This is a practice for settling the mind.
So first making sure that you're comfortable sitting in a chair or on the floor or you can also do this lying down if you're feeling a little tired.
If you are on the floor making sure that your knees are a little lower or the same height as your hips,
So using some cushions or blankets to support you.
And once you are feeling comfortable allowing the spine to lengthen up a little bit.
Imagine perhaps that the crown of the head is being drawn up towards the sky by a thread.
Then getting a sense that the shoulders can soften and the skin and the muscles can drape over the skeleton.
This practice works on the principle that the mind will settle on its own as long as we stop engaging with all the thoughts that rush through it.
As we go through our day things tend to happen to us.
They shake us up a little bit.
We get emotionally involved.
We start thinking a lot and going over things that happened in the past.
And at a certain point in the day it feels like we just can't see anything.
Like we just can't see clearly anymore.
But if we learn how to let the mind rest then the thoughts will still be there.
But there will be a greater sense of clarity,
Of openness,
Of reflection.
We may start to experience some space around the thoughts.
So let's begin.
The eyes can either be open with a soft gaze or they can be closed if you feel you might get distracted by the images around you.
We start always with bringing awareness to the breath.
Seeing if you can invite the breath through the nostrils.
Feeling it flowing down the back of the throat.
Filling all the way down into the lowest lobes of the lungs.
And then experiencing the breath releasing as we breathe out.
Getting the sense that the diaphragm muscle is pulling down and squeezing the abdomen.
There will be a sense that the belly is expanding on the inhale and softening back a little on the exhale.
And once you can feel the breath clearly,
Allow it to deepen.
With the image of filling a jug of water from the base.
On the in-breath,
The water slowly rises up to the top.
And then as we exhale there's a sense of softening,
Of releasing.
We might get the sense of how the in-breath is allowing us to feel awake and aware.
While the out-breath gives us a sense of relaxing and releasing into this moment.
Rather than going over things that have happened in the past or planning for the future.
Just coming into the here and the now.
For most of us it is so unusual to sit and be still that the mind starts getting incredibly busy.
So this is where we might want to add an extra support.
It can be helpful to include some counting.
Just to give the mind something tangible to focus on.
So as you breathe in,
Maybe counting one,
Two,
Three or four.
And as you breathe out following the same count,
One,
Two,
Three or four.
In,
Two,
Three or four.
And out,
Two,
Three or four.
This counting is happening silently in the back of the mind.
Just as a way to keep our focus.
Keeping us here in the present moment.
So we're doing two things.
We're breathing,
Feeling how the body expands around the in-breath and how it softens on the out-breath.
We're also counting.
And even though there are these two points that we're focusing on,
We'll still notice that thoughts come into the mind and that is completely normal.
We're not trying to make the mind go blank.
We're not trying to get rid of thoughts.
We're simply allowing them to be there.
To move through our expanded open awareness.
Just like clouds moving through a vast sky.
When we do find that we've been carried away by thinking,
Then we very gently escort the mind back to the present moment.
To the next breath and to that internal quiet counting.
It won't just be thoughts that we notice.
We'll feel sensations in the body.
We might also find that emotions arise and we'll also be in touch with the world around us.
The sounds,
The smells,
The tastes in the mouth perhaps.
We allow ourselves to be open to everything that is here.
While keeping a very gentle focus on the deepening breath and the counting.
So this is a practice we can do at the beginning of our day.
In the same way that we would have a shower and brush our teeth.
It is our mental hygiene.
That allows us to connect with the thoughts and the feelings that are moving through the mind.
Without getting involved or carried away by them.
Or even taking ourselves too seriously.
Thoughts are just thoughts.
They do not define us.
As an eyes open practice,
We can even do this while driving or using public transport.
Just to make certain mindful moments during the day.
And the more we practice this,
The more we will find that our mind quickly returns to its natural settled awareness.
So as you come to the end of this practice,
Allowing the counting to dissolve away.
And the breathing to return to its own natural soothing rhythm.
You can even focus a little more on the out-breath.
Just to give you a sense of letting things be,
Just as they are.
And allowing them to depart in their own time.
And only when you feel ready.
You can open your eyes if they are closed.
And maybe having a little stretch,
Just to free any tighter spots in the body.
Returning consciously to the next moments of your day.
