As you start to settle here,
Just feeling your breath,
Gently as it is,
Letting yourself settle into your seat in this space.
Your seat on this amazing country,
On this amazing earth,
Just resting in your seat,
Whatever that means for you in this moment today.
Letting yourself be held here,
Held by this country,
Held by the earth,
Just as you are,
Just as you are.
Feeling the sensations where your body meets the earth,
The supporting surface.
Feeling perhaps the warmth or coolness here.
Maybe warmth coming up from the floor,
The ground,
The earth.
Maybe there's coolness.
Feeling the clothes against your skin,
Giving yourself permission to be here,
Just as you are.
Noticing the sounds and the silence.
Noticing how the sounds just naturally arise without you having to do anything.
Perhaps sensing into the silence underneath the sounds,
That sense of here-ness.
Noticing as you breathe in any smells or fragrances,
And any tastes that you feel,
That you sense,
You taste in your mouth.
And feeling your breath here,
Meeting your breath,
Just as it is.
The natural movement and play of your breath,
Each in-breath and out-breath,
Where you notice it,
Where you feel it.
You might like to say silently or even out loud with your next exhale,
I belong,
I belong,
I belong,
Just as I am,
Just as I am.
Noticing what you feel,
Noticing what you notice,
Allowing yourself to rest here,
Rest the body.
Letting the face soften,
The eyes,
The corners of the eyes,
The cheeks and the jaw,
Just allowing the whole face and head to soften,
To be here.
Noticing what it feels like,
Perhaps even breathing into the face,
The head,
Allowing it to soften,
To relax.
The neck and shoulders,
Maybe letting the shoulders drop a little,
Softening,
Gently.
Allowing the belly to soften,
And the heart to soften too.
Inviting a spirit of kindness,
Curiosity for whatever's here in your experience,
Letting the belly soften,
The whole upper torso,
The pelvic area,
The legs,
Allowing the whole length,
Volume of the legs to rest,
The feet,
Being aware of how you feel,
Letting the whole body rest here,
And letting awareness gently rest again with the breath,
Meeting the natural breath,
Each in-breath and out-breath,
Without the breath having to be any different,
Bringing that same sense of kindness,
Curiosity to the breath,
Each inhale and exhale.
Perhaps there's a gap or a pause at the top of the inhale or the end of the exhale,
Bringing awareness too,
To the gap,
The pause,
A gentle awareness,
Perhaps feeling into the sense of presence,
Awareness in the gap,
In the pause,
And all around the inhale and the exhale,
Infusing the inhale and the exhale with awareness,
And the gap,
Feeling into the depth of presence,
Depth of awareness,
Holding each breath,
Holding it so gently,
So kindly,
Compassionately,
Not needing it to be different,
Being held intimately,
Feeling,
Feeling that sense of presence here,
The here-ness,
Meeting the breath,
Embracing each breath,
Perhaps sensing how this open,
Embracing awareness of a sense of presence,
Also allows for the intensity that's here,
Just as it welcomes each breath,
It's open to the intensity,
Whatever that may be,
Has this capacity to be with,
To hold,
Giving yourself permission to rest here,
To rest in the felt sense of presence,
Awareness,
Meeting the breath,
Meeting whatever's here,
Feeling into that capacity,
Resting here,
Just as you are,
Just noticing how you feel,
And feeling into,
Again,
Where your body meets the supporting surface,
Meets the ground,
Meets the earth,
How you're held here,
Feeling into that embrace,
Feeling if your body would like to move at all,
And letting it move if it wants to,
Perhaps some stretching or wiggling of fingers and toes,
In your own way,
Your own time,
Just reconnecting with the space around,
When you open your eyes,
Just taking a moment to take everything in.
