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,
Noticing.
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.
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.
Bring your awareness to your face.
Feeling to the muscles around your jaw and your mouth.
And with your lips gently touching,
Drop your jaw just a little,
Your tongue and mouth soft and loose.
It's just a natural sensation that we relax a little and we unclench our jaw.
Feel into all the muscles around your jaw and your mouth.
Now noticing whatever sensations you find in your face in this moment.
Feel into the muscles around your eyes.
And perhaps you can notice your gently closed eyelids.
Perhaps you can notice the subtle movement,
The fluttering of your eyelids as you gently hold them closed.
You might also notice the muscles in the corners of your eyes and in your temples.
Or perhaps the muscles in your jaw and mouth.
Just simply noticing whatever sensations you find.
You are not looking for anything in particular and there is nothing that you should be noticing.
Sensations move and change.
And as you hold your awareness on your face,
Feel the gentle movement in the body with each breath.
Now take your awareness to your shoulders.
You might notice a tightness or a tension in the muscles of your shoulders,
Or perhaps not.
Maybe they feel soft and comfortable.
Just feeling into the muscles across the top of your shoulders to the tops of your arms.
Feel into the muscles at the base of your neck.
Just simply noticing whatever sensations you find there in this moment.
Perhaps a tightness,
Looseness,
Perhaps even a little movement.
Just simply place your awareness on your shoulders and as you hold your awareness there,
Feel the movement in the body and the flow of each breath.
Now move your awareness down your arms.
Seeing the sensations in your arms,
Your upper arms,
Your forearms and into your hands and your fingers.
You might feel some muscular sensations.
You might also feel some tingling flowing down through your arms into your hands and your fingers.
You might notice the subtle movement that is that sense of aliveness.
Perhaps you can feel the touch of your hands on your thighs,
Simply resting there.
You might notice tightness,
Softness,
Subtle movement.
Perhaps you can even feel the pulse of your blood as it moves through your arms and your hands and your fingers.
Again there is nothing you are meant to be feeling.
It is simply about noticing any sensations,
Moment to moment,
Subtle or stronger.
Now take your awareness.
To your belly.
And as before,
Notice the movement in the belly with each breath.
Notice how the belly just softly expands on the in-breath and then gently falls back in on the out-breath.
Your belly may feel soft or hard,
Tense or loose.
Just simply noticing any sensations you find in your belly.
Bring your attention to the changing sensations,
Moment to moment,
In your belly.
And as you hold your attention on your belly,
Follow the flow of each breath.
Just noticing,
Being aware.
Now take your attention down to your feet.
Feel into both your feet.
Just take a moment to notice whatever sensations you find in your feet.
You will no doubt feel the touch of your feet against the floor or cushion.
You might notice a pulsing or a tingling flowing through your feet.
You might notice the temperature in your feet,
Hot or cold,
Warm or neutral.
Just take a moment to notice whatever sensations you find in your feet.
Now open your awareness to your whole body.
From your head down to your feet.
Noticing whatever bodily sensations are arising,
Moment to moment.
Just simply feeling into the body.
However small the sensations or however strong.
And if any thoughts distract you,
Just simply notice them.
Bring your attention back into your body.
No need to fight the thoughts.
Just simply notice them and let them go on their way.
Choose to bring your attention back into your body.
Just allow the thoughts to come and go.
Doesn't help to fight the thoughts and you cannot make them go away.
Simply recognise that they are there and that they will come and go of their own accord.
Bring your attention back to your breath.
Feeling the movement in the body with the flow of each breath.
Notice the sounds around you,
Near or far.
Or perhaps you would like to place your attention in that quiet internal space in front of your relaxed eyes.
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.
