Welcome to this just sitting mindfulness meditation.
I'll lead this meditation as if you are sitting on a chair or meditation cushion.
If you are in a different posture,
For example lying down,
Please adapt the instructions accordingly.
Settling into your seat now,
Allowing your weight to sink into the surface beneath you.
Having a sense of giving the whole weight of your body over to gravity.
Feel the points of contact between you and your seat and allow this contact to increase by relaxing and letting the seat support you.
Surrendering all your weight into your seat.
Now I'll guide you to take three deep mindful breaths.
Do this in and out through your nose if you are able.
Beginning by breathing in all the way down into your belly.
Feel the belly fill with air and then feel the chest expand as the lungs become full to capacity with life giving air.
As you exhale,
Allow the breath to leave the chest first,
Then emptying out the belly until the lungs are empty.
Again inhale all the way down to your diaphragm,
Softly expanding the abdomen and then filling your chest.
Take one more delicious sip of air if you can and slowly exhale,
Feeling the airflow out of your nostrils in a controlled and gentle way.
Again first emptying your chest and then your abdomen.
One more time,
Inhale all the way down,
Expanding your belly and your chest slowly.
When you feel full,
Take one more sip of air and then exhale with control and ease,
Emptying your chest and then your belly.
Now allow your breath to return to its natural rhythm as you let go of all effort.
Feel your shoulders sinking down your back as you relax deeper into your seat,
Feeling perfectly supported in this moment.
Bring your awareness to your body.
Notice any sensations you are feeling.
Notice the contact between your body and your seat or the floor.
Notice the feeling of your clothing on your skin.
Notice the air.
Does it feel warm or cool?
Is there a breeze in the room that you can feel?
Become aware of your heartbeat if you're able.
One of your body's important inner rhythms along with the rhythm of your breath.
Now open your awareness out and become aware of your body as a whole sitting here in this time and space.
Next,
Allow sounds to come into the picture of your awareness.
Notice any sounds you can hear along with the music and the sound of my voice.
Can you hear anything else beyond the room that you are meditating in?
Bring an open-minded curiosity to your response to any outside sounds.
Do you automatically add a story or narrative to the sound?
Does your awareness latch on to the sounds?
Do you become distracted or irritated by them?
If you notice any of these responses to sounds,
Just see if you can sit with the sounds in a non-judgmental way,
Just experiencing it for what it is.
Simply energy in the form of sound waves that you can hear.
Stay grounded in your body.
Open your awareness out to encompass your entire experience.
Remain open-minded and open-hearted to your experience of this exquisite moment with graceful presence.
Just allowing anything that is to be there without judgment or analysis.
If your thoughts drift away,
That's okay.
It's totally normal.
It's the nature of the mind to think.
Your practice is not to be devoid of thought.
Your practice is mindful awareness of your experience,
Which will inevitably include thoughts.
When you notice you have been following a thought story,
Simply realize that this has happened.
Remember that you were practicing mindfulness meditation and gently and without any judgment,
Return your mind back to your present experience of this moment where you are sitting and practicing mindfulness.
This is your magic formula of awareness,
The three R's.
Realize,
Remember,
Return.
It doesn't matter if you do this a hundred times or more during your practice.
Each time you do it,
You are practicing mindfulness and you are creating new pathways in your brain to help you in your future practice.
This realization that your thoughts have wondered,
Remembering that you are practicing mindfulness and returning your awareness to your current experience is an integral part of the practice and so you are doing beautifully.
I will give you some silence now so that you can enjoy this mindfulness practice in your own way without distraction from my voice.
Just enjoying the music and your experience.
And I will return in a few minutes to gently guide you out of the practice.
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Bringing your awareness back to your breath now.
Just following the passage of your inhalation and exhalation.
Bringing your awareness back,
Ready to exit your meditation.
Taking a slightly deeper breath now.
Inhaling all the way in.
Exhaling all the way out.
Another one like that.
Deeply breathing all the way in.
Exhaling all the way out.
And one more.
Inhaling all the way in.
Feeling your body with oxygen.
Exhaling and releasing fully.
And we will finish with a blessing.
Bringing your palms together at your heart center.
Bring your chin to your chest to bow to your heart center.
Bring your hands to your forehead.
May you have purity of thought.
To your lips.
May you have purity of speech.
And back to your heart center.
May you have purity in your heart.
And loving kindness for all beings.
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti.
May three fold peace be with you.
Namaste.
Gong.
Gong.
Gong.
