Begin by finding a comfortable position.
Whether you're sitting down or lying down,
Have your back straight,
Your shoulders relaxed.
Feel your body on the surface that is supporting you.
Feel the gravity pulling you down.
Notice how you're breathing.
For just a moment,
Anchor into your current state.
I'll broaden your awareness to your whole body.
Is there any sensation that is jumping out to you immediately?
If there isn't any,
You can do an even gentler scan from your toes towards your head.
Slowly going through every part of your body.
First paying attention to your toes,
Your feet.
Taking your time,
Just greeting all the parts of your body that you don't normally pay attention to,
Especially if it's a part that's just working silently,
Not crying out in pain or demanding your immediate attention.
Then this is your time to tend to the more silent and less noticeable parts of your body.
Moving up your torso and each of your arms and hands.
Noticing your shoulders,
Your neck,
And even the back of your head.
Noticing the sides and the front of your head.
Noticing how your muscles are,
If they're relaxed or tense,
And if there are any sensations that you notice.
As you finish scanning at the top of your head,
Bring your awareness to your whole body breathing.
By observing the sign of life,
Your body slowly pulsing to your breathing.
You're deeply connected and present with your existence.
Now,
Maybe you've noticed already thoughts popping up as you observed your body.
What is the most pressing thought that demanded your attention?
As you recognize these thoughts popping up,
Instead of being engaged in the story,
Just kindly recognize each thought as they come and let them go.
By holding this open awareness,
You continue to make the space for any thoughts and ideas to come up.
Although you're not encouraging them,
You're here to acknowledge that you have a thinking mind that is active and does what it does.
And if not much is coming up,
You still hold the space,
A kind presence,
Allowing whatever to surface in their own time.
You're not seeking them out,
You're just here holding space as you promised yourself.
As you observe your thinking mind,
You might notice feelings coming up as well.
If you see a hint of feelings or emotions,
Invite them to be seen.
And perhaps you can name them to help the feeling be seen and acknowledged.
There's no need to explain or justify or even reject any feelings.
A great,
Kind gift you can give to anyone and yourself is to encourage the truth to emerge.
Without analysis,
Without deciding what can be done about it,
Because those can be saved for later.
And right now you're trying to be open to encourage the things you might not have noticed to simply be seen.
Now you're coming back to your full self as you witnessed what is going on for your physical,
Your mental,
And your emotional bodies.
And perhaps you're able to notice or name if any physical sensations you have is tied to any of the emotions or thoughts.
Once again,
Notice the sensations in your body that you have noted.
Is there any relationship to what you discovered later?
If the exercise of drawing connections seem hard to pinpoint and is pulling you too deeply into thinking and worrying,
Then take a step back and focus on your breathing instead.
Now whatever stage you're in,
Take a deep breath in and a long breath out.
Become aware once again of your full body,
Your full self,
Breathing,
And occupying space.
Fully aware of the multiple layers of being and presence of yourself.
And now getting ready to return to your day,
You can open your eyes.
