As a way of collecting and gathering yourself you might take a few full deep breaths inhaling and filling the lungs.
And exhaling slowly,
Sense of letting go,
Letting go.
And inhaling deeply,
Filling the lungs.
And exhaling gently,
Releasing,
Letting go.
And once more let's inhale together filling the lungs.
Hold for a moment when the breath is full.
Feel the sensations of fullness.
And slowly exhale.
Letting the breath be natural.
Relaxing with the breath.
This direct gateway to presence is through being awake in this body.
So you might begin by just relaxing in a very conscious way,
Softening the eyes,
Perhaps feeling a smile at the eyes.
Light smile at the mouth,
This half-smile of the Buddha that connects us with a sense of ease,
Our whole nervous system is free to relax.
Smile at the heart,
Not to cover over anything but to create the space for what is here.
And as if that smile could ripple and spread through the body,
Sense the shoulders free to relax back and down.
Feel the hands,
Let them be soft and easy,
Resting in an effortless way,
Feeling them from the inside out,
The tingling,
The vibrating,
The life that is there.
Chest is open and belly soft,
Letting the breath be received very deeply in the torso.
And letting the relaxation spread through the hips and the legs,
The feet.
So that if you widen the lens you could feel this whole body as a field of sensation.
Relaxing in the midst of this field of sensation,
The flow of the breath,
The inflow and outflow.
Feeling the possibility of relaxing as the breath comes in.
And letting go,
Relaxing with the outflow.
Letting this breath be a kind of home base,
Gateway to presence.
You might notice that the mind can very quickly leave in thought the future,
The past,
Not to judge in any way.
Instead,
When you realize you have been drifting in the trance of thinking,
Simply pause and re-relax,
Re-open the attention.
You might hear the sounds around you.
Again,
Feel the sensations and life in the body.
And if it helps to steady you in presence,
Come back to rest in this inflow and outflow of the breath.
Sometimes some strong energy arises that is difficult to be with.
Sometimes it is physical unpleasantness,
Burning,
Twisting,
Aching,
Or an emotional energy,
Fear,
Anger,
Sadness.
And instead of focusing on the breath,
Resting fully in the breath,
Include that in your attention,
Saying yes to what arises.
Letting yourself feel it as a constellation of sensations in your body.
Regarding with kindness what arises.
And when it is no longer compelling,
You might come back to rest in the movement of the breath.
Or in that natural presence that simply notices what is arising and passing moment to moment.
Please stay contained.
You might check and see if it's possible to relax just a little bit more right now.
Relaxing the body,
Relaxing the mind open from any confining thoughts,
Relaxing the heart.
Wherever the mind has been,
You can start fresh,
Right in this moment,
Choosing presence,
Very gently arriving,
Right in this moment,
Sensing the quality of here-ness,
Of now-ness,
A relaxed attentiveness moment to moment.
