And when you're ready,
Becoming aware of the edges of the whole body,
Noticing the fingers and toes and giving them a wriggle,
Stretching and yawning the body gently back to life,
Your meditation practice is now complete.
