If you are new to meditation,
Then this 10 minute mini meditation might be a helpful way to start.
Go ahead and find a comfortable position with your back supported and your head free to move.
And whenever you're ready,
You can go ahead and close your eyes.
If this feels uncomfortable,
You can also simply lower your gaze.
I'm going to start by taking a few deep breaths,
Breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth.
Breathing in for two.
And now breathing out for four seconds.
Breathing in through your nose for two seconds.
And now breathing out through your mouth for four seconds.
Try that again.
Breathing in for two.
And now out for four.
This time,
Try and breathe in for three.
And now out for six.
One more time,
Nice deep breath,
Breathing in for three.
And now breathing out for six.
Now you can just breathe normally.
Not trying to change your breathing pattern.
Just breathing naturally.
If you like,
You can place one hand on your heart and one hand on your belly.
And just breathing naturally.
Notice how your body moves as you breathe.
Noticing the rise and fall of your belly.
Noticing the rise and fall of your chest.
Noticing the air at your nose or your mouth as you breathe.
Noticing its quality,
Noticing its temperature.
Does it feel moist or dry?
Not judging anything as being good or bad,
Right or wrong.
Just noticing.
Allowing the breath to serve as your anchor.
When your mind starts to wander off,
Perhaps you hear different sounds or have different thoughts.
That's okay,
Just gently let them go.
And then bring your attention back to your breath.
Notice how your body feels in your chair or on the floor in your bed.
And notice how your body makes contact with the earth.
Allowing the earth to support you,
To guide you,
To connect you to love.
Once again,
If your mind has wandered off,
That's okay.
Gently bring it back to your anchor,
Bring it back to the breath.
Again,
Noticing the rise and fall of your belly.
Noticing the rise and fall of your chest.
Allowing the breath to breathe itself.
And again,
If your mind has wandered off,
Gently let those thoughts go.
And then bring your attention back to your anchor.
Bring your attention back to the breath.
Now,
If you're beginning to feel a little sleepy,
You can try placing your hands on your lap with the palms facing upward.
And if your mind still feels very busy,
You can place your hands on your lap with your palms facing downward.
And once again,
Returning back to the breath.
If you notice that you're in an uncomfortable position,
Go ahead and change it.
As long as you're maintaining an alert posture,
You're doing just fine.
If you need to scratch an itch,
If you need to clear your throat,
Go ahead and do so.
Don't try and stifle anything.
There is no right or wrong way to do this.
The mind loves to wander off,
So as soon as you realize that it has,
Gently let it go and bring your attention back to the breath.
We're going to wrap up today's meditation with bringing a few things to mind that you're feeling grateful for today.
They could be objects,
People,
Places,
Qualities about yourself.
It doesn't matter.
What are you feeling grateful for today?
And as you bring these to mind,
Reflect on why.
Why are you grateful for them?
How do they make you feel?
Let's go ahead now and take a few more intentional deep breaths.
Breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth.
Breathing in fresh air.
And now breathing out,
Relaxing your body.
Breathing in.
And breathing out,
Softening your body a little bit more.
One more time,
Breathing in.
And now breathing out,
Letting go of anything you'd like to let go of today.
And when you're ready,
You can take your time and slowly open your eyes.
