Let's begin by noticing the breath,
Drawing the inhalation deeply through the nostrils,
Inviting a full exhalation.
Noticing the rhythm of the breath,
Rise and fall of your shoulders and your chest,
Settling into your seat,
Noticing your posture and your weight,
Shifting so that you're comfortable and also still present to the breath,
Gently noticing any thoughts that are entering your mind and letting them go,
Returning to the breath and the body.
Today to ease into our practice,
Let's begin by scanning our body,
Starting with the crown of your head,
Your forehead,
Breathing into the area of your sinuses and your jaw,
Noticing any tension that you might be holding in your eyes or your eyebrows,
Relaxing even your eyelids,
With your next breath softening the muscles of the entirety of your face,
Drawing the breath even more deeply into the throat and the muscles of your neck,
Your upper shoulders and back,
Noticing how we often carry tension in these areas,
Inviting the breath to loosen any grasp that we're holding.
With your next breath,
Draw your attention to the muscles of your back,
Along your spine,
Noticing your chest and your ribs expand with each breath,
Without judgment,
Just being present to the experience of the breath,
Next noticing your lungs and your heart space,
Your diaphragm and your internal organs,
Abdominal organs of digestion and elimination,
Seeing how the breath sits in our abdomen and our lower belly,
With your next breath becoming present to your skeletal structure that's holding you upright,
With the spine coursing down to your pelvis,
Noticing the muscles of your hips,
Lower back,
And breathing into any areas that might be a little tender or more tense,
And drawing awareness to your legs,
Thighs and calves,
You may choose to shift your weight from one foot to the other to become present to your body,
To become present to the ground and your toes,
The soles of your feet,
And from the tips of your toes,
The extremities,
Can bring your attention to the tips of your fingers,
Noticing the quality of the air,
Temperature,
Sensations along your hands and your upper arms,
Coursing through your shoulders and then back up to your again,
Your crown of your head,
Take a few deep breaths here,
Just noticing your body in its entirety,
Now gently turn your awareness from your body to your mind,
And here I invite you to bring forth an image of yourself,
And this can be you now,
At your current age,
Or a younger you in your youth or childhood,
Whatever image of yourself softens your heart,
And allows you to offer some phrases of loving kindness of metta,
The phrases that I've chosen that I invite you to repeat to yourself,
Or if you have other phrases you prefer,
You can choose those,
May I be happy,
May I be healthy,
May I be free from harm,
And may I live a life of ease,
May I be happy,
May I be healthy,
May I be free from harm,
May I live a life of ease,
And offer these phrases to yourself,
Repeating them in your mind,
And we'll do this in silence for five minutes,
May I be happy,
May I be healthy,
May I be free from harm,
May I live a life of ease,
Take a moment to connect with both those phrases and with yourself,
Offering yourself compassion and loving kindness,
And when you're ready,
Gently dissolve the image of yourself,
And bring to mind a being or a group of beings who might be suffering,
For whom you would like to offer some compassion,
Loving kindness,
And then I invite you to say the same phrases for them,
May you be happy,
May you be healthy,
May you be free from harm,
May you live a life of ease,
Notice what it feels like in your body to connect with this group of beings,
And to offer these phrases of compassion and kindness,
And you be happy,
May you be healthy,
May you be free from harm,
May you live a life of ease,
And when you're ready,
Dissolve that image of those beings,
And let's take a moment to rest in open awareness,
