Meditation 4 Breath and Body.
Coming now to sit,
Making yourself comfortable on a stool or a cushion or chair.
And if sitting on a chair,
Coming away from the back of the chair so that your spine can be self-supporting and your back and neck and head are in line.
Rekt but not stiff,
The shoulders can be dropped and relaxed so that your posture embodies a sense of dignity,
A sense of taking your seat,
Of being awake.
And letting your eyes close if that feels comfortable to you or just lowering your gaze.
And recognising that if the breath does not feel safe for you right now,
This might not be the right meditation to practice.
And feeling free to stop and choose an alternative.
So coming now to focus on your breathing.
Focusing on the breath moving down in the abdomen.
Noticing the sensations of each in-breath and each out-breath.
With no right way to feel,
Just this breath coming in,
Just this breath going out.
And there's no need to control the breath in any way,
Just allowing it to breathe itself.
From time to time you may notice that the mind wanders.
When this happens,
Just acknowledging that this is what minds do.
So it's not a problem or a mistake.
Taking this opportunity to notice that the mind has wandered.
You've already woken up,
You're aware and this is what the practice is about.
Seeing the patterns that take us away from the present moment.
So when you notice the mind has wandered,
Taking a few moments to notice where it had gone.
Then gently escorting the attention back to the breath.
Allowing the breath to anchor you back into the present moment.
So if the mind wanders many,
Many times,
Bringing it back just as many times.
Beginning over and over again with the next in-breath or the next out-breath.
Each in-breath a new beginning,
Each out-breath a letting go,
A letting be.
And using the stretches of silence to carry on this work by yourself.
Checking in from time to time to see where your mind is.
And sticking in with your posture to see if it is as you intended it to be.
Now at a certain point,
Deliberately expanding the focus of your awareness to the whole body.
As if your whole body was breathing.
So as well as the sensations of breathing,
You're also aware of all the other sensations that are present in your body as you sit here.
A contact with a chair or stool or cushion.
Feet on the floor.
Other sensations from the surface of the skin and from inside the body.
Sometimes focusing right into particular sensations.
Sometimes zooming out and holding the whole body in awareness.
It's not unusual when sitting for a while in this way for intense sensations or discomfort to arise in your body.
If this happens,
You have a choice about how to respond.
You could intentionally shift your posture,
Noticing the intention to move,
Perhaps the movement itself,
And any after-effects of the movement.
Or you could choose to stay still and bring your awareness right up to or into the area of intensity,
Perhaps inviting the breath to breathe into that region of the body,
To explore what sensations are here in this moment.
Not trying to make anything different from how you find it,
But simply exploring with openness and curiosity what it is.
And then if it stops pulling for your attention,
Returning the focus back to the whole body,
Sitting here just as it is right now.
And as this meditation comes to an end,
Reminding yourself that the deep stillness we are experiencing we seek does not arise because the world is still or the mind is quiet.
Stillness is nourished when we allow things to be just as they are for now,
In this moment,
Moment by moment,
And breath by breath.
