Go ahead and get yourself comfortable.
Put your feet flat on the floor,
Or you can cross your legs,
And just rest your hands in your lap.
Relax your shoulders.
Keep your eyes open.
I know sometimes we start with our eyes closed,
But I like for you just to keep your eyes open and have a soft focus.
So you're not really staring at anything.
You're just kind of softly aware of the room that you're in,
The size of it.
And start taking a couple of deep breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth.
As someone said recently,
It's like smell the flowers,
Breathe in.
Blow out the candles,
Breathe out.
Do that a couple more times.
And on your next exhale,
You can let your eyes close.
Now start to be aware of any sounds that you hear,
Either close or far.
And if your attention wanders,
Just bring it back to those sounds.
And now for the next 30 seconds or so,
I want you to scan down from the top of your head all the way down to the soles of your feet as they press the ground.
And just be aware of any sensations.
Now we're not trying to change any of these sensations,
Just kind of being aware.
Is there any discomfort,
Any places that feel particularly comfortable or happy,
Any grumpy muscles?
Just scan through and pay attention.
Trying to get kind of a whole picture of how your body is feeling in this moment.
And now bring your attention to your breathing.
Notice where you feel yourself breathing.
Maybe it's your nose,
Your throat,
Your chest,
Or down in your belly.
Just notice the natural rhythm of your breath.
Now as any thoughts or distractions start to enter your consciousness,
Just say hello.
And each time you notice something,
Each time you notice a thought,
Notice your mind wandering.
Just say hello to whatever that thought or distraction is and then bring your attention back to your breath.
Now as any distractions or thoughts come in,
Start to breathe in hello and breathe out goodbye.
Just let those thoughts or distractions drift away.
Breathe in hello.
Breathe out goodbye.
And then of course,
Every time you say goodbye,
You're bringing your attention right back to your breathing,
To that single point of focus.
Breathe in hello,
Breathe out goodbye,
And come right back to your focus on the breath.
And then as you're breathing,
You're bringing your attention back to your breath.
And come right back to your focus on the breath.
And now when you're ready,
You can start to become aware of the room you're in.
And gently open your eyes.
You might give yourself a little stretch and just notice how you're feeling.
And that is something that you can actually practice over and over and will help train your mind to be better at focusing.
So that thoughts are no longer an obstacle.
Distractions are no longer an obstacle because you know exactly what to do with them.
They come in,
You say hello,
You say goodbye,
They travel on their way,
And you go right back to what you're doing.
That way you never have to get derailed.
And it's not that you're completely unaware,
It's that you know what to do with it.
