Hi,
I'm Ray and I'll be guiding you through this recharge meditation.
In this practice we're going to use the breath as the focus of our attention.
So make yourself comfortable on a chair or cushion,
The back straight,
Chin slightly tucked in.
The hands can rest in the lap or just drop the palms down on the thighs just above the knees.
Let's begin by taking three deep breaths,
Breathing in through the nose,
Filling the lungs and breathing out through the mouth.
And now just allowing the breath just to return to its natural rhythm.
And gently closing the eyes if that feels comfortable or just lowering the gaze gently in front of you.
And just taking a few moments before we do anything else just to appreciate the feeling of having nothing to do,
Nowhere to go and nothing to check.
So let's bring our attention into the body,
Being aware of where the body makes contact with the chair or the cushion,
The feet or legs touching the floor or the hands resting in the lap or on the legs.
And being aware of any tension in the body and just letting that go.
Now let's bring our attention to the sensation of the breath and where you feel it the strongest in the body,
Maybe that's at the nostrils,
In the chest or the belly.
And just rest your attention here on the in-breath and the out-breath and the slight pauses in between.
No need to control the breath in any way,
Just feeling the sensation of the breath coming in and going out.
At some point your attention will wander off to thoughts,
Plans,
Worries and when it does,
Without giving yourself a hard time,
Just gently bring your attention back to the breath,
Starting over again with each in-breath and each out-breath.
And if the mind wanders off many times,
Bringing it back just as many.
We're not forcing the breath,
We're just allowing the breath to be.
This breath coming in,
This breath going out.
And see if you can bring a sense of curiosity to the breath,
Noticing the quality of the breathing.
Is it deep or shallow?
Just if it changes,
Sometimes shorter,
Sometimes longer.
The mind wanders off.
No big deal,
Simply notice where it's gone and just bring your attention back to the sensation of the breath and start again.
Each breath is unique,
Each one's different,
You've never taken this breath before and never will again.
Just notice in the rhythm of the breath coming in and going out.
And if you can bring a sense of curiosity to the breath,
Noticing the quality of the breath.
And when you're ready,
You can gently bring your attention back to the body and the feeling of contact with the chair or cushion and the space around you.
And remember that you can always drop into the breath anytime,
Anywhere,
As a way of bringing yourself back into the present moment.
As our meditation comes to an end,
When you're ready you can open your eyes,
Have a stretch and congratulate yourself on making some time to recharge your body and your mind.
