Making your way into a comfortable,
Upright position,
In a chair or on the floor or even in your bed.
Supporting yourself so that you can feel relaxed and awake for your practice.
Settling in,
Closing down the eyes.
Allowing the body to yield to the chair or the floor or the bed.
Inviting a sense of softening into the body.
Tuning in to the natural rhythm of the inhale and exhale through the nose.
There's no need to change the breath in any way.
Just find that effortless,
Automatic inhale and exhale.
Place your attention on the breath as you feel the breath moving in and out of the body.
Inhaling and exhaling.
Feeling the breath traveling in and out through the nostrils.
Feeling the breath moving through the throat.
On the inhalation,
Feel the body expand.
On the exhalation,
Feel the body contract.
Rest your awareness with the breath.
Feeling the breath in your torso.
On the inhale,
Feel the belly expand,
The ribs expand and the chest rise.
On the exhale,
Feel the chest descend,
The ribs contract and the belly draw down.
When our awareness is resting with the breath,
We are in the present moment.
In the here and the now.
We are experiencing life moment to moment,
Breath by breath.
During the practice,
You'll drift off to thinking.
The mind may be planning or narrating a story,
Reflecting on the past or projecting into the future.
Notice where you find yourself in your practice and meet yourself with non-judgmental awareness as you guide yourself back to the breath and anchor to the present moment.
Feeling into the rise and the fall of the belly as you inhale and exhale.
Following the full cycle of the breath,
Where in the body do you feel the start of the inhalation?
Maybe you feel it deep down in the belly or you feel it higher up in the chest.
And where in the body is the place that you feel the very end of the exhalation?
Can you feel the air exiting the nostrils?
Notice the moment at the top of the inhale when the breath turns around to descend for the exhale.
And that same moment at the end of the exhale when the breath begins to rise up for the inhale.
On the inhale,
Feel the uplift of the body.
On the exhale,
Feel the body draw down.
Noticing where you find yourself right now,
You may be off thinking.
Wherever you are,
Meeting yourself with non-judgmental awareness as you come back to the anchor to the present moment,
Back to the breath.
Riding the rise and the fall of the breath.
Feel the whole body breathing from the crown of the head through to the tips of the toes.
Inhaling and exhaling.
Allowing the sound of the bell to bring you back to this space.
When you're ready,
Slowly opening your eyes.
Thank you for practicing.
