Hi and welcome to today's breath practice.
I invite you to find a comfortable position,
Your spine upright but not rigid,
Hands in your lap.
And when you're ready,
Just gently closing your eyes or just lowering them slightly and focusing on the breath.
Focusing on a fixed point in front of you.
And just take a moment to be still.
Not trying to change anything.
Not trying to push anything away.
You might be feeling quite relaxed.
You might be feeling energized,
Tense,
Stressed.
However you're showing up is completely welcome but just be still.
Taking some deep breaths just to allow the body to soften slightly,
To ground itself,
To know that it doesn't have to do anything for the next short while.
This time is yours.
Nowhere else to be,
Nothing else to do.
And then just allowing the breath to return to its natural rhythm in and out through the nose.
As you become aware of any sounds that you can hear around you,
Close by,
Far away,
Just allowing them to come to you rather than you go searching for them.
Noticing the contact you're making on the chair or the floor.
Noticing any sensations on the skin,
Your clothes touching you or the temperature.
Or even the movement of air.
Allowing the shoulders to drop,
Your belly to be soft.
And just noticing how the body is feeling in this moment.
As you now move your attention to the tip of your nose where you can feel the breath moving in and out.
Noticing the breath moving out.
Noticing the breath moving in and out.
And once you've found this spot,
You can consider this your home base.
This is where you can keep returning to throughout this practice.
Just noticing that sensation of air moving in and out.
And noticing how the air that moves in is cool.
And the air that moves out is warmer.
And when you notice that the mind has wondered which it will,
What I invite you to do is once you notice that it's wondered,
That you've become lost in thought,
Just gently bring it back to that home base,
Tip of the nose.
As many times as you need to.
Just keep coming home.
Being curious of the breath.
The movement,
The sensations.
Acknowledging it as a companion who is always there.
Giving you access to the present moment.
A curious mind.
And just noticing how the breath moves in and out.
Noticing how the breath moves in and out.
And again,
If you become distracted,
That's totally fine.
Just notice that it's happened without any criticism or judgment.
And return back to the breath.
Now just let the technique go.
Soften your focus and just rest for a moment.
Becoming aware of whatever it is you're sat on.
That moment of contact.
Sounds around you.
Becoming aware of the space you're in.
And when you're ready,
You can gently blink open your eyes.
Thank you for choosing to sit with me today and I'll see you next time.
