Sit or lie comfortably,
It may help you to close your eyes and imagine you have a wide field of awareness both inside and outside your body.
Simply take your awareness to your body now,
How do you feel at this present moment,
Physically and emotionally?
What do you notice about your posture?
Do you feel particularly comfortable and if so,
Where is this?
Do you have any areas of discomfort and if so,
Where is this?
Take your breath to that area and on each exhalation see if you can send the breath and release.
Be curious about what thoughts you are aware of going through your mind at this moment.
Try to observe them non-judgmentally and in a detached way rather than being caught up in them.
You can visualise if this helps a tree and this part of your thoughts,
Feelings and your body sensations are the branches and leaves of your tree gently swaying in the breeze.
Now I invite you to narrow your attention to go inside yourself and start to notice your own breathing.
Bring your attention to the gentle rise and fall of your abdomen or chest,
Not trying to change your breathing in any way,
You are just simply being aware of it in a friendly way.
It will be quite normal for your mind to wander,
If this happens just notice where your attention goes and then gently bring it back to your breathing again.
This part of the meditation you can visualise as the trunk of your tree,
Solid and upright,
Constant just like your breath,
Just being.
Now allow your conscious awareness to expand once again from your breath and into your whole body.
Notice a feeling of wholeness and completeness in yourself,
Fully accepting and non-striving.
It is okay to be just who you are at this moment,
Right now.
This is the roots of your tree,
The solid foundation of who you are.
And when you are ready,
You can let go of the image of your tree now and gently and slowly open your eyes.
