Breath and body.
And just settling into a comfortable meditation posture.
Gently closing the eyes or leaving them open with the gaze softened.
And really beginning to settle here,
Taking a few more deliberate in-breaths and out-breaths.
Settling on the out-breath just a little more deeply.
And becoming aware of the feet,
Bringing a warm,
Kindly curiosity to the pattern of sensations here.
Touch,
Pressure,
Contact with shoes or socks or air,
Whatever's there.
And becoming aware of contact between body and seat.
Touch,
Pressure,
Warmth,
Coolness.
Whatever's here in this rather complex pattern of sensations.
And becoming aware of the breath now.
Just letting the awareness settle for a time on each in-breath,
Each out-breath.
And when the mind wanders,
Just noticing,
Just seeing where it went and bringing attention back to the breath.
Allowing what's here to be what's here.
Inquiring with the gentle curiosity.
Noticing with matter awareness what the mind is up to.
And coming back to the breath.
Each in-breath,
Each out-breath.
Now allowing the field of awareness to expand around the breath.
Including the many and various sensations throughout the body,
Whatever they are.
And having a sense of the body as a whole,
Sitting and breathing.
Maybe aware of sensations down at the feet.
Touch,
Pressure,
Contact.
Or sensations where the body meets the seat.
Whatever's there.
Sensations at the hands.
Shoulders.
Face.
As best you can,
Holding these sensations together with the sense of the breath and the body as a whole in a broad,
Spacious awareness.
Just resting with a gentle attention to the changing field of sensations throughout the body from one moment to the next.
And if you find that you're experiencing sensations that are particularly intense in one or another region of the body and your attention is repeatedly drawn to these sensations,
You could gently shift your posture.
As best you can,
Staying aware of the intention to move and being aware of all the sensations involved in the actual movement.
Or else you might bring the focus of attention right into the region of greatest intensity and,
As best you can,
With a gentle attention,
Exploring the detailed pattern of sensations here.
What precisely are the qualities of these sensations?
Where exactly are they located?
Do they vary over time or shift around even in the region of greatest intensity?
Just feeling whatever there is to be felt,
Knowing what you're feeling,
Directly experiencing it.
You could also explore using the breath to carry awareness right into the region of greatest intensity,
Breathing into it,
Breathing out from it,
Opening and softening,
Not tensing,
Embracing.
As best you can,
Just being with whatever's there,
Allowing,
Letting it be.
Aware of the breath,
Aware of the body.
Aware of the body,
Breathing.
And when you notice that the mind has wandered,
Just seeing where it went and then gently,
Steadily bringing attention back to the breath and the body.
And when it's right for you beginning to bring the practice to a close,
Opening the eyes and coming to move again,
Just giving yourself what time you might need to gently reconnect with the world around you.
Just taking your time.
