Hi there,
We're going to be doing a mindful check-in.
This is a way to just tune in to the present moment experience.
And this is a practice that you can do as an absolute beginner to mindfulness practice or as somebody who's done this for years.
The invitation is to do this standing,
So go ahead and stand up or if you prefer to do this seated,
That is totally fine too.
Alright so start with just inviting in this question of how am I doing today?
This is really a way of checking in with that question of how am I doing?
What do I notice that could give me some indicators for how I'm doing right now?
Feel into this feeling of standing.
Turning the attention to the body.
What are the sensations in the body?
How does the body feel right now?
Does it feel warm or cold?
Does it feel relaxed or full of tension?
Does it feel heavy?
Does it feel light?
Is it a mixture of some different things?
Noticing what the experience is like in the body right now.
Is it possible to experience the feeling of the breath?
The expanding and the contracting of the breath?
The rising and the falling like a wave coming and going.
Where in the body do we feel the breath?
The belly,
Rib cage,
Chest,
Nostrils,
Throat.
Are you noticing anything about the mind?
Is the mind wandering and getting off topic from what I'm instructing?
Hey,
That's okay.
Our minds do that.
The wandering mind is something that pretty much everybody experiences.
We can just gently notice when that happens.
Gently bring the mind back to the focus of right now,
Which is the body breathing.
Now let's notice whatever emotions are present.
What's the mood right now?
How am I feeling right now?
Not necessarily thinking of we should be feeling a certain way or going into a story of why that is.
Just noticing with curiosity what it is that we're feeling right now.
Maybe it's a lot and maybe there's not much there.
Either way,
That's the present moment experience.
And now let's notice the thinking.
We're going to do this without going into the thoughts and engaging with the content of the thoughts.
Instead,
We're observing what the thoughts are like.
Are they fast or slow?
Are there a lot of them?
Or is there one that's repeating?
Do they seem really focused or more fuzzy?
If the thoughts were like leaves on a stream,
What would that be like?
What would these leaves be like?
Are they moving quickly?
Are there a lot of them?
What's the stream like?
Noticing how our thoughts are.
And as we tune into thoughts in this way,
We might notice that it can really shift and change from time to time.
Sometimes our minds are slower,
Fuzzier.
Sometimes they're very quick.
Take a few moments to continue to notice the thinking.
What is it like now,
The thinking?
And we'll start to just take note of what this was like,
Doing a check-in in this way.
Feel free to take any kind of stretch that could be helpful in this moment,
Opening the eyes if they've been closed and looking around at the space around you.
And remember that we can continue to check in with these things,
The thoughts,
The emotions,
And the body.
Thank you for practicing,
And may you be well.
