Sitting comfortably in a chair with your spine straight and not tense.
Arms and legs uncrossed and feet flat on the floor.
I invite you to take three full and deep breaths.
In through your nose and exhale through your mouth.
Let's notice this sense of softening and release in your physical body with the out-breath.
Allow your body to let go,
Release,
Relax with the out-breath.
And return your breathing now to in and out through the nose.
Not trying to control your breath,
It's going with your own natural rhythm.
Go with the flow.
Take your awareness to your face and to your head.
Notice if you're holding any tightness or tension,
Perhaps around the eyes,
Around the temples,
The mouth or the jaw,
The back of the neck,
Sides of the neck or the throat.
And allow this part of your body,
Where you're feeling the tension,
To soften with your next breath.
Out-breath.
Let your shoulders relax with the out-breath.
Feel as if they're moving away from your ears and down toward the floor,
Melting like ice to water.
Let this relaxation pour down through both upper arms,
Into your forearms,
Hands and fingers.
Take your attention to your back.
Shoulder blades at the back.
Then slide down your back with the next out-breath.
For your mid-back and lower back,
Supported by the chair.
Move down through the pelvis.
Safe,
Secure.
Take your awareness to your chest.
Let the chest be broad and the heart soft.
Move down through the solar plexus and into the belly.
If you're holding any tightness,
Tension,
Anxiety in the solar plexus or the belly,
Allow that to unwind with your next out-breath.
Thighs are beginning to relax,
As are your lower legs and your feet.
Let's continue to allow your body to soften,
Your physical body to soften with each out-breath.
Take your attention now to your breath,
Wherever it's most noticeable for you.
It could be in and out through your nose.
The gentle rise and fall of your chest with each breath.
Perhaps the belly as it gently moves in and out with the breath.
There's no right or wrong.
It's wherever the breath is the strongest for you.
Just notice your breath,
Don't control it.
Don't control it.
And now we're going to coordinate a mantra with the breath.
So mentally repeat to yourself.
Soft with each in-breath and smooth with the out-breath.
Soft on the in-breath.
Smooth with the out-breath.
Feel the softness of the breath as it enters into your nose.
Smoothness of the returning breath.
Soft rise of the chest,
Smooth fall of the chest with the breath or the belly.
Soft and smooth.
Continuing to allow the physical body to soften with the out-breath.
Soft on the in-breath.
Smooth on the out-breath.
Thoughts of the breath.
Thoughts will continue to come and go across your mind.
That's normal.
We're not trying to stop the thoughts.
Keeping our focus on the breath and on the mantra.
If you get caught up in a thought,
Well that's okay.
Notice that.
Unhook from the thought and return to your breath,
To the mantra.
Soft on the in-breath.
Smooth on the out-breath.
Sink into the rhythm.
The resonance.
The repetition.
Of the mantra.
Soft on the in-breath.
Smooth on the out-breath.
Feeling your whole body soften with the out-breath.
Soft on the in-breath.
Smooth on the out-breath.
Sinking deeper and deeper into the repetition.
The rhythm.
The resonance.
Continue with your eyes closed as we now prepare to leave this meditation.
Allow your next in-breath to be very,
Very strong and very deep.
Feel your whole body come alive with this strong breath.
Take your time.
When you're ready.
You can very,
Very gently begin to wiggle your fingers and your toes.
You can very gently roll your head from side to side to break the thread of concentration.
Take your time.
When you're ready.
You can open your eyes.
