Beginning by finding a comfortable posture where you're at ease,
Yet alert.
Either you're sitting on a chair or on a cushion,
Perhaps lying down,
Inviting a sense of ease into your body,
Letting your eyes gently close,
If that's comfortable for you,
Or simply lowering your gaze,
Scanning through the body,
Getting a sense of any obvious areas of tension,
Feel ready to release,
To let go.
You know,
Seeing what it's like to release those areas of tightness.
The effect it has on your mind.
If you'd like,
You may invite yourself to offer some simple phrases of love and kindness.
You may silently say to yourself,
May I be at ease.
May I be at ease.
May I be safe.
May I be safe.
Feeling how those words affect your body and your mind.
May I be happy.
May I be happy.
Now we'll begin playing with some different anchors,
Drawing your attention to the breath and the nostrils,
The upper lip and throat,
Becoming aware of the cool air coming in with each inhalation,
And sense of warmth with each exhalation.
You don't need to control the breath in any way,
Letting it happen all on its own.
Testing your attention on the tip of the nose,
On the throat,
And the upper lip.
Being with the warmth and the coolness just as they are.
You find that your mind wanders very sweetly,
Bringing it back to sensations in the nose,
The upper lip,
And in the throat.
Let go of your focus,
And the nostrils,
And the throat,
Upper lip,
Moving down to the rising and falling of the chest,
Feeling the chest in three-dimensional space,
The back of the chest,
The sides of the front.
Noticing the chest rising and falling in space.
Inviting in a supple,
Soft attention to the expansion and contraction of the chest.
Noticing each falling of the chest as a reminder to release,
To let go.
Feeling your awareness to the expansion and contraction of the belly.
Perhaps if you'd like,
Placing a hand over your belly.
Feeling attuned to the moment-to-moment changes in the belly.
You often hold a lot of tension in the belly.
Seeing what it would be like for you to release that tension,
If it's possible.
Kind of seeing the expansion and contraction,
Each in-breath,
Each out-breath.
Removing your awareness to the sensations in the hands and in the feet.
Vibrating,
Pulsating,
Coolness,
Warmth.
Whoever's present,
Letting it be there.
Letting it to be received by living awareness in the space around you.
A kind,
Attentive quality of attention.
Dropping below the level of thought.
Allowing yourself to be with the sensations,
Just as they are.
Without any commentary.
Letting go of your attention in the hands and in the feet.
Bringing that kind,
Gentle attention to the places of contact with the chair,
The cushion,
The floor.
Understanding what it's like to be supported.
Letting the chair,
The cushion,
The floor fully support you.
Perhaps inviting in a sense of trust.
Removing your awareness outside the body to the sounds around you.
Sounds near and sounds far.
Letting go of any effort to hear,
Just allowing what's already there to enter,
To be received by a soft quality of attention,
No need to do anything.
Just listen.
Working with sounds as they appear and disappear.
Now getting a sense of the whole body as it breathes.
Using every cell of the body,
Bathed in loving awareness.
The living awareness that is present in each breath.
Now,
Bring the breath in the background and bringing the sensations of the body to the foreground and go with breath and focusing on the sensations of the whole body.
Treading yourself to broaden your attention,
Listening to and feeling the entire experience of being here,
Not only the breath and the body,
But also the sounds.
Teaching it all in soft awareness.
If you find that your mind wanders,
Invite yourself to bring it back to the anchor that you most resonated with today,
Whether it's the breath at the nostrils,
The rising and falling of the chest,
The expansion and contraction of the belly,
Sensations of the hands and feet,
Where the body makes contact with the chair and cushion and the floor.
Listening to sounds,
The whole body as it breathes.
The sensations in the body for your entire experience,
Whichever anchor is most helpful to you today,
Allow yourself to come back to it when your mind wanders.
Be completely absorbed by it.
Being with it from moment to moment,
Refining your attention on it with a kind and receptive quality of attention.
Receiving the changing state of your anchor.
Surrendering to the experience of your anchor.
Hear fuckin' DC.
Letting it bathe you in loving awareness.
Every cell in your body.
And your mind wanders away from the anchor very softly,
Bringing it back.
Doesn't matter how many times you bring your attention back.
It's bringing the attention back in a soft,
Forgiving way that strengthens the mindfulness muscle.
Each moment of noticing we're away is a moment of mindfulness,
A moment of awakening.
Dropping into your anchor,
Letting it take you.
V water,
Let it open.
.
.
So,
Letting go of your focus and your anchor for the day.
Relaxing your concentration,
Inviting some soft movement into your body.
Really opening your eyes when you're ready.
Laying in the light,
The colors of the room.
Seeing if you can carry this quality of attention into your next activity.
