Hello and welcome to today's meditation.
My name is Megan and I'm so glad to have you with me today.
Let's begin by finding a comfortable seat or allowing your body to settle in.
Find a position that allows your spine to be long but relaxed,
Your shoulders soft,
Away from the ears.
Your feet can be flat on the floor or perhaps sitting in a cross-legged position.
Whatever feels most natural for you.
And once you've settled in,
You can close your eyes or just softly gaze downward in front of you.
In today's meditation,
We'll be focusing on our breath and using that as a means to focus our attention to help us relax and calm our mind and body.
Before we begin,
I'd like you to take a nice full breath in through the nose and a long breath out through the mouth.
And now allow your breathing to come back to its natural rhythm just in and out through the nose.
And as we begin,
I'd like you to think about and connect with what it is that brought you to your meditation today.
Was it for your own well-being or for someone else?
Or are you in need of some calm and rest,
Some stress release,
Some anxiety release?
Whatever it is,
Just bring your awareness to it.
Continue to breathe in and out.
And as you continue breathing,
Bring your attention to that breath.
Notice how your chest and your belly moves.
Notice the sensation of the air as it comes past the tip of your nose and into your sinuses.
And down into your throat.
Do you sense the whole body breathing?
Wherever the sensation of your breath is the most vivid for you,
Allow your attention to rest there.
Breathe in,
Breathe out.
Breathe in,
Breathe out.
Do you notice the moment the inhale begins,
How it continues,
And the moment it ends?
Can you notice the moment when the exhale begins,
How it continues,
And the moment it ends?
Is there a pause before your next inhale begins?
Try keeping your attention focused through one complete cycle of breath.
Can you sustain your focused attention on the breath for another breath,
Then another complete cycle of breath?
When you notice the mind has begun to wander,
Just come back to this awareness of your breath.
Do it with kindness and without judgment,
Without putting a value on any thought that has come into your mind.
Allow your breath to become your home base or your anchor for your awareness.
Your thoughts will come,
Your thoughts will go.
You don't have to push them away,
And you don't have to chase after them.
Once your mind wanders,
You can come back to your breath.
Come back to this moment.
Right here,
Right now.
As we approach the end of this practice,
Let's finish by focusing our attention now by taking one full breath in through the nose,
And a long breath out.
Then returning back to our normal breathing pattern,
You can begin to bring some movement back into your body,
Opening your eyes if they were closed,
And just reflecting on how this practice felt for you.
I invite you to revisit this practice anytime you need some additional calm or relaxation,
Or would like to continue practice focusing your attention by using your breath.
Thank you so much for joining me,
And I wish you well.
