Take a moment to settle into a natural,
Relaxed and alert posture,
Whether sitting in a chair or on a cushion or perhaps lying on the floor.
You may choose to close your eyes or to keep them open.
If you're sitting up,
Soften your gaze and allow your eyes to look at the floor a few feet in front of you.
If you're lying down,
You may soften your gaze and look upwards.
Take a moment to find that place that embodies dignity and self-sufficiency while still remaining relaxed,
Not stiff.
Find a sense of relaxed alertness.
Now allowing your belly to soften so the breath can flow easily in and out,
Softening the muscles in the face,
The jaw,
The shoulders and neck.
Letting go as best you can of whatever thoughts or ideas you might have come with today.
Just allowing the past to fall away and letting go of thinking or worrying about what comes next.
Seeing if you can allow yourself for the next little while to just be right here.
Start by bringing attention to physical sensations.
Maybe just feeling the weight of your body in the chair or on your cushion or the floor.
Noticing the places where the body makes contact with the floor or chair or cushion.
Feeling if you can feel even the light pressure of your clothing against your skin or maybe the air touching your hands or your face.
Now gathering your attention and bringing your awareness to the physical sensation of breathing.
Noticing wherever you feel the breath most strongly in this moment.
This might be the tip of your nose or as air moves across your upper lip.
It might be with the movement of air down your windpipe or the expansion of contraction of your chest with each in-breath and out-breath or the rise and the fall of your belly.
Bringing your attention to the breath wherever you feel the physical sensation most strongly and resting your attention there.
Following the changing sensation with each in-breath and out-breath.
Seeing if you can notice the slight pause between the in-breath and out-breath and then the pause between out-breath and the next in-breath.
We're not trying to breathe deeply or change the breathing in any way.
Simply let your body breathe the way it naturally does.
We're also not trying to feel anything in particular.
Just noticing,
Allowing and accepting whatever's present here as we pay attention to the breath as it flows in and out.
You will notice that your mind wanders.
You may get distracted by sensations or stories or outside noises.
For whatever reason,
Notice the mind is wandered and then gently but firmly bring your attention back to the breath.
Back to whatever sensation you notice most strongly with the in-breath and out-breath.
Seeing that the mind wanders because that's what the mind does and then bringing your attention back to the breath gently but firmly without judgment and without story.
Bringing the attention back to the breath whenever you notice the mind has wandered.
Always able to begin again.
Returning to the breath as often as necessary.
Your mind might wander 10 or 100 or even a thousand times during this practice.
However many,
It's okay.
The mind is just doing what minds do.
Each time you notice your mind has wandered,
Just gently but firmly bring it back to the breath.
You might even congratulate yourself for having noticed that the mind has wandered.
You've caught yourself in a moment of mindfulness,
Of mindful awareness and now you can choose to bring your attention back to the breath.
All right.
.
.
.
Whenever you become aware that your attention has gotten caught up in a thought or a feeling or sensation,
Simply notice that you might even gently say to yourself,
Not now,
And allow your mind to release the thought,
Bringing your attention once again to the very next breath,
Always present,
Always able to begin again.
In these last few moments,
Renewing your intention to stay present as best you can,
Beginning again and again as many times as you need to,
Letting go of the thoughts,
Arriving again right here with the tension on the sensations of breathing.
Now gently expanding your focus to include the room around you and when you're ready,
Very slowly and gently allow your eyes to open,
Staying with this sense of awareness.
