Breath and body meditation.
Finding a comfortable seated position on a cushion or straight back chair and if sitting on a chair coming away from the back of the chair so that the spine can be self-supporting.
Allowing the back to be straight but not stiff with the shoulders naturally falling downwards.
The hands resting on your thighs or in your lap.
Inviting a dignified posture and an intention to be awake and aware.
And closing the eyes if this feels comfortable to you or lowering your gaze.
And turning your attention to the center of the body to the abdomen and beginning to notice the gentle stretching of the belly wall as the breath moves in and out of the body.
Lying the physical sensations of each in-breath and each out-breath.
Bringing curiosity into how you find your breath in this moment.
Long deep breaths or more shallow breaths.
And however you find your breath it's all okay.
There's no need to change anything about it at this time.
There's also no need to control the breath in any way just allowing it to breathe itself.
As you go along you will notice your mind wandering away from the breath.
This is a very natural tendency so it's okay when this happens.
Just taking the opportunity to notice where the mind had wandered off to then gently and firmly bringing the mind back to rest on the breathing sensations in the abdomen.
Allowing the breath to anchor you back in the present moment.
In this way the practice helps us see the patterns that take us away from the present moment.
So if the mind wanders again just noticing where the mind had gone to.
Planning,
Remembering,
Worrying and bringing the mind back again.
Beginning over and over again.
Each in-breath a new beginning.
Each out-breath a letting go.
Practicing this in silence on your own for a few minutes.
Reminding yourself that the intention is to simply become aware of where your attention is in each moment.
Coming back again and again to the breath when the mind wanders.
And now expanding the field of your awareness around the breath to get a sense of the body as a whole as if your whole body was breathing.
So alongside the sensations of the breath also becoming aware of all other sensations present in the body in this moment.
These could be sensations of contact with the surface of the skin such as your feet making contact with the floor or your body making contact with the cushion or chair.
And all sensations from the inside of the body such as tingling or vibrating sensations or sensations of coolness or warmth.
And experimenting with how you can narrow the focus of your attention on a particular sensation and how you can zoom out again taking in sensations from a broader perspective.
And should you encounter more intense sensations or any discomfort arising in the body perhaps due to your posture.
Recognizing that you have a choice in how to respond.
You can either intentionally shift your posture,
Noticing the intention to move,
The movement itself and any after effects of the movement.
Or you can choose to stay still bringing your awareness right into the area of intensity perhaps inviting the breath to breathe into this area of the body to explore the nature of the sensations present.
For example,
Is it a sense of tension or stretching in the muscles?
Is it continuous or does it come and go?
So not trying to make things different from how you find them but simply exploring with openness and curiosity.
And then if these sensations stop pulling for your attention returning the focus to the whole body just as it is sitting here in this moment.
Share and awake to the liveliness of the body.
And as this meditation comes to a close,
Reminding yourself that allowing things,
Sensations,
Experiences to be just as they are for the moment is key towards nourishing a sense of peace and inner balance.
