Hey everyone,
Welcome to your meditation practice.
This is Michael Steiger.
This is a practice to do if you're experiencing a particularly busy mind.
So to get started please take your hand and place it right below your solar plexus above your navel.
Close the eyes and we'll tune in in a moment but just for now let's calibrate.
Close the eyes and notice the rising and falling.
As you inhale notice how your belly expands.
And as you exhale notice how it contracts,
How it falls.
With each inhale just notice that physical sensation,
That rising.
And with each exhale just notice that falling.
Good.
Rising and falling.
Rising and falling.
Now place your hands on your lap but just for another moment continue to notice that physical sensation as your abs are moving.
And as you inhale just notice that physical sensation as your abdomen rises and falls with each in-breath and out-breath.
Good.
Now bring your hands to your eyes,
The muscles around your eyes.
You might give yourself a brief little massage,
Massaging the muscles around your eyes.
It tends to hold a lot of tension especially if we've been looking at a computer.
Massage the jaws,
The cheekbones.
Just letting the tension in the face start to drop.
Let the shoulders relax down and let the abdomen,
Let the belly relax.
Another place of holding especially when we're experiencing stress or anxiety.
Close the eyes and sit straight up as much as is comfortable for you.
Head,
Neck,
Chest in alignment.
And just now come into a deeper state of being.
Start by noticing the sounds around you.
Maybe there's traffic on the street.
Maybe there are birds in the trees.
Maybe there are people chatting in the room next door.
Just let all the sounds pass in and then out of your awareness.
It's as if you're sitting on the bank of a river watching the leaves in the river float by.
Not looking to see where they came from or wondering where they're going.
Just noticing each one as it passes by.
Good.
Now notice the ground beneath you.
You know,
You feel the contact of your feet.
You know,
You feel the ground beneath you.
You know,
You feel the contact of your feet against the earth.
Feel your hands in your lap.
Feel the chair or the ground beneath you.
Really notice the physical sensations here.
Now as we dig in,
We notice the sounds of the birds and the sensations here.
Now as we did before,
Bring your awareness to the physical sensation of your breath.
The rising and falling above your navel,
Below your solar plexus.
Without controlling or regulating your breath,
Just notice the rising and the falling.
The breathing out.
Notice how each breath is different from the last.
Each one is unique.
Notice if your breath is shallow,
If your breath is deep.
Notice if it's fast or slow.
And don't worry too much about any judgments you might have.
Let them arise and just come back to your breath.
Really be present with the physical sensation arising and the falling.
And just for these next few minutes,
Each time you notice that your mind has wandered off,
Maybe you start thinking about plans for the weekend or something that happened earlier today.
Maybe it was a meeting or conversation.
Wherever your mind goes,
Just bring it back again and again,
Again and again,
To the rising and falling of your breath.
Rising and falling.
Breathing in and breathing out.
There's nothing to do about it.
Just being present,
Just being with your breath.
No trying,
No trying.
Just being.
Rising and falling.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Breathing out.
Wherever your mind goes,
Just gently,
Lovingly,
Bring it back to your breath again and again.
Rising and falling.
Rising and falling.
You can either continue on as you are,
Or you can continue on as you are.
You can either continue on as you are,
Or if you're sticking to the ten minutes,
Just take a couple deeper breaths now.
You can wiggle the fingers and toe,
Rotate the wrists and ankle,
And if it feels good,
You can stretch a little bit and open the eyes.
Thank you so much for your practicing today.
Namaste.
