Welcome to day 4 of your 14 day meditation challenge.
I'm proud that you're here again.
10 minutes doesn't seem like much,
But it is certainly a long time for the mind to come up with thoughts.
So I'm glad you made it.
I'm gonna start today by making yourself comfortable again.
Closing down your eyes,
Resting your hands on your leg or in your lap.
And begin by taking a few deeper breaths than normal.
In through the nose and then out through the mouth.
So you can audibly hear the outward breath.
Check the PlayStation 3 version.
Seal your lips again.
And shift your breathing back to breathing in through the nose and out through the nose.
Take a few moments and make yourself comfortable with this breathing.
Play with the breath coming in and out through your nose.
And as you let your breath be,
Don't try to modify it.
Just become aware of the air moving through your nasal passage.
Feel the temperature of the air on the inside of your nose.
Maybe you can feel the air moving across the fine hair that lines through your nasal passage.
Follow the air as it moves across the back of your throat,
Down your windpipe,
Into your lungs.
Then on the outward breath,
Follow the air as it leaves the lungs.
Back up the windpipe,
Across the back of the throat and out through the nose.
And notice the temperature of air as it leaves the body through the nose.
Is it different to when you took a breath in?
Become aware of how the body moves to accommodate the breathing process.
The pushing down of the diaphragm that allows the lungs to expand.
The expansion of the chest and the upper back.
Perhaps the movement of your shoulders.
The expansion of your ribs and stomach.
And then notice how your stomach deflates when you breathe out.
Your ribs collapse,
Your shoulders become heavy,
Your upper back and your chest relax.
And start to focus on a part of the breath that draws your attention to it.
Whether it is the air that comes through the nose.
Maybe it's the filling of the lungs itself.
The movement of the body.
Bring all your attention into the breath.
And try not to change the breath.
Simply strive to be aware of that your body is breathing.
And then let go.
And simply follow the flow of the air.
Follow the inward breath.
Followed by the outward breath.
Continue to do so.
And when you become aware that you're not focused on the breath anymore.
Gently start to bring your attention back to it.
And be patient with yourself.
It is natural that your mind will wander.
Telling the mind to stop thinking is like telling the heart to stop beating.
It doesn't really work.
But if you treat your own mind as a little thief.
Your awareness is a little thief.
Going into your mind and looking for thoughts,
Emotions,
Things that you have to do.
Let that thief go through your mind wherever it wants to go.
Try not to catch it.
Be like the thief's companion that gently says,
Come back,
Come back out,
Come back to the breath.
And you come back out of your own mind.
Back to the inhalation and exhalation.
And you come back out of your own mind.
And you come back out of your own mind.
When you're ready,
Notice where your attention,
Where your little thief is.
And gently bring it back to your breathing.
And begin to deepen your breath.
Extend the inhalation and exhalation.
Bring your attention back into your body and slowly begin to move it.
Begin to wiggle your fingers and toes.
And then take your attention into the space around you.
Notice the sounds in the room that you're in.
And notice the sounds outside of the room.
Take three deeper than normal breaths.
Breathing out so you can audibly hear the outward breath.
And when you're ready,
Open your eyes and sit quietly for just a few moments,
Cultivating your own experience.
Thank you so much for taking the time for yourself.
And I'll see you tomorrow.
Namaste.
