So beginning this meditation by finding a comfortable seated position,
Seated upright,
Coming to your meditation with this sense of presence and empoweredness.
Rolling the shoulders down and back,
Gently closing the eyes,
Allowing yourself to get comfortable and relaxed and grounded in this meditation posture.
Just taking these next few moments to claim to yourself that you are here,
You're practicing meditation for the benefit of your own good and the good of others.
Knowing that building this breath practice is going to make you so much more powerful in your life.
And take a deep breath in through the nose and out through the mouth.
Deep breath in through the nose.
Now as you exhale out the mouth allow the shoulders to drop,
Allow any places in the body that hold tension to relax.
Breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth,
Letting go of tension in the face,
Neck,
The shoulders,
Your arms,
Hands,
Or fingers.
Allowing the body to just be as it is,
Relaxing the abdomen or the back,
The hips,
Just finding any places of tension in the body and allowing them to be at ease.
All the way from the top of the head down to the tips of your toes.
And as you feel even just this wee bit more of relaxation in the body,
Begin to bring your focus,
Your awareness,
Your attention to the breath.
Watching it as it flows in and out of the body naturally,
Easily,
Without any need for control.
Watching the breath as it flows in and out.
And if at any point you find that your mind has wandered away from being attentive to the breath,
Forgive yourself,
Forgive those thoughts,
And gently guide yourself back to focusing on the breath as it flows in and out.
And you might find that focusing on a certain point of the breath helps to anchor you more deeply in this concentration practice.
So maybe you notice the breath as it gently whispers across your upper lip,
Noticing the temperature of your inhale or the temperature of your exhale at the tip of the nose,
The outside of the nostrils.
Or maybe you want to notice the breath in the nasal passages or in the throat,
In the chest or in the belly.
You choose your specific focus point for this meditation and stick to that focus point,
Noticing the breath as it flows in and out.
You Now mindfully drop your awareness away from the breath,
Knowing that the seed of attention and mindfulness,
Awareness has been planted even in this short meditation.
Bring your hands to your heart center,
Placing the left hand over your right on your chest and claiming to yourself that you are grateful for this practice.
You are grateful to yourself for the seed you planted and grateful for this beautiful tool of the breath that you have at your disposal at any time during the day.
And take a deep breath in through the nose,
Out through the nose,
Maybe bringing a smile to your face.
