Mindfulness - Be Here Now

Sit comfortably and observe the sensations in the body, mind, and breath to cultivate presence and stillness. This mindfulness practice can be done at any time in the day when you feel you need to be a little more present or regain your focus. This practice begins and ends with a bell.

Transcript

Hi and welcome to this mindfulness practice. So to begin we're going to assume a seated position. You can either do the sitting on the floor or if that's not possible if you prefer you can sit in a chair. So wherever you are in your seated position just make sure that the lower part of the body is somewhat symmetrical. You can either have the legs crossed. If that doesn't work for you you can sit with the legs extended forwards and a little wider and if you're sat on a chair make sure both feet are flat on the floor. Once you have that in position we'll take a moment to just root the tailbone down towards the floor and then we'll find a gentle lift through the chest and the crown of the head. We'll gently soften the shoulders from the ears and we'll place the hands onto the knees either palms down or palms up whatever works best for you. And then from here if you feel okay to do so just softly closing the eyes. Alternatively if you would prefer to keep them open then just find a point in front of you on the floor or on a wall that you can keep a soft and steady gaze. So just taking a moment now to settle into the space. Feeling as though you are arriving here now. So we'll just start to let our awareness move in and around the physical body. So we're just beginning to observe how the physical body feels right now. And as we approach this observation we'll do this with non-judgment. So just trying to accept the body as it presents itself. No need to feel like we need to change anything. But also no need to label how the body feels. Instead try and feel into the sensations of the body instead. So with that in mind just beginning to notice how the muscles feel in the body. And noticing how the joints and the skeleton feels. And seeing the contact point between the body and the surface in which you're sitting on. And then bringing your awareness to the face. From here just starting to relax the forehead. Softening the eyes and the cheeks. Loosening the jaw. And just unsticking the tongue from the roof of the mouth. From here we'll shift the awareness now to the mind and to the thoughts. So again just approaching this observation with non-judgment. Just accepting the mind as it is and merely becoming the witness to the mind. Starting to notice the thought process. Noticing the thoughts coming and going. Just observing the quality of the thoughts. And also the quantity of the thoughts. Then from here just allowing the awareness to shift now onto observation of breath. So there's no need to change the breath at this time but just becoming aware of that natural rhythm. Feeling the way the body moves with the breath. Keep your attention on the movement in the body as you breathe wherever that may be. Notice the speed of the breath. The rhythm or pattern. The depth. As to the nostrils, Noticing the temperature of the air passing through. And then we'll just invite a deeper breath in through the nose taking that breath a little longer. And then exhaling a little slower. Then a longer inhale through the nose. An even longer exhale. One more of those. And then just allowing our awareness to slowly come back into the room. And as you allow yourself to come back just gently wiggle the fingers maybe clench the fists a few times. And then softly blinking the eyes open to end this practice. Thank you very much for joining me.

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