Let's pause for a little while.
We can allow the body to be how it wants to be,
Right now.
Whether that means lying down or sitting in a way that feels comfortable and supported.
There's no preferred posture here.
We can choose to be in a way that allows a little more ease.
The eyes can be open.
Or softly close.
Or somewhere in between.
Perhaps the eyes can start to soften.
The jaw loosening slightly.
The tongue resting easily in the mouth.
We're allowing the body to settle into comfort.
And simply giving a little space for this moment to be felt more fully.
Often when we come into a meditation.
There's a sense that we should settle quickly.
As though this part is something to move through before the meditation really begins.
But today,
Let's stay right here.
What if this settling,
This gradual,
Unhurried arriving is already the meditation?
There's no need for the body to calm itself quickly.
No expectation that it should feel different or settled yet.
We're not asking it to arrive anywhere.
We are letting it take the time it takes.
And that pace may be slow.
Or uneven.
Or still finding its way.
We can welcome all of that.
We might notice places where the body is already supported.
By the chair.
Or the floor.
Or the bed beneath us.
We can just notice how it's being held.
And if the body wants to shift.
Or settling stages.
Softening in its own time.
That too can be part of this settling.
We don't need to direct anything.
We can just listen to the body and Go with whatever wants to unfold.
Sometimes the mind wants to move on.
To get to the real meditation.
To do it properly.
And if that happens,
We can simply notice it.
Without needing to follow it or push it away.
Even that noticing.
Is part of settling.
We are allowing the body to organize itself.
Muscles can release when they're ready.
Breath can find its own rhythm.
Attention may drift.
And return.
There's nothing to do.
We can just stay.
With what happens.
We might sense moments.
When the body feels a little more at ease.
And the moments when it doesn't.
And we don't need to measure either of those.
We're just staying present with what's here,
Now.
Settling isn't something we finish.
It's something that continues to unfold.
We can rest here.
For a little while longer.
Letting this gentle arriving be enough.
We don't need to change anything.
And as we come towards the end of this time together,
Settling doesn't need to stop.
It can carry on.
Into the next moment.
And whatever follows.
We can begin to widen our awareness again.
We can take in any sounds that we hear.
Perhaps the fingers want to move a little.
Or the toes.
Wiggling gently in their own time.
There's no rush.
And when it feels right the eyes can open.
And refocus softly.
Taking in the space around us.
Perhaps we might leave with a quiet invitation.
To meet the rest of the day with a little more ease.
A little more softness.
In a gentler way.
