Welcome to your midday pause meditation.
Begin by finding a comfortable position,
One where you feel both relaxed and alert.
You might close down your eyes if that feels safe,
Or you can soften your gaze downward.
Now take a couple long slow breaths as a way of signaling to your body that it's time to slow down.
Now let your breath be natural,
And I'm going to invite you to bring your awareness to different parts of your body.
And as your mind wanders,
You can use your physical body as the anchor for your attention,
Just coming on back to the guidance I'm offering.
Begin with your face.
Notice your eyes,
Your nose,
Your mouth,
Your jaw.
Notice your neck,
Your shoulders,
Upper arms,
Lower arms,
All the way down to your hands.
Notice your chest,
Your upper back,
Your abdomen,
Mid-back,
Low back.
Notice your hips,
Your pelvic region,
Upper legs,
Lower legs,
All the way down through your feet.
Notice your whole body,
Your whole body.
And just noticing what is present for you right now.
What's present for you right now?
Perhaps you notice a physical sensation,
An emotion,
Maybe a flavor of thoughts.
Whatever it is,
Simply noticing that.
And now from this place of presence and awareness,
Consider how would you like to show up to whatever is next in your day?
What energy do you want to bring?
What do you want to embody?
You might capture this with a word,
A phrase,
Maybe even a physical sensation in your body.
Just taking a moment now to sit with this intention.
The practice will end with one sound of the bell in a moment.