Hi,
Thank you for choosing to meditate with me today.
This is simple,
Guided breathing meditation.
Start by finding a comfortable,
Upright,
Seated position or lying flat on your back on the floor.
Eyes open,
Soft gaze.
Once you're comfortable,
Take a few deep breaths,
Breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth.
As you breathe in,
Notice how your body expands and contracts.
As you breathe out,
Notice how your muscles soften and relax.
Take a few more deep breaths,
In through the nose and out through the mouth.
On the next exhale,
Gently allow the eyes to close and the breath to return to normal.
Begin to notice the weight of your body pressing down.
Notice the points of contact with the cushion,
Chair or the floor,
Just settling into the space around you.
Begin to notice the different sounds around you as they rise into your mind and fade away.
Gently bring your attention back to the body.
Notice how the body feels today.
Does it feel particularly heavy or light?
Does it feel restless or still?
What is the general feeling of the body today?
Not judging it,
Not thinking about it,
Just noticing how it feels.
Then starting at the top of the head,
Take a moment to gently scan down your body and notice if there are any areas of comfort or tension.
If you notice any areas of tension,
You can gently invite these areas to soften and relax as you breathe into them,
But not lingering on any particular area,
Just noticing and moving on down the body to the toes.
Now,
Allow your focus to rest on your breath.
Where do you feel it most in the body?
In your nose,
Your chest,
Perhaps your abdomen?
Follow the breath as your body inhales and exhales.
Notice each inhale and each exhale.
Are they short or long,
Deep or shallow?
Continue to follow each breath as they rise and fall,
Allowing your thoughts to come and go,
Simply following the breath.
Useless rhythm.
.
As you continue to follow each breath,
To help maintain that gentle focus,
Count each breath as they pass.
For a count of 1 on the inhale and 2 on the exhale.
Then 3 on the inhale and 4 on the exhale.
Continuing up to a count of 10 and then starting over at 1.
.
As you count the breaths,
Notice when the mind has wondered.
As soon as you realize the mind has wondered,
Simply return to the breath and pick up counting where you left off.
No effort required,
Nothing to do.
Just simply noticing when the mind has wondered and gently bringing the attention back to the breath.
.
Again,
When you notice the mind has been distracted by thinking,
Just lightly bringing the focus back to the breath and continuing to count where you left off.
.
.
.
.
And now just releasing the mind from any focus.
Allow it to do whatever it wants for a few moments.
Allow it to be free.
.
.
Then gently return the focus to the body.
Feel the weight of the body and the pressure points as the body presses against the chair,
The cushion or the floor.
Begin to notice the sounds around you.
And whenever you're ready,
Gently opening the eyes.
