So just settling into a nice comfortable position,
Really taking your time to find a posture that supports ease and contentment.
It's really important that the body is supported.
If the body is tied up in knots,
Then the mind too will be tied up in knots.
So we're really looking for upright but not uptight.
And just sensing now where the body makes contact with the support beneath you.
And from your stable base,
Feeling the spine rising up out of the pelvis,
Up through the centre of the body,
The neck,
Supporting the head,
Evenly balanced.
And it might be helpful just to gently sway from side to side or front to back to help ease into that centre of gravity.
And as you begin to find some stillness,
Noticing the position of the shoulders.
Can you open the chest?
Allowing the arms to drape from the shoulders.
The hands to rest wherever it's comfortable for you.
And making any further adjustments as needed.
Feeling the weight of the body.
Feeling the shape of the body sitting.
And noticing that the body is breathing.
Where do you feel the breath most clearly?
You may feel the air moving in and out of the nostrils.
Or the rise and fall of the chest and shoulders.
Or perhaps feeling the expansion and contraction of the belly.
Breathing in,
Knowing that you're breathing in.
And breathing out,
Knowing that you're breathing out.
There's no right or wrong way to breathe.
Just abiding in this knowing quality of mindfulness.
Becoming intimate with the breath.
And with an element of enquiry.
Observing the length of each inhale and the length of each exhale.
Is the breath long or short?
How is this known?
Tracking each inhalation.
Learning each exhalation.
Noticing if the movements of the breath are felt in one location.
Just the chest or just the belly.
And does the breath feel fast or slow?
Heavy or light?
Shallow or deep?
Each time the mind naturally drifts into thought with awareness.
Relaxing any tightness in the mind and the heart.
Relaxing any tightness in the body and then gently coming back to the sensations of breathing.
Relaxing any tightness in the mind and the heart.
Relaxing any tightness in the mind and the heart.
As you investigate the breath,
You may notice that at the end of each inhale and the end of each exhale,
There's a gap.
A turning point.
How does this affect the length of the breath?
Has the gap become longer and the breath shorter?
Knowing what's true for you.
If breathing in long,
Know that you're breathing in long.
And if breathing out long,
Know that you're breathing out long.
If breathing in short,
Know that you're breathing in short.
And if breathing out short,
Know that you're breathing out short.
Long to the extent necessary for bare knowing.
Relaxing any tightness in the mind and the heart.
Relaxing any tightness in the mind and the heart.
Relaxing any tightness in the mind and the heart.
Relaxing any tightness in the mind and the heart.
And becoming sensitive now to the whole body.
The breath is still felt,
Still known,
But the whole body moves to the forefront in our field of awareness and the breath moves into the periphery.
Not thinking about or imagining the body,
But tuning in to the direct felt sense.
How do you know you have a body?
You may sweep the awareness from the top of the head down to the feet.
Or if it's available,
Feeling the totality of sensation of the whole body breathing.
Tons of breathing in the head and face,
The torso,
The arms and hands,
The legs and feet.
Tuning in to this field of sensation.
The whole body expanding.
Whole body contracting.
Experiencing the whole body as you breathe in.
Experiencing the whole body as you breathe out.
Experiencing the whole body as you breathe out.
Experiencing the whole body as you breathe out.
Whole body energizing and relaxing.
Whole body breathing.
Exhaling.
Exhaling.
Exhaling.
Exhaling.
See if you can relax and let go,
Softening around any resistance so that the whole body finds as much ease as it can right now.
Relaxing into the moment.
Calming bodily activity as you breathe in.
Calming bodily activity as you breathe out.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
Breathing out.
Each time the mind naturally drifts into thought with awareness,
Relaxing any tightness in the mind,
In the heart,
Relaxing any tightness in the body.
And then gently coming back to the whole body breathing.
Suffusing the whole body with kindness.
Relaxing.
Relaxing.
Relaxing.
