And so just taking a moment to find a comfortable posture,
We're sitting,
Be sitting at attention,
Not rigidly so,
But comfortably upright.
With each in-breath you might sit up just a little taller,
And with each out-breath there's a posing,
Relaxing,
Softening,
Releasing motion.
And so you find a balance between the two.
And again if we're seated,
Just tucking the chin in ever so slightly,
And let's bring awareness into the body.
Connect with your experience of your body right now.
And you may notice as you're settling into a comfortable posture,
There are some areas that feel a bit more tight,
A bit more tense,
More tired this morning.
And so I invite you,
Particularly with the out-breath,
Just to soften around those areas.
We might sort of bring awareness to the mind,
Start noticing what sort of thoughts we're having,
Any feelings.
Not judging and not adding to them,
Just noticing how we're feeling both in our physical body but also in our mind.
And then we can take a deep breath in,
And with the out-breath relaxing the body.
Take a second slow deep breath in,
And with the out-breath setting the mind at ease.
And so giving ourselves permission to set aside any hopes,
Fears,
Worries and concerns right now,
And to be at rest,
Aware of our body.
And then I invite you to become aware of the room or the space that you're in right now.
And you're welcome to take a look around,
Noticing how things seem this morning.
The light filtering its way in,
The shadows,
Just noticing the room,
The space of the room and the contents.
And take notice of the sounds,
The humming or buzzing,
Perhaps other sounds and movements of people,
Birds outside.
So just really taking in this environment.
And perhaps it's not perfectly quiet,
But each sound represents something we can love about this environment,
The people nearby,
This place that keeps you safe and well.
And so as we open up to our immediate environment,
We might focus on those things,
The sounds,
The appearances,
And thinking about what they mean to us.
Perhaps how we value or appreciate them.
We might feel a smile of gratitude.
And then once again start to take notice of your body,
Relaxing the muscles of the face,
Relaxing the neck and the shoulders,
Dropping the arms and the hands,
Releasing any tension in the belly and the lower back,
And of course relaxing through the legs and the feet.
And just noticing how your body feels right now,
A bit more relaxed.
What do you notice?
Notice the contact with your seat.
Notice the gentle rise and fall of the breath.
The vitality of this body,
The movements of energy.
It's not a static slumped mass.
There is energy here,
Life here.
And so as we focus on this body,
We might again think about what we appreciate about this body.
Perhaps feeling the warmth of gratitude for simply being alive,
Having woken up today,
Still with this precious,
Wonderful human life.
And so then just resting,
Noticing,
Being aware of our immediate experience of the body,
The environment around us,
Observing,
Being present.
And then I'd ask you to start to think about the day ahead,
About any plans you may have,
Or perhaps not much planned.
And as you think about the day ahead,
Start to think about how you'd best like to show up today,
For yourself and for other people.
How could you offer your best?
What qualities,
Perhaps,
Would you like to bring to your interactions with others,
With your environment?
You might like to express these with words.
Caring,
Understanding,
Calm,
Whatever it is.
We might think of this as a type of intention,
How we'd like to show up today.
We might also like to ask,
What might you like to get out of today?
What would seem meaningful,
What would seem valuable for you today?
What do you need?
What could you prioritize today that would be valuable or meaningful for you?
And again,
You might like to express this with words,
With an intention,
If you like.
And then let us take a deep but slow breath in,
Breathing in the energy of the day,
And breathing out,
Relaxing and grounding ourselves in the now.
Once again,
Breathing in deep,
Breathing in energy,
Vitality.
Breathing out calm and grounded.
And let's do a third and final slow deep breath in,
And slow exhale out.
