Welcome to this meditation on breath sensations in the body.
Take a seat in which you can be comfortable,
Allowing the spine to be held upright,
But with no tension.
And gently close your eyes.
Rest your hands on your lap and relax.
From the top of your head to the soles of your feet,
Slowly scan your body for any sensations.
You may find itching,
Pressure,
Coolness or warmth,
Tension.
Whatever you find,
Just feel how it feels.
If you find tension,
Hold your awareness at that point and watch the changes taking place.
It is likely that this will help tension to dissolve.
But we're allowing whatever is present to be,
Not pushing anything away.
Letting go what wants to go and letting be what wants to stay.
We're leaving the past and the future behind.
Just being here in this moment where life belongs.
Now open up to the sensations in your body.
Sensations occurring as breathing happens.
And take your attention to the abdomen,
Allowing the gentle swell and contraction to occur all by itself.
Your assistance isn't needed in this process.
Just try to feel it happening.
Remaining here for the sensations of a whole in-breath.
Feeling the pause.
And then trying to remain with the whole out-breath.
Doing this over and over again.
When the mind wanders,
Which it will,
Gently guide the attention back to the sensations of breathing in the abdomen.
Each time we guide ourselves back to the present moment,
After the mind has wandered,
We're strengthening our ability to remain mindful.
Now feel the physical sensations occurring in the chest area.
The gentle rising and falling in harmony with the heartbeat of nature.
Can you feel the sides of the ribs expanding outwards with the swell of the in-breath?
And then contracting back in as we breathe out.
Connecting to the deep,
Internal peace that this moment is always offering.
Now feel the physical sensations around the shoulder area.
Can you feel subtle sensations caused by breathing occurring here?
How does it feel?
Don't think about it,
Just feel it.
Maybe the shoulders are lifting a little on the in-breath,
Falling back down as we breathe out.
Now take your attention to your back.
Can you feel anything in the back resulting from the process of breathing?
In which direction is the back moving to accommodate the breath?
Feel this.
Feeling the breath all the way in,
All the way out.
Including the pauses,
Staying connected to this process as long as we can.
Stringing together our breaths,
Then seeing when the mind has wandered away and starting all over again,
Returning to peace.
Through the breath,
Connecting to the deep,
Internal peace that this moment is always offering.
Gently open your eyes and engage mindfully with the rest of your day.
