This meditation is counting the breath meditation.
We will begin with a body scan to relax the body and then go into focusing on the breath and counting the breath.
This will then help your mind attach to the present moment through the breath and through the counting in order to let go of thoughts that arise from the future or thoughts that arise from the past,
But keeping you anchored in this moment.
So to begin,
Let's sit comfortably on a chair with our feet firmly on the floor.
Or you could sit on the floor on a cushion if that's more comfortable.
And you can also lay down on your back if you don't fall asleep.
So if you're seated,
Get comfortable,
Allow your eyelids to close gently over the eye sockets.
Feel the spine long in a state of attention but without any strain.
So just imagine a string,
The crown of the head moving up towards the sky,
Bringing the spine into a long spine and then release all around it.
Again,
No strain.
Being comfortable.
Let's begin by focusing on the forehead,
The eyebrows,
And even the space between the eyebrows.
Just allowing that area to release and let go.
So imagine no tension there,
No gripping,
A softening.
And moving into the area all around the eyes and the eyelids themselves.
Imagine that area being free from any tension.
Just imagine all the muscles around the eyes that work every day,
Every moment,
To open and close your eyes.
Imagine all those muscles now relaxed and letting go.
Feel the cheekbones get heavy.
Take your attention to the jaw on both sides where the jaw connects in the temple area.
Just imagine that area letting go,
All the way down,
Releasing down into the chin.
And this should allow the mouth to relax,
Let the teeth become unclenched.
So there's no tightness in that jaw area.
Just allowing the tongue to flow gently in the mouth.
Even letting the upper lip release.
So you're allowing the whole face to release and let go.
Nothing to express right now.
Nothing to do or see.
And moving down into the throat,
Just imagine in the center of the throat an openness,
A spaciousness,
And even light coming in.
Allowing all that area,
The muscles in that area as well,
To release and let go.
Again,
Nothing to say.
Just a release in there,
And an openness.
And moving to the back of the head and into the neck.
Just imagine all the muscles that are used in the neck and the back of the head every day.
Can you imagine those muscles unwinding now?
One by one,
Just releasing.
No more tightness,
No more tension.
Even visually seeing a melting of those muscles all the way down into the back.
And noticing the tips of the shoulders,
If they are up towards the ears,
Allow them to melt down away from the ears.
And feel a heaviness in the tops of the arms,
All the way into the elbows and the forearms,
The wrists,
The palms on each hand.
And right out through every fingertip,
A release and letting go.
As if gravity is just gently pulling your arms down,
Letting them release.
Remembering nothing to hold on to,
Nothing to do.
Notice the center of the chest,
I like to call that the heart center.
If you feel a tightness in there,
See if you can soften and allow for a gentle opening in there as well.
Allow the belly to be soft,
Relaxed,
No gripping.
Notice how it feels to be seated today,
Just observe how your sit bones are into the chair or into the cushion.
Or if you're laying down,
Even the backside of the body,
The connection it's making to the floor.
So just notice that connection,
Notice the pressure,
Without changing it or judging it.
Just be aware of how you're connecting today through where you are seated or lying down.
Feel a heaviness in the legs,
The thighs,
The kneecaps,
The shins and the calves.
All the way down into the ankles,
The tops of the feet,
The soles of the foot right out through all ten toes.
Feel a heaviness in the lower part of the body.
And you may even notice parts of the body that are touching other parts of the body.
If you're sitting cross-legged,
For example,
Just the pressure.
So you're just becoming aware and observing where the body is right now,
With no judgment.
And then gently doing a scan on your own,
If you feel any places of tension that have not released or have shown up again.
See if you can't allow for a deeper relaxation in those areas.
So as we begin the counting of the breath,
We start with the awareness of the breath moving in and moving out.
So can you notice exactly where the breath moves in and out of the body?
Where is it most prominent?
And if you actually don't feel the breath,
If it's very subtle,
Just imagine where that would be.
And get very close to that.
Observe it without changing it.
Just becoming very aware of your breath and your body together.
Breath moving in and breath moving out.
You don't have to alter it or change it.
Just let the breath come and go naturally.
And allow the mind to stay with it,
To observe it.
Notice the temperature of the breath as it moves in and the temperature as it moves out.
Notice,
Is the breath smooth or is it chappy?
So you get in close to the breath and become very aware of breath moving in and breath moving out.
And if your mind has wandered off,
Which is normal,
Just gently and with compassion invite yourself back to watching the flow of the breath.
Using the anchor of the breath in every moment to return back if you've drifted off.
So we'll begin the counting by inhaling and exhaling and counting that as one.
Remember,
This isn't a breath that you have to take deeply.
You can just use your natural breath.
So as you inhale and exhale,
You count that as two.
As you inhale and exhale,
Count that as three.
And continue with that natural flow of breath moving in and moving out until you get to ten.
And when you get to ten,
You can count down from ten to one.
So it's not necessary to rush or even anticipate when the next inhale or exhale will be.
Just staying with the breath and counting it when it's done.
You may find that you've drifted off in thought during this and that's fine.
Use that opportunity to come back and start again.
Start with one.
Sometimes we find that we're all of a sudden counting up to thirty because again we're lost in thought.
That is another opportunity to just start again.
Breath moving in,
Breath moving out,
One.
And continue from there.
Always remembering that you can start again in any moment and to do so with loving kindness.
There will be a moment of silence for you to do this practice.
And then I will come back in and continue to guide you.
So again,
Noticing where you are.
If you're counting,
Continue to count.
If you drifted off,
Invite yourself to come back.
Continuing an even steady breath with counting.
Noticing when you've drifted off and invite yourself back to this moment.
Using the counting and your breath as your anchor to allow the mind to let go of all the thoughts that are moving forward or from the past.
Continuing as breath moves in and breath moves out to count.
Counting to ten and back down.
