So for this guided meditation,
We'll begin by settling into the posture,
Making sure your whole body is comfortable.
Checking in from the feet,
Through the legs,
The hips,
Torso,
Arms,
Shoulders,
Neck,
And head.
Just checking every spot,
Making sure we're comfortable,
Adjusting however you need to,
And taking a minute just to settle into that posture.
As you find that posture you're comfortable with,
Just reassuring the body that it's safe,
That it's comfortable,
That it can relax,
And taking a few intentionally deep breaths,
Just three or four deep relaxing in breaths and out breaths,
To help calm our body down and settle into the present moment,
Allowing the breath to calm and steady itself to its natural pace,
Its natural rhythm,
And just sort of resting back in awareness and watching as the breath finds that balance all on its own,
No longer trying to control it,
Just waiting to see how it is.
If you realize the mind is getting distracted,
That's normal.
There's a quick three-step response every time you notice a distraction.
Notice,
Smile,
Return.
So notice the distraction,
Notice that it's there.
Smile at yourself and appreciate that your mind's noticed.
Gently return your attention back to the sensations of breathing.
As we're watching the breath,
Trying to pay closer and closer attention to the subtle physical sensations associated with the breathing process.
As you're breathing in,
Fully aware that you're breathing in.
As you're breathing out,
Fully aware that you're breathing out.
What sensations can you notice physically?
What's the texture of the breath moving in and moving out?
Maybe there's tingling or buzzing,
Warmth or coolness,
Or just the sensations associated with the movement of the breath,
Rising and falling,
Or expansion and contraction.
Trying to notice in a really subtle,
Tiny,
Physical sensation level,
What is the breath actually like?
How can we know?
What physical sensation information is there for us to notice?
We're just trying to rest the attention on this constant stream of changing sensations with the breathing process.
Can you notice precisely when the in-breath begins?
Can you notice precisely where the out-breath begins?
How much space is there in between the out-breath and the next in-breath?
Is there any space between?
Seeing how much energy we can bring to the curiosity of our attention on the breath.
How interested can we become in all of these fine details of the breathing process?
And as we get closer and closer on these fine details of the breath,
In the background,
See if you can begin to notice the length of each in-breath and out-breath.
Can you kind of get a sense of the space in time that each breath occupies?
You could even try counting within the inhale.
So as you're inhaling in your mind,
Say one,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Just seeing how many even counts it takes for your natural breath to turn around and become the out-breath.
Or just in general,
Getting a feel for that amount of time.
How long is each in-breath and out-breath?
Is it consistent?
How much does it vary breath-to-breath?
Now,
As you're ready,
Without straining,
Keeping the breath comfortable,
See if you can try to smoothly and evenly extend the length of the breath as comfortably,
But as long as you can.
It shouldn't feel like a strain,
But you might surprise yourself at how long you can make each breath without straining.
If your natural breath was about four seconds in and then four seconds out,
Can you stretch that out to eight seconds in and eight seconds out?
Or however you count.
It's not about moving a whole lot of air in and out of the lungs.
It's not about how deep or shallow the breath is,
But really just about the length.
We want the texture to remain that smooth kind of natural texture the breath had when we weren't trying to control it at all.
So maintaining that quality of the breath.
See if you can extend the length of it without changing the quality of the breath to the best of your ability.
Keep in mind,
This is just a playground for the attention.
This is just a way for us to manipulate our ability to perceive the present moment.
It's a way to stay engaged right here and right now.
So try and lengthen your breath.
And as you notice the length of the breath extend,
Can you notice any changes that take place in the physical sensations of the breath?
How different does it feel when you lengthen the breath like this?
Can you notice the energetic qualities associated with the in-breath?
Can you notice the relaxing qualities associated with the out-breath?
Can you feel that ebb and flow with each in-breath and out-breath of energizing,
Relaxing,
Energizing,
Relaxing.
To the best of your ability,
Keeping the attention on the physical sensations you can notice in the body.
When you're ready,
You can begin trying to sense the whole space of the body.
The entire physical space that the body occupies and even just a little bit bigger than the physical body.
When you put your attention on that whole space as a physical awareness,
Trying to notice any and all physical subtle sensation within that space that the body occupies and making that whole entire space the object of attention.
Sometimes images help.
You can imagine some kind of electromagnetic sphere surrounding the body.
You can imagine a water bubble surrounding the body.
Whatever image you need to use to imagine and sense this whole space,
The physical sensation of the body should be predominant.
Can you notice this whole space of the body as a constantly changing cloud of sensations?
Gently moving in and out with each in-breath and out-breath.
Can you allow this whole space of the body to be the breath in your attention?
Just rest in and appreciating this full sensation of the body for as long as you're comfortable.
In your own time,
In your own way,
Coming out of the meditation and returning your attention to the world around you.
