So you can start this awareness exercise by finding a comfortable way to sit or stand if you prefer.
Most people would likely find it most helpful to support their awareness to find a sitting posture.
It could be slightly reclined or could be lying down if you prefer.
But if it's comfortable for you to sit and if you'd like to close your eyes you could close your eyes or it might be supportive if you keep your eyes open to just let your eyes rest.
Maybe just looking generally at an object or in a particular direction rather than looking around during the practice.
So you can come into sensing how your body is held by the chair or the surface that you're sitting on.
You could notice the points of contact between your body and the chair.
You notice your feet and how you've positioned them.
The sense of them being held or resting with gravity.
Notice the direction your head is facing and how your awareness of all around you has adjusted to this direction.
And if you think about what's outside of the building that you're in,
Or the space that you're in,
You can picture what's behind,
To the sides,
And in front of you.
Inside the building you can picture the other rooms.
Behind,
To the sides,
Below,
And in front.
And in the room that you're now sitting in,
You can sense the distance to the walls,
To the floor,
And the ceiling.
When there are sounds,
Notice how you can sense the direction they're coming from.
Mainly into the right ear or the left ear.
You can notice how your body is held by the Earth's gravity,
Which also gives you a sense of which way is up and which way is down.
You may have a sense of where your spinal column,
The head to tailbone axis of your body,
Where it is in relation to this line.
And simply notice how your body is positioned,
Here,
Now,
In this moment.
And as you come to the end of this practice,
You might just take a moment to scan through your body,
And if there's anywhere that you're feeling some tension,
Or holding,
Or bracing,
That's maybe extra,
That you could possibly release.
So you could notice any of these areas,
And if there's tension as you go through them,
Just as much as you can,
Releasing some tension from the area,
From the forehead,
Eyes,
Cheeks,
And jaws,
Neck and shoulders,
The torso,
Pelvis and hips,
Down the left and right legs,
All the way down into the feet.
And as you shift your awareness from this internal practice,
You can once again be aware of the room around you,
Even before you open your eyes,
Any sounds.
And then as you open your eyes and start to orient with this field of vision,
You could let your eyes move around the space.
Just taking in freshly what you see in perhaps this familiar space.
You might notice what your eyes like to land on,
Spend a little time with that before you shift into the next part of your day.
I hope this practice serves you well.
