We'll begin by finding a comfortable position,
Seated upright.
Taking a moment to stretch and get comfortable.
And first you might take a moment to close your eyes and notice where your body is in space.
Notice how you're positioned.
And then bringing the attention to the touch points of the body,
Where the body touches the surfaces,
Supporting it,
And feeling the sensation of the seat against the earth,
The ground below.
And noticing that sense of feeling supported.
And from this grounded seat,
We will bring the attention to the breath.
And noticing the breath,
Each inhale and each exhale,
Without trying to change it.
So noticing the natural flow,
The rhythm of the breath.
And you might notice where you feel the breath most strongly.
And for some people it may be that space between the upper lip and the nostrils,
That skin,
Feeling the air touch before it moves in.
Maybe moving through the nostrils,
Or the swirling in the back of the throat.
Maybe you notice the most in the rise and fall of the chest or the belly.
And without judgment,
Noticing where you feel the breath most strongly.
And now after spending a moment to relax,
Spending some time with the breath,
You likely have noticed your mind start to wander.
It's a normal response.
And it's also an invitation to come back to awareness.
And so as these thoughts arise,
As they naturally do,
And bring the attention away from the breath,
There's a moment,
An opportunity of awareness.
A moment to lovingly bring the attention back to the breath.
Like a leaf flowing down the waters of a river,
Allow the thoughts to flow by without clinging to them,
Without judging them.
Simply noticing that the thought has come up and to then bring the attention back to the breath.
Observing the air moving in and out and out with each inhale and exhale.
And allowing each breath to be another moment to return to awareness.
An awareness of what's here and now with love and compassion,
Without judgment.
Each inhale,
Bringing rich oxygenated blood,
Nourishing the lungs,
Nourishing the body.
And each exhale,
Releasing tension,
Releasing whatever needs to be let go right now.
Whatever needs to be let go right now.
And this ongoing cycle and flow of filling up and nourishing and releasing and letting go on each inhale and each exhale.
And just as we notice the mind wandering as thoughts arrive,
We might also notice other reasons why the mind might start to wander.
So noticing if there are any sounds in the environment around you like cars driving by,
Airplanes flying overhead,
Any pets nearby.
And like the thoughts allowing the sounds to come and go and continuing to bring the attention back to the breath.
Or maybe there's sensations bringing the mind to wander,
Physical sensations,
Pain.
Maybe strong emotions coming up.
And just like the sounds or the thoughts allowing whatever's coming up to float down the river,
To observe it with loving awareness without judgment.
And seeing each moment that the mind wanders as another opportunity,
Another chance to return to loving awareness,
To bring the attention back to the breath.
Breathing in,
Nourishing air,
Breathing out tension,
And finally offering some words of loving kindness to yourself.
Maybe you offer yourself words of gratitude or thanks for taking this time to come to awareness.
Maybe you're just letting go of some of the things that are bothering you.
Maybe you need to hear the word thank you,
I love you,
It's okay.
And then offering words of loving kindness to all beings.
May all beings be safe and protected May all beings be happy and have peace.
May all beings be free.
