Hi,
This is Marisa with a short sitting practice.
So come to sit well in a position where you have a strong and straight back,
Self-supporting,
That's comfortable so the spine is upright but not stiff and rigid.
Allow the shoulders to be relaxed.
Allow the front of the body to be soft and open.
So get a sense of the weight of you going down,
Connecting to the surface beneath you,
Whatever you're sitting on.
Notice the contact points between the body and the surface.
So if you're in an upright chair,
Notice the contact points between the soles of the feet and the floor.
Notice the contact points between the backs of the legs and the surface you're sitting on.
Notice the contact between the backside,
The buttocks and the chair.
Get a sense of the height of you rising up from this position,
The height of you rising up from your hips,
The muscles engaged to support you in this position.
Allow yourself just to soften a little.
Allow any tension just to go down into the weight,
Into the ground,
Into the surface.
And turn your attention now,
Your awareness,
Gently towards your breath in the body.
Begin to notice the rise and fall of the breath in the front of the body.
Notice where you feel that rise and fall most strongly.
It may be in the belly,
May be in the chest,
Maybe a bit of both.
I'm not trying to change or control the breath in any way here,
Just noticing that gentle movement of the body with the in-breath and the out-breath.
Maybe tuning into the sensation of the breath in the throat as the breath travels in and out of the body.
Just a slight sensation in the throat.
Maybe tuning into the breath in the nostrils,
The entrance of the nostrils,
The space just below the nostrils where the breath enters and leaves the body.
Maybe noticing the temperature of the breath,
The air on the in-breath and the temperature of the air on the out-breath.
And notice if you will the mind as it wanders very frequently wandering off into thought.
May have happened several times already.
Just noticing that,
Catching it and bringing it,
Guiding it back to the practice with patience and kindness.
Not doing anything wrong.
The mind's job is to wander,
Is to think.
We're just noticing that,
Bringing it back to the practice.
And we can use this breath as an anchor for present moment awareness.
It's always here,
It's always with us.
We can use the sensation of the body on the chair,
The contact points also as an anchor if that's more helpful.
Or the feeling,
The sensation of the hands resting in the lap.
It can also be an anchor for your awareness,
Somewhere to bring the attention back to.
So we're going to take a few moments to scan through the whole body,
Just to notice whatever is present right now.
There may be some areas that have stronger sensations than others.
Maybe a sense of discomfort or aching.
Maybe just a mild tickle,
Itch.
Maybe even milder than that,
Maybe just a sense of fizzing,
Vibration within the body.
Or maybe numbness,
Maybe nothing at all,
Maybe just neutralness.
So starting at the top of the head,
Gathering your awareness,
Your attention at the top of the head.
And moving slowly down through the body,
Noticing anything that's present for you right now.
Any different sense of temperature,
Warmth,
Coolness.
Maybe feeling the fabric,
The material of clothes against your skin.
Just scanning fairly quickly through the body.
There may be some emotions present,
Just noticing that.
Not getting too caught up in them but just allowing them to be noticed and then moving on.
Then coming all the way down through the legs to the soles of the feet.
Moving from place to place,
Sensation to sensation,
Noticing where the attention is drawn.
And then coming back to the breath.
Noticing the rise and fall of the front of the body.
And then as best you can,
Allowing that breath to expand into the whole body.
So combining whole body awareness with the breath as though the whole body is breathing.
Breath expands into all parts of the body with the in breath and the out breath.
Full body breathing.
Full body breathing in.
Full body letting go,
Breathing out.
Full body breathing in,
Expanding with the breath.
Full body letting go,
Breathing out.
And when you're ready at a point that feels right for you,
Just letting go of full body breathing.
Allowing the breath to just settle into its normal natural pace.
And letting go of this practice.
Allowing the eyes to open and continuing with your day.
