Let's find a comfortable seat,
Whether you want to sit on a chair or on the floor on a meditation cushion.
Whatever you choose,
Make sure that your hips are above the knees and that your spine is upright and that you're not leaning to anything,
If that's possible.
So once you've taken a comfortable seat,
Let's cross the wrists in front of the heart and then place your palms on the side of the chest as if you want to warm up your hands under the armpits,
So you can feel your ribcage expanding and contracting as you breathe.
And you can close the eyes or keep them half open,
Gazing in front of you on the ground.
And for some time,
Simply feel your body breathing.
Sense through your palms how the breath moves the body from within.
Notice the expansion of the inhale and the contraction of the exhale.
And then with time,
You'll also start to notice the pauses.
At the top of the inhale,
A short pause,
And then the exhale starts.
And then at the bottom of the exhale,
A longer pause,
And then the inhale starts.
Allow the pauses to be,
And especially allow that longer pause at the bottom of the exhale to be.
And wait for the inhale to start somewhere deep within the body on its own.
You don't need to do anything with the breath.
Just witness the breath underneath your palms through the sense of touch as it moves the body from within.
And let the breath unfold in its natural pace.
Resting on the bottom of the exhale,
Notice how your mind,
The activity of the mind,
Also pauses,
Stops.
Everything stops at that exhale.
And this is how mind and the breath are interconnected.
Maybe by now you're also noticing that the breath,
The quality of breath has changed.
By witnessing the breath,
By paying attention to the breath,
The breath starts to change.
It slows down and deepens.
And as the breath slows down and deepens,
Our mind starts to calm down.
We're starting to settle in the body.
Next,
Slowly glide your palms.
So one lands on your belly,
Underneath the belly button,
And another one lands on your heart.
And continue witnessing your breath underneath your palms,
Or sense your breath through your palms as it moves the body from within.
Nothing to do with the breath.
The body knows how to breathe.
Just watch.
If the breath is shallow,
Notice that it's shallow.
If the breath is deep,
Notice that it's deep.
And if you find yourself somewhere else,
If you notice that you got distracted,
Simply come back to the touch of the palms with your body.
Come back on that anchor for the attention.
And continue witnessing the breath.
Coming back is meditation.
Coming back to the chosen object of focus.
Now,
Let's slowly shift the palms on the sides of the ribcage and feel how your breath is moving the ribcage.
And the ribcage is actually not the best name for this part of the body.
A rib basket would be more appropriate because it breathes,
It expands,
It's movable.
Witness your breath through the palms,
Moving the body on the side of your chest.
And next,
Let's shift the palms on the back,
Lower back,
On the kidney area.
And see if you can feel your breath there.
You're breathing in the back of the body too.
And keep resting on that bottom of the exhale.
Everything happens in its own pace.
The body knows how to breathe.
Now,
Let's slowly glide the palms on the lower belly,
Underneath the belly button.
And allow your belly to release and relax on the inhale into your palms.
Feel the expansion of the belly as you breathe in.
And then the belly pulls gently in and up as you exhale.
On the inhale,
Belly releases into the palms.
And on the exhale,
There is a gentle pull in and up.
Allow that release to happen on the inhale.
And next,
Let's shift the palms,
Both palms,
On the heart center.
Feel all the little sensations coming in through your palms.
The heartbeat,
The expansion and contraction of the breath,
And all the other stuff that doesn't really have the name.
Feel the flow of life underneath your palms.
And finally,
Let's join the palms in front of the heart,
Tuning into the contact of the left and the right palm,
Feeling the cushy parts of the palms coming together.
And then also the empty space between the arches of the palms.
And with this gesture,
Let's bow to complete the meditation.
Thank you.
