My name is Joni and I'm here to guide you in five minutes of mindfulness.
I invite you to sit comfortably or you can lie down.
Once you settle into a position,
Take a deep inhale and exhale with a sigh,
Relaxing your body.
I invite you to bring your attention and awareness into your body,
Starting at the head.
I notice any tension that's there in the top of the head,
The back of the head,
The face.
You might want to take another deep breath in and as you exhale with a sigh this time,
Relax your face,
Soften and melt away any tension in the face and in the whole head.
Bring your awareness to the neck and shoulders,
Common area where we hold tension.
Take a deep inhale and exhale with a sigh,
See if you can let go,
Let go of the tension that you might feel there.
Continue to work your way down the body,
Noticing sensations in the chest,
The abdomen,
The low back,
The arms,
The wrists and the hands,
The hips,
The legs,
All the way down to the feet.
Close to the soles of the feet.
Keep your attention returning to your body,
Noticing the position that your body's in.
Imagine you could trace an outline around the shape and position of your body as it is right now.
It's okay if your mind wanders.
Mindfulness teaches us that we have the ability and the power to choose where we place our attention.
So that means once you notice that you're distracted,
Practice letting go of the distraction and returning your attention in this case to the body.
Just tracing that outline around the shape and position of the body as it is right now.
Begin to notice the present moment sensations of your body breathing.
Notice that rise and fall quality to the breath,
Perhaps feeling,
Noticing the belly rising.
You might feel it in the rib cage or the chest.
Rises with each inhale and falls with each exhale.
Seeing your attention here and just notice that rise and fall with each natural breath.
You might even say to yourself,
Belly rising,
Belly falling or breathing in,
Breathing out.
Keep letting go of all else and refocus again and again on the simple breath.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
You can stay here for as long as you'd like or if you feel like this practice is complete,
You can take a deep breath in and exhale with a sigh and then go about the rest of your day.
