Begin by finding a comfortable meditation posture where you feel supported and at ease,
But also alert and wakeful.
In this meditation,
Our objective focus is the sensation of ease,
Restfulness,
And tranquility in the body that we notice each time we exhale.
So I'll begin here by offering you,
If you like,
A breathwork technique to work with in this practice.
It's called Ujjayi breath,
Or ocean breathing.
And so the way you practice this would be,
You might hold up a palm,
One of your palms,
To your mouth and breathe out of the mouth as if you were fogging up a mirror in front of you.
And now you can do this by keeping the mouth closed and breathing out of the nose.
You might notice that it makes this subtle,
Ocean-like sound.
And so with each exhale,
You might employ this breath technique if it serves you.
If not,
Feel free to breathe normally.
So you can begin here by just becoming aware of the body still and seated.
Noticing the weight of the body,
Where the body meets the surface,
Maybe the weight of your hands in your lap,
Your feet on the ground.
And we'll begin here with the breath.
And so you can tune into these sensations of release,
Expansion,
And relaxation with each exhale.
You might notice as the body breathes out that something releases.
Physically,
The body is releasing air from within.
You might notice any subtle,
Melting sensations,
A sense of openness or expansion each time you breathe out.
Tuning into these subtle sensations here,
Noticing what it is that the body releases.
Noting and tuning into these subtle sensations of ease.
And if you'd like,
You can use the Ujjayi breath technique,
Slowing down the breath,
Lengthening the breath,
And creating more opportunity to tune into those sensations of restfulness.
And if you notice the mind getting lost in any distractions or thoughts,
That is perfectly normal.
And see if you can just gently guide the awareness back to these sensations of ease with the exhale.
Noting that each time you do,
You build the capacity within you to tune into subtle sensations of ease in your body.
You might get curious here,
Really noticing what it feels like to just let air out of the body.
You might even let out a sigh that feels supportive.
Noticing what releases.
As we transition now out of formal guided practice,
If you were able to contact any sensations or states of restfulness and ease,
You might take that with you,
Keeping it in the back of your mind.
Maybe employing one of these techniques as a background practice in the background of your attention in whatever comes next in your day.
You can make any gentle movements that feel supportive.
And start to open the eyes when you feel ready.
