Today's practice is going to be a practice in extending metta or loving kindness toward the body.
You can allow the eyes to close and if it's more comfortable leaving them open just at a soft gaze on the floor.
And as we arrive here in our practice just remembering there's nothing to do,
No problems to be fixed.
Just being where we are for a moment,
Feeling the body sitting here,
Feeling the points of contact where we can feel the body touching the chair or cushion,
The feet on the floor tucked up underneath you.
Noticing where the hands are resting.
Can feel the breath in the body,
That rise and fall of the abdomen.
Breathing softly,
Not controlling the breath.
Letting the body dictate what kind of breath it needs in this moment.
Feeling the breath in the chest,
The expansion and contraction of the lungs and rib cage.
Seeing if you can be with the sensation in the body of each inhale and exhale.
And with some openness seeing where else you might feel sensations related to breathing.
The nostrils,
The shoulders,
The subtle rising and falling,
The upper arms or the back.
There's no right or wrong answer.
Resting here a moment to see where in the body you can feel the breath.
And with some openness seeing where else you might feel sensations related to breathing.
And with some openness seeing where else you might feel sensations related to breathing.
And with some openness seeing where else you might feel sensations related to breathing.
And with some openness seeing where else you might feel sensations related to breathing.
And with some openness seeing where else you might feel sensations related to breathing.
And with some openness seeing where else you might feel sensations related to breathing.
We can bring to mind just for a moment.
Some awareness of the fact that we have a body that we're in right now in this moment.
Sometimes the body has aches and pains or doesn't behave exactly how we want.
As we age or grow sick or tired.
We also know the other side that the body allows us to move through space.
It allows us to experience and embrace.
It allows us to feel things.
And with this intention of cultivating some kindness or gentleness toward our body.
We can offer a few simple phrases of meta.
And if you have a phrase that feels genuine or works well for you,
Feel free to investigate using it.
I use the simple phrases,
May my body be at ease.
This wish for the body to be at ease,
Not stressed or strained.
May my body be at ease.
And of course the body won't always be at ease.
So you can offer,
May I be at ease with the body.
May the body be at ease.
May I be at ease with the body.
Trying to find some rhythm with the phrases,
Perhaps offering one with each exhale.
Just to work towards this intention of changing our relationship with our bodies.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
It may not take long before you notice the minds wandered off.
And just coming back to these phrases,
Coming back to this intention to respond with some kindness.
To cultivate an open heart.
Maybe reconnecting with the reality of inhabiting a body.
May the body be at ease.
May I be at ease with the body.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
And as we move out of this period of formal practice,
I want to invite you for a moment to let go of the phrases and return to the experience of the body breathing for a minute.
With a simple instruction to breathe in a way that feels kind to the body in this moment.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
