If this is your first time or you've been meditating for many years,
You can always start where you are.
This is a practice for wherever you are in your journey.
Let's begin by getting comfortable in a seated position.
You can have your hands gently resting on your legs.
Your back is upright,
Either supported by the back of a chair or on a cushion.
Your feet or legs are touched by the ground,
Supported by the earth.
With a soft gaze,
Look around the room.
Take in the surroundings,
The colors,
The shapes.
Just notice.
When you feel ready,
You can slowly close your eyes.
Your breath is always with you.
It happens naturally.
We do this so much,
We don't really notice it.
Our breath may become more shallow and shorter,
And then we may allow it to become deeper.
When we do notice,
We may begin to control it.
We may begin to label how we are doing it.
There is no right way or wrong way to breathe.
You're just breathing.
Allow yourself to breathe in deeply.
And while you do,
Become curious about noticing it.
Notice your chest expanding.
Notice it falling.
Notice how the temperature feels coming through your nose as you breathe in.
Is it cool coming in and then warm going out?
Notice how it shifts from being long,
Deep inhales to short,
Light inhales.
The intention here is to notice.
Not to control.
Not to judge.
Just to notice.
Starting where you are is a practice.
There are many moments in our days where we can begin again.
If we are struggling,
We can start there.
If we are celebrating,
We can start there.
This moment happening right now is when you start.
And where you are is here.
Right now.
If you have slipped,
You can start again where you are.
If you have smiled,
You can start again where you are.
If you have suffered,
You can start again where you are.
If you have loved,
You can start again where you are.
There may be resistance.
In your mind.
In your body.
A feeling of why.
A feeling of when.
A feeling of not knowing.
While we may want to grasp for an answer,
What if instead we offered ourselves a different response to the question?
Maybe the question is an invitation to start where we are feeling.
We can pause.
We can take a deep breath.
How do I feel in this moment?
Where do I feel this in my body?
Can I breathe with this feeling?
If I have slipped,
I can start again where I am.
If I have smiled,
I can start again where I am.
If I have suffered,
I can start again where I am.
If I have loved,
I can start again where I am.
Start to gently come back to your body.
You can move your fingers.
You can move into a light stretch.
And begin to open your eyes.
Thank you for taking this time for yourself.
I'm grateful to have shared this space with you.
Namaste.
