Taking a comfortable seated position with a posture of alertness and ease.
See if you can find a midway point where you are both focused and relaxed.
It may help to take a nice deep inhale,
Letting the crown of your head reach toward the sky.
And then on your exhale,
Drop your shoulders down.
Release the muscles in your arms,
In your jaw.
Taking another deep breath in if one is available to you.
Sitting up nice and tall and relaxing on the out-breath,
The exhale.
To come to that place where you're well supported by your posture but not rigid.
Letting your breathing return to normal.
You can rest your attention on the breath as it moves through the body.
Following the inhale all the way up.
And then lightly,
Gently following the exhale all the way out.
The breath will be the anchor that we return to over and over again during this meditation.
The breath is always there for us.
It's always with us.
The body breathes without us thinking about it.
Looking at a good anchor or connection to this moment as it's happening.
So while we're with the breath,
There's nothing to do but to simply know that we are breathing in and to know that we are breathing out.
You may also become aware of other sensations in the body.
An ache or an itch,
Heat or coolness,
Or perhaps a sense of energy moving through like restlessness,
Or a lack of energy that might feel like sleepiness.
All of these sensations we can notice.
We can even spend some time with them,
Investigating them,
Becoming familiar with them.
And then letting them be as we return our attention to the anchor of our breathing.
That doesn't mean the body sensations go away.
Sometimes they may last.
And if you find a particular sensation is bringing your attention back to it,
Then you might notice is this sensation pleasant or unpleasant?
You might allow yourself some time to get curious about it,
The qualities of this sensation.
Is it pulsing?
Is it moving?
Does it stay the same moment to moment?
If it's a painful sensation,
We might also notice thoughts or emotions arising around it.
So we can notice those too and let them be as part of our moment experience.
And when we're ready,
Returning to the breath,
To the simple fact that we are breathing in this moment,
And to the refuge,
The retreat that this offers us.
From the pace of our busy days,
From the many demands on our attention.
You may also become aware of sounds around you,
Wherever you are.
Whether they are constant sounds like the droning of an air conditioner or a machine like a computer,
Or lights,
Constant hum,
Or perhaps the intermittent sounds of traffic outside or birds singing,
Or voices,
Footsteps,
Even the sound of my voice in this recording.
And we can practice with these sounds,
Watching them arise and fall away,
Welcoming them into our experience of this present moment.
And then releasing them to make space for whatever sounds will appear next.
As we welcome sound into our field of attention,
We can experience sounds in a moment-to-moment way as if they were waves of sound hitting our eardrum,
Which of course we know that they are.
Not getting too attached to a sound or wrapped up in a story about a sound,
But simply watching them come and go.
Each moment offering a different tapestry of sounds close by and far away.
Perhaps even connecting to the sound of our own breath in this moment.
Opening our attention to the breath again and again as we always do.
The breath which is happening here and now,
Something that we can be sure of,
Something that we can use to ground us,
To connect us to ourselves,
To connect us to our intention of mindfulness and presence.
We may also become aware of feelings or emotions that are present in our practice today,
Whether that's a sense of nervousness or anxiety,
Joy,
Sadness,
Even anger,
Irritation.
All of our emotions are valid.
All of them can be held by our practice,
By our awareness.
We can recognize them for what they are.
Our emotional weather patterns passing through.
They aren't lasting.
They aren't forever.
They're here now and we can allow them to be here now and we can choose to investigate them.
Particularly in our body,
Where does this feeling live,
This joy or this sadness or this anger or this anxiety?
Is it in the belly or the chest?
Is there tightness or heat?
Is it moving or is it still maybe heavy?
In this way,
We can see our emotions rather than becoming lost in them or overwhelmed by them.
When we have a sense of an emotion,
Whether a pleasant one like joy or a pleasant one like joy or a challenging one,
We can still connect to the anchor of our breath as a stabilizing force to help us maintain perspective amid this weather passing through,
To help us look at the emotion and decide the wisest course of action,
The most skillful next step that we can take,
Even if that next step is simply to return to the breath.
We can also become aware of our thinking in this moment.
What is the state or the quality of our mind right now?
Does it feel calm and settled or does it feel hurried,
Busy,
Troubled,
At ease?
Do you become aware of thoughts that are familiar to you,
Perhaps repeating?
Or are they new,
New connections,
New ideas or insights that are arising in your practice?
Thoughts are not a problem in our meditation.
They're a sign that our brains are working perfectly fine.
But like anything else,
We can notice them,
Label them if that's useful,
Planning,
Remembering,
Worry and then come back to the breath,
Knowing there will be a time for those thoughts.
But now is a time for being and breathing.
As this meditation concludes,
We can offer ourselves some appreciation for our practice,
For showing up and sitting down today,
Some kindness toward ourselves.
May I be safe and protected from harm.
May I be happy and peaceful.
May I be healthy and strong.
May I live with ease.
May I love and accept myself just as I am.
May my practice be of benefit in my life and in the lives of others.
May I be safe and protected.
