Finding a comfortable seated position,
A place where you can be free from distractions.
Invite your spine to lengthen up tall,
Your shoulders to draw back and down.
Gently tuck your chin as the back of your neck lengthens and soften into your belly.
Invite your eyes to close and start to turn your attention inwards.
Feel your breath flowing in and out of your nostrils.
Allow your breath just to be.
You don't have to change it in any way,
Just feel your breath moving in and out.
For your practice today we will invite in this sense of calm joy,
That sense of joyfulness,
Happiness with an undertone of calmness.
So begin by silently contemplating your purpose of meditating.
Why meditate?
Why practice mindfulness?
What benefits do you hope to receive by understanding your intention for practicing and the why you are putting your practice as a priority in your life?
Then the effort in practicing becomes full of joy and ease.
So right now recall why you are here meditating today and allow a deep satisfaction to arise as you apply an easeful effort in this moment to stay mindful,
Joyfully mindful.
Then with your why meditate,
Why be mindful,
Cultivate a joyful joyful effort by shifting your awareness to the benefits you've already received by meditating through the practice of mindfulness and meditation.
What has it brought you?
Bring to mind how good you feel on the days that you do meditate.
What does it feel like to start your day mindfully and the pride you feel in remaining present in your practice.
With each inhale breath you take here see if you can sit a little taller and as you exhale just rest in the joy of the benefits of mindfulness.
Count the ways in which your life has improved with mindfulness as part of your life and then cultivate joyful effort by placing your attention on any positive sensations you're aware of right now.
Being calm,
Patient,
Aware.
Notice all the ways in which being here right now brings you joy.
Feel these positive sensations in your body and your breath.
Recognize that these positive qualities do not appear accidentally.
They are the direct result of your effort.
Be grateful to yourself for the effort that you do apply in being mindful,
In being here right now.
Rest in the awareness of the joyful benefits that you are receiving right now in your practice.
Understand that while joy is a result of your practice,
Joy arises when we joyfully practice.
Joy is only revealed through consistently applying effort.
Joy is revealed through joyful practice.
Joy is both the cause and the result.
So joy then must have been within you all along.
Joy is not gained through practice but revealed through practice.
The more you tap into joy,
The more you apply joy to your effort,
The more you experience joy as the result.
Notice joy arising.
You have always had the potential to be joyful.
You have always had the potential to notice,
To be mindful.
You are joy.
You are awareness.
Rest in the sensation of joy,
The joy you apply to your efforts here,
And the joy you reveal through those same efforts.
Rest in joy.
Just start to shift your awareness back into feeling your body,
Feeling the space,
The air surrounding you,
Feeling your breath moving through you.
Start to move your body gently.
You can wiggle fingers and toes.
You can stretch your body in any way you like.
And then when you're ready,
Gently open your eyes.
Come back into your day awake,
Alert,
And full of joy.
