Come into a seated posture,
Hands on your lap,
However feels comfortable.
And feel the buttocks heavy against the cushion or chair.
Feeling what's happening there.
Now,
Ever so slightly tilt the pelvis forward and see if that engages the lower back.
For me,
Most of the work of holding the spine in alignment is done here,
Down in the area of the pelvis,
The lower back.
It's as if a gentle awareness of this area builds a foundation for the rest of the spine to rest on.
Now,
Allow the spine to be stacked on this foundation,
Remembering that there's a natural S-curve to the spine,
So we don't want to be too bolt upright rigid.
In order to be at greater ease,
Make sure you're sitting centrally,
So rock ever so slightly forward and backward until you find that central place of alignment.
And now do the same thing side to side,
Making sure you're in the best,
Most central position.
Your spine is now the support for your posture.
So,
As much as you can,
Without collapsing,
Free your muscles to relax and let the spine do the work.
And make sure your head isn't reaching too far forward or back,
And make sure it's in the centre.
You can drop your chin ever so slightly and raise the back of your head,
If that works for you.
And now drop your shoulders.
Now,
Starting at the top of your head,
Feel what you can feel there,
Placing your attention here at the crown.
Can you feel tingling?
Can you feel tension?
What can you feel?
And now,
Like a gentle wave,
Sweep that attention down into the forehead,
Relaxing anything you find,
Into the eyes and cheeks,
Nose,
Jaw.
Relaxing as you go all the way down your body,
Until you get to the soles of your feet.
And when you get to the soles of your feet,
Come all the way up the back of your body,
Feeling for tension,
Holding your awareness at that point for a moment.
And then allowing that tension,
If it will,
To dissipate.
And when you reach the top of your head,
Just rest there for a moment.
Now bring your attention to the rims of your nostrils and see if you can feel the gentle flow of air coming in and out.
We're looking for that subtle vibration as air meets the body,
The skin,
Around the nostrils.
This might be towards the front,
The tip of the nose,
Or it could be where the nostril meets the upper lip.
Find that one spot where it's most prominent.
And allowing the breath to come in and out naturally,
No forcing.
And we're not following the breath all the way up the nose and all the way out.
We're staying stationary at one single point where it's most sensitive.
And this is all we have to do for now.
Just feeling the breath.
Your mind will wander,
So in order to help,
We can add a count.
So we breathe in and then out,
And after the out breath,
We say in our mind,
One.
In and out,
Two.
And we try to feel ten consecutive in and out breaths,
Just like that.
Now minds naturally wander,
So the likelihood is you'll get to four or five,
And then you'll be lost.
You'll be lost in the dream world,
Planning,
Remembering.
But don't judge that.
When that happens,
Simply come back to the breath and start again at one.
Remembering that the counting isn't the meditation,
But the sensation of the breath.
And if you hear sounds,
Don't push them away and don't be drawn into them.
Instead,
Bring everything into this one point of the breath and breathe in and out from here,
Allowing everything else to be in the periphery.
So when sounds occur,
We don't disturb the sound.
Feeling this gentle flow.
And when you are ready,
Open your eyes.
