Finding a comfortable and quiet place and sitting in a dignified posture that's both relaxed but upright,
With a self-supporting spine,
If you can,
And closing your eyes or leaving them partially open,
An invitation to take a few deep breaths to relax your body.
Bringing your awareness to your body by noticing your posture and the world of sensations occurring within your body,
Within this body,
This vessel that houses you.
Placing your hand on your heart,
Bringing mindful awareness to your breathing and your breath around the heart area.
Now releasing your attention on the breath,
But knowing that it's always there to anchor you in the moment.
If you get distracted or lose your way within the practice,
Or finding things difficult,
You can always return your attention to the breath and the breath around the heart area as a way of anchoring in the present moment,
Weaving it into your experience of the practice.
It doesn't need to be separate.
So keeping your attention in the heart region,
I invite you to ask yourself,
What am I feeling?
Letting your attention be drawn to the strongest emotion in your body,
Even if it's only a whisper of a feeling.
Use your body like an antenna picking up a radio signal,
Or a microphone picking up a sound.
Give your strongest feeling a name.
If you sat down for this exercise without any strong emotions percolating,
You might be feeling contentment,
Or perhaps you're just curious.
Eventually you might come across another emotion,
Such as longing,
Sadness,
Worry,
Urgency,
Loneliness,
Pride,
Joy,
Lust,
Or envy.
Each time you come across an emotion,
I invite you to repeat the label two or three times in a kind,
Gentle voice,
And then returning your attention back to the breath,
Labelling the emotion.
Weaving back and forth between your breath and your emotions.
Letting your attention be drawn from your breath by an emotion,
Label it,
And then return to your breath.
There's no need to find an emotion if there isn't one.
Just be open to the possibility of emotions as you breathe.
If you feel overwhelmed by an emotion,
Stay with the breath until you feel better.
From emotion to the breath,
And knowing that the breath is always there to anchor you in the present moment,
Within the practice,
And throughout your days.
You can continue with this practice a little longer if that feels right for you.
Gently opening your eyes and taking this sense of connection and awareness into whatever you have left to do with your day.
And congratulating yourself,
Having taken the time out of your day to do this practice.
You're taking an active step in taking care of your own health and well-being.
