Hi and welcome to today's practice.
I invite you to find a comfortable position wherever you are.
You can be sat down for this in a chair,
You can be sat cross-legged or even lying down if that's more comfortable for you.
Have a stretch,
Have a fidget.
And when you're ready,
Gently lower your eyes or just focus softly on a fixed point in front of you.
And just start by taking some nice deep breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth.
Allowing the belly to feel like a balloon as you inhale.
And then just noticing how it subtly gets pulled back towards the spine as you exhale.
And if you haven't already,
Just allow your breath to return to a natural rhythm in and out through the nose.
As you first become aware of the contact you're making with whatever is beneath you,
Supporting you.
Noticing that moment of contact,
The sensation of contact.
And if you find any tension or resistance to that support,
Just use the exhale to gently soften into it as much as you can today.
And then becoming aware of any sounds that you can hear around you.
Sounds that are close by,
Perhaps in the room with you,
Or even sounds that you are making.
Just allowing them to enter into your awareness.
And then also noticing sounds that are further away.
Traffic,
Birds,
People.
Not chasing the sounds or creating a story around them.
Just noticing how they share space with you.
Now shifting your attention to any sensations you can feel on your skin.
Your clothes touching you.
The temperature of the room.
Or maybe even the subtle movement of air.
And then moving your awareness inwards.
Noticing any body sensations that might be there today.
Any tingling.
Any numbness.
Parts that feel tight,
Areas that feel open.
Just becoming aware of the full spectrum of sensations in the body.
And then becoming aware of any tastes.
In the mouth.
Any scents in the air around you.
And shifting your focus to your face.
And softening all the different parts of it as you exhale.
Softening across the forehead,
The eyes,
The jaw.
Allowing your shoulders to drop and your arms to be heavy.
Breathing into a nice soft belly.
And allowing the legs to be supported.
And then just taking three deep breaths in through the nose.
And letting go through the mouth.
Just giving yourself the opportunity to release any residual tension as much as you can.
Just grounding yourself in this moment.
And then when you're ready,
Gently blink open your eyes.
And before you do anything,
Before you move away,
Just taking your surroundings.
Noticing any colours,
Shapes,
Textures,
Shadow.
Just returning to this space.
So thank you for joining me today and I hope you've enjoyed this meditation.
So thank you for joining me today and I'll see you next time.
