Make yourself comfortable for some meditation.
So adjusting your posture if you need to do that.
Making sure that your back is supported.
You can need to put a cushion behind your back then feel free to do that.
Making sure that you're warm enough or cool enough.
Your legs and arms are supported.
The resting your your arms on the arm of your chair or in your lap or on your thighs.
Making sure your feet are supported.
And then when you're ready closing your eyes either fully or partially.
You might like to just cast your gaze downwards if that feels more comfortable for you.
In a way that means that you're you're not distracted.
You're giving yourself the best opportunity to to tune inwards to be with your inner landscape.
And taking a few deep breaths.
Bringing your awareness to your body.
Becoming aware that you you have a body.
Feeling sensations in your body.
Noticing what it's like to feel pressure on your back,
Your buttocks,
Your thighs,
Your arms.
Wherever you're touching the furniture or the floor.
Noticing any tension or tightness in in the muscles in your body.
Noticing is there tension in the muscles in your face,
Your neck,
Your shoulders,
Your back,
Your belly,
Your buttocks,
Your thighs.
And if you're feeling any tension maybe inviting those muscles to relax for the moment to release.
And if just for a moment.
How is it to give your muscles permission to release?
We're not forcing them to release.
We're simply inviting them.
Bringing your awareness again to your breathing.
Noticing how your body expands.
Now your chest expands.
Your shoulders move slightly.
Your diaphragm and your belly expand as you breathe in.
And then there's an ever so quick transition as you move from breathing in to breathing out.
This tiny little pause where there is no breathing and then you start to breathe out.
As you breathe out your body contracts.
Your chest,
Your belly draw inward.
Your shoulders move again.
And after the out breath there's another ever so small place where there's nothing happening and then you start to breathe in again.
Bringing your awareness to your breath but bringing particular awareness to those two little places of transition.
The top of the in breath where there's a pause and the bottom of the out breath where there's a pause.
Everything changes at these tiny little places of transition.
Without forcing anything you might even allow for a slightly longer pause.
That rest between the in breath and the out breath.
You might linger in that place just for half a second longer so that you can really be in that very still place.
And if as you bring your awareness to this process and things slow down.
If you're feeling any tension or tightness anxiety at being in this slower space.
Bringing yourself some compassion.
It can be challenging to slow down.
It can be difficult to be with our experience.
There's nothing wrong with you if you're feeling any tension or tightness.
This is a common human experience.
As much as you can releasing any need to feel differently.
How is it to simply allow yourself to be just as you are in this meditation?
And if you're finding all of a sudden that you've been lost in thought for a little while that your mind has wandered away from your breathing.
That too is a very common human experience.
There's nothing wrong if that's been your experience.
You'll be taking a little moment to recognize that you're practicing mindfulness.
You're aware that your mind has wandered.
Very gently,
Very kindly bringing your awareness back to this cycle of breathing.
Especially being aware of that pause between the out breath and the in breath.
In between the in breath and the out breath.
If you notice that you've been trying to manipulate your breathing.
Releasing that as much as you can.
Especially if it's causing you any stress.
It's fine to extend that pause a little bit as long as it's not causing you any extra stress.
If it is then allowing yourself to come back to your natural breathing rhythm and lightly resting your awareness on the pause between the in breath and out breath.
Your breath knows how to breathe.
Your body knows how to breathe.
Simply bringing your awareness to that process.
Your breathing is representative of many processes in our life.
There are cycles of expansion,
Of growing,
Of rising.
And then there's a place where a transition starts to happen.
And the out breath,
The release,
The contraction comes naturally.
All cycles in nature include expansion and contraction.
Something needs to finish in order for something else to start.
And everything that starts will also come to a finish.
When we can ride this wave of transition after transition.
Bringing a lot of kindness to our experience.
Not clinging to experience.
Not clinging to the hope that things will stay the same.
This is a beautiful act of compassion to ourselves.
Allowing things to grow.
And then to transition down to finishing.
Allowing this graciously with wisdom.
It's a beautiful act of self compassion.
And as we're moving towards the completion of this little meditation.
Maybe I'll be offering a little thanks to your breathing for being this constant companion.
This constant way of anchoring our awareness.
And then gently expanding your awareness to your body as a whole.
Becoming aware of the physicality of your body.
Maybe starting to move your fingers,
Your toes,
Your wrists,
Your ankles.
When you're ready,
Gently opening your eyes.
You might move into a bit of a stretch.
Have a sip of your drink.
Transitioning gently out of this meditation.
