This is a simple breath awareness meditation.
It is suitable for beginners.
Please take a comfortable seat and you can rest your hands in your lap.
The invitation is to close your eyes or keep a soft gaze gently downward.
Bring your awareness to the natural flow of your breathing.
You can inhale and exhale through your nostrils.
Notice how the breath fills the body with the inhale.
Let tightness release on the exhale.
So there's a gentle expansion through belly and through chest with the breath in and with the breath out,
Allow shoulder blades to settle down your back.
Relax your jaw.
We'll begin by asking your own body,
Mind,
Heart structure to support you during this practice for the next few minutes to remain still,
Calm and lightly focused.
Bring awareness to any sounds within the room now.
Acclimate to this moment as you notice any sounds within the room that you're in.
Even further away sounds,
Notice the furthest away sounds that you can hear.
Then gently bring awareness back to any sounds within the room.
Even deeper,
Perhaps any sounds within your own body,
Even the sound of the breath.
As you bring awareness inside your own body,
Notice how your physical form feels seated in your posture.
Notice the weight of hips and legs and feet against your seat or the earth.
Notice any sense of lift in the collarbones or release in the shoulder blades down the back.
Notice if your head is balanced atop your spine or if it's leaning a little forward or in some other direction.
Then you adjust to bring the crown of your head directly over the pelvic floor,
The place of least resistance.
Become aware of how the air feels on your skin,
If there's any air currents around you.
Notice how your clothing feels on your skin.
Notice whether your body is warm or cool.
Feel the sensations of the inner body.
Perhaps you are aware of your stomach rumbling or maybe you notice sensations of contraction or relaxation in different muscles.
Then become aware of any small movements of the body in coordination with the breath.
Notice the sensation of the breath as it enters your nostrils and draws into the body.
Notice the sensation of the breath as it releases from the body back out through your nose.
Be aware of any small movements through the belly or the chest or anywhere that you might notice the flow of your breathing.
There's no right or wrong here.
It's just an experience.
You might feel your breath in your big toes.
You might feel your breath in the palms of your hands.
Perhaps there's a sensation of the breath moving in the lower back or the back of the neck or even at the top of your head.
Notice what you notice,
This is your experience.
Awareness of the flow of the breath.
Notice the gentle nourishment with the breath in.
Notice the sense of release with the breath out.
It's a wave-like action of the breath,
A continuous inhale and then exhale and then inhale and then exhale again.
Observe your own unique rhythm of the breath.
If your mind starts to wander,
Just gently direct it back to the rhythm of your breathing,
The sensation of the breath as it enters the body,
The sensation of the breath as it leaves the body.
Let your breath soften any hard edges.
You are safe here.
You're being held by the universal breath.
As you inhale,
It's as though the universe is exhaling into you.
As you exhale,
It's as though the universe is inhaling.
It's an effortless,
Symbiotic support,
The flow of vital energy through your breath to the universe,
From the universe to your breath.
Let your breath soften any hard edges.
Let your breath soften any hard edges.
One more full inhale,
Full exhale with complete awareness.
Then,
With your next breath in,
You can bring palms together,
Hands to your heart center.
Anjali mudra is this gesture with the hands.
It's known as the gesture of offering.
Internally,
You may choose to offer a little gratitude for this practice and for your time to do this practice today.
Every little bit counts.
We'll close with the sound of Aum one time.
You can join in or simply listen.
We'll inhale fully.
Namaste.
