Notice your body settling into a naturally comfortable position.
You want to feel as though you're creating an atmosphere that's receptive and open,
But also relaxed and easy.
Once your body settles,
Take in a deep breath and release a sigh.
And then notice the natural breath that occurs.
You don't have to try and breathe.
Instead,
You're observing the way the body breathes itself.
We're going to take another deep inhalation,
But this time hold at the top of the in-breath.
See if you can detect your heartbeat.
And then slowly release,
Mentally following it down to that space,
That pause at the bottom of your exhale.
And then once again,
Just observing that organic respiration.
Now that you've settled in,
Shift your awareness to your body.
As you scan the body,
There might be places where you're resisting.
Take note of the space between your brow or your jaw,
Your neck,
Your shoulders,
The hands,
Hips and legs,
Even your feet.
And if there's any place that feels as though it's gripping,
You might notice that it releases just through your observation.
Continuing to move into the space of an observer.
Let's return to the breath.
Where do you feel your breathing in your body?
At the top of the inhale,
Does it seem like it stops in the chest?
In the rib cage?
The belly?
The back?
Or maybe someplace surprising?
You feel the expansion,
The contraction.
As you continue to observe,
You can notice more nuanced details like,
Is your inhale longer than your exhale?
Or is it the other way around?
Maybe you take a moment to observe the top of the inhale as well as the paws at the bottom of the exhale.
As you continue to breathe and observe,
You might encourage your belly to just soften up a bit.
You don't necessarily have to belly breathe,
But you want your belly to be soft enough to accept breath.
See if you can keep awareness on breathing through counting.
And just for the next 15 breaths,
I want you to count down 5 to 1,
3 rounds.
There's absolutely no rush.
Begin now.
You may have lost track of your count,
And that's okay.
Becoming aware of the breath once again,
Without counting.
Just feeling the effects of the inhale and the exhale on your body.
The consistent and reoccurring wave might feel soothing.
Let's move on and begin to notice the body once again.
Starting at the forehead,
Allow tension to decrease.
You might soften the space between your brow and the corner of the eyes.
Feel the nose relax.
And although the corners of your mouth might just hold just a hint of a smile,
The tongue and the palate release.
Notice your throat,
Let it expand into the neck.
Your collarbones,
They feel broad,
Which allows the chest to feel receptive and open as the shoulder blades run down the back.
Notice if the belly is still accepting breath,
Maybe the back and the sides.
The hips are supported by what's underneath you,
As are the legs and the feet.
Accepting that support,
Not doing anything or changing anything,
But noticing the pressure underneath you.
Maybe one side feels a little bit more supported than the other,
Or you feel the sensation of warmth between your body and the support of the chair or the floor.
And this is the space that you rise up out of so that you feel equally grounded and open,
Receptive throughout the body.
As you sit and notice the body in space,
The body supported,
This might naturally fuse with the way you notice your breathing.
You can notice both at once,
And in this way,
Your attention or awareness broadens,
Widens.
You're not trying to notice anything at all,
You're just allowing the sensation to come to you,
Like being a witness.
And if you hear sound or you notice temperature,
Even airflow,
This might also synthesize with the sensations of sitting quietly and breathing,
With nothing to do,
With nowhere to go.
It's a very sweet,
Quiet time for you to be here with yourself in observance.
Allowing the world to take place without your participation,
A place where you can sit back,
Naturally process.
So when you move back into the world,
You feel refreshed and easy.
I'd like to ask you to count down one more time,
15 breaths,
From five to one,
Three times.
Go ahead and begin.
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Very good.
If you had thoughts,
Distinct thoughts,
Or you moved into sort of a virtual reality during that time,
It's okay.
Just noticing is a good start.
Or maybe you had thoughts and you were able to notice and bring yourself back to that nice,
Broad,
Open feeling of observance.
And right there is the practice.
If you'd like to sit a little longer,
You could pause this recording for as long as you wish.
Or maybe you'd like to start to move into the world once again.
I'd like to suggest that you take in a nice,
Refreshing breath now,
Deep inhalation and a sigh,
Oxygenating the blood,
Refreshing yourself.
You can move your toes and fingers and just feel your body.
Good.
And before you open your eyes,
You might like to recall an affirmation or maybe set an intention for the way you'd like to move into the rest of your day.
A very simple affirmation is that I am just fine right here,
Right now,
The way I am today.
Be aware as you blink your eyes open of the color and the texture,
The light that comes in.
And it might feel good just to curl up the sides of your lips and create a bit of a smile that you can feel in the mouth and the palate and the throat.
Welcome yourself to the rest of your day or evening.
