Sitting or laying in your most comfortable and natural meditation position and gently close your eyes.
Firstly,
Take a few moments to relax into your body and as you do this,
Identify any areas of bodily tension,
Then consciously relax those muscles.
Take three slow breaths and as you do so,
Allow the out breath to be a little longer than the in breath.
A long slow out breath just naturally triggers your body's relaxation response.
Now as you bring your awareness to each breath,
Notice the movement in the body as you follow the easy flow of each breath.
Breathing in,
Notice the temperature of the breath as it moves into your nostrils.
Feel the touch of the air as it flows into your nose.
And as the breath moves down into your body,
Feel your belly softly push out.
Feel your lungs fill up with this life affirming air.
Gently expanding your ribcage and chest.
Then there is a pause before the belly and chest gently fall back in.
As the breath now exhales and moves up and out of the body.
The out breath feeling warm as it flows out of the nostrils.
And now feeling that natural state of relaxation that accompanies each out breath.
So now just follow the movement in the body and the flow of each breath.
So now bring your attention to all the sounds around you.
Hold your attention on sounds coming from further away.
Just listening with an interest and a curiosity.
No sounds are good or bad.
A sound is simply a sound.
Just listening.
Now bring your attention to sounds nearby,
Closer to you.
The gentle sound of music.
Perhaps the sound of your breathing.
Simply listening to all the sounds near and far.
And now bring your awareness to your relaxed eyes.
Feeling into the small muscles around your eyes.
Feel your eyelids smooth and soft.
Now simply resting your attention on the screen of darkness in front of your relaxed eyes.
You might notice a movement or colour there.
Or perhaps it is quite dark.
There is no right or wrong.
Just simply notice the space of darkness in front of your relaxed eyes.
Just noticing this quiet internal space.
If any thoughts come to your awareness,
Just let them come and go.
No need to follow them.
Just allow the thoughts to arise in your mind and watch them as they simply pass by.
Do not attach to any of these thoughts.
Just simply let them come and go.
Bring your awareness back to your breath.
Feeling the movement in the body and the flow of each breath.
Listen to the sounds.
Or rest your attention in that quiet internal space in front of your relaxed eyes.
And if you notice yourself following a thought,
Just simply and gently bring your attention back into your body.
Feeling the movement in the body,
Notice the sounds as you follow the flow of each breath.
And now as this meditation ends,
Take three conscious breaths.
Wake up your body with some gentle movements,
Perhaps a stretch.
And gently open your eyes.
