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-breaths to be a little longer than the in-breaths.
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 a touch of the air as it flows into your nose.
And as the breath moves down into your body,
Feel your lungs fill up with this life-affirming air,
Gently expanding your ribcage and your chest.
Feel your belly softly push out.
And 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.
Just follow the flow and movement in the body with each breath.
Now bring your attention to all the sounds around you,
Placing your attention on the 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 coming from nearby,
Closer to you.
Again,
Just listening,
Simply noticing.
Perhaps you can hear your own breath.
So just listening to all of the sounds near and far.
And now,
Bring your awareness to your eyes,
Feeling into the small muscles around your eyes and your temples.
Feel your eyelids smoothing out.
And simply resting your attention on the screen of darkness in front of your relaxed eyes.
You might notice some movement or colour there,
Or perhaps it is quite dark.
There is no right or wrong.
Just simply noticing the space of darkness in front of your relaxed eyes.
Just simply noticing this 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 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 of the breath and the flow of each breath.
Bring your awareness to your face,
Feeling to all the muscles around your jaw and your mouth.
With your lips gently touching,
Just 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,
Feeling to all the muscles around your jaw and your mouth.
Just simply noticing whatever sensations you find in your face in this moment.
Feel into the muscles around your eyes and your temples.
Perhaps you can notice your gently closed eyes.
Perhaps you can notice the subtle movement,
The fluttering in your eyelids as you gently hold them closed.
You might notice the muscles in the corners of your eyes and your temples.
Perhaps you can feel the muscles in your jaw.
Just simply noticing whatever sensations you find.
You're not looking for anything in particular.
There's nothing that you should be noticing.
Sensations move and change.
Just simply noticing these moment to moment.
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.
Perhaps not.
Perhaps they feel soft and comfortable.
Just feeling into the big muscles on the top of your shoulders.
To the top of your arms.
Feeling into the muscles in your neck.
Just simply noticing whatever sensations you find in this moment.
Perhaps a tightness.
Perhaps a tension.
Perhaps a looseness.
Perhaps a little movement.
Just simply placing your awareness on your shoulders.
And as you hold your awareness on your shoulders,
Feel the movement in the body with each breath in the background.
Now move your awareness down your arms.
Just noticing the sensations in your arms,
Your upper arms,
Your forearms into your hands and your fingers.
You might feel some muscular feelings.
You might feel some tingling 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 legs.
Simply resting on your legs.
You might notice tightness,
Softness,
Subtle movement.
Perhaps you can even feel the pulse of your blood as it moves around through your arms and your hands and your fingers.
Again,
There is nothing you are meant to be feeling.
It is simply about noticing whatever sensations are there moment to moment.
Any sensations.
Subtle.
Stronger.
Now take your awareness into 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 movement in the belly with the flow of each breath.
Just noticing.
Being aware.
Now take your attention down to your feet.
Feeling to your feet.
Just take a moment to notice whatever sensations you find in your feet.
You'll no doubt feel the touch of your feet against the floor.
You might notice a pulsing or a tingling.
You might notice the temperature in your feet,
Hot or cold or 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.
It doesn't help to fight the thoughts and you cannot make them go away.
Simply recognize that they are there,
That they will come and go of their own accord.
Bring your attention back to your breath.
Feeling the movement in the body,
The flow of each breath.
Notice the sounds around you near or far.
Or perhaps you'd like to place your attention in that quiet internal space in front of your closed eyes.
You can also feel the presence of your mind.
You can feel the presence of your mind.
You can feel the presence of your mind.
Now as this meditation ends,
Take three conscious breaths.
Wake up your body with some gentle movement,
Perhaps a stretch,
And gently open your eyes.
