Take a moment now to find a comfortable position.
You don't need to be in a particular posture.
You can be standing,
Sitting or even lying down.
The most important thing is that you feel relaxed and alert.
You want some openness and softness at the front of your body.
You can roll your shoulders up and back if that feels comfortable,
Just to open up the chest.
Or if you're lying down,
Just allow your shoulders to really relax into the surface you're resting on.
You want to have some uprightness or length in your spine without being rigid or stiff.
And invite some softness into your face,
Your jaw,
Your shoulders and your belly.
This balanced posture of being both relaxed and alert,
Being both soft and open is great for awareness.
How does your body feel right now?
You don't need to change anything.
You don't need to change anything at all.
Simply allow what's happening to be in your awareness.
So how does your body feel right now?
What's going on physically and mentally?
What sensations are you experiencing?
Is there any tightness or tension in the body?
Is there any ease or relaxation in the body?
Just notice what's here.
And as you continue to be here now,
You can close your eyes if you like or keep them open,
As you continue to rest your awareness on your body.
Notice what's present and allow it.
It's quite likely that there are some thoughts and emotions coming up.
Just let everything be here.
Now I'm going to invite you to take a deep breath through the nose.
And as you exhale,
You can make a sighing sound,
Releasing any tension in the body as you breathe out.
So let's do this once together.
In through the nose and then sigh it out,
Letting go,
Letting go.
Do that a few times on your own.
And as you breathe in,
Open the front of the body,
Soften the front of the body.
Allow as much air in as you can.
And as you breathe out,
Really soften and relax,
Release.
Allow the breath to come to its natural rhythm.
And take a moment in silence to notice.
You want to notice your bodily sensations as you breathe naturally.
You don't need to think about anything,
Just notice any sensations,
Vibrations.
Feel the aliveness in your body.
Now see if you can feel the surface that's supporting your body right now.
That might be a chair,
A cushion,
A bed or the floor.
Just feel grounded and sense yourself being really supported right now.
Being aware of the pressure and the weight of the body.
What's that sensation like?
Even now,
Your mind might be running away.
It probably is.
Thoughts,
Concerns,
The past,
The future.
That's not a problem.
The mind thinks about the past and the future,
Comments on the present.
All minds do.
But your body is always in the present moment.
And if thinking happens,
Or when thinking happens,
Allow your awareness to rest back into an awareness of the body.
Be here now,
In your body.
Noticing again the breath as it flows in and out of the body.
Don't need to do anything,
The body knows how to breathe.
Notice the belly or the chest rise and fall.
If you need help connecting to the sensation,
You can gently place one or two hands over your belly to feel the rise and the fall.
Not seeking to change the breath,
Just noticing.
Everything we've practiced today,
Following the sensation of the breath,
The rise and fall of the belly,
The in-breath and the out-breath,
Noticing the sensations in the body,
And noticing the weight of the body grounded against the surface that it's resting on.
These are all great ways to be here now.
So if and when you find your mind has wandered in everyday life,
You can choose whichever technique you feel most comfortable with,
And allow it to gently bring you back to the present moment.
Because that's all that's real,
It's all we really have.
And as we end this meditation,
Take a moment to express thanks towards yourself for taking the time out to cultivate this practice.
And know that in any moment you can reconnect to the body,
The breath,
The sense of groundedness,
As a way to create ease and to give yourself a break from the relentless thought train that sometimes just drags us around all day.
So you can open your eyes now and begin to move your hands and feet.
Let yourself reconnect to your surroundings.
And remember,
Whenever you find that your mind has wandered,
That it's pulling you around like a wild horse,
You can always choose to practice one of these techniques and be here now.
