This is a sitting practice.
So settling into a comfortable sitting position,
On a straight back chair,
Or meditation stool,
Or cushion.
And if you're sitting on a chair,
Coming away from the back of the chair,
If that's comfortable.
The spine can be upright,
But not stiff.
Shoulders can be relaxed.
The chest opening.
The head balanced.
And the chin tucked slightly in.
Sitting with a sense of wakefulness.
Allowing the body to be steady.
Become still.
And if you'd like to,
Consciously setting an intention for this practice.
Perhaps an intention to be present to experience.
And to be kind to yourself.
So when you're ready,
Bringing awareness to physical sensations.
Perhaps focusing attention on sensations in the feet.
And the legs.
In the hands.
Exploring the details of these sensations.
Tuning into them.
Being with them.
Connecting with these parts of the body in order to feel supported.
Steady.
Grounded.
And at a certain point,
Bringing awareness to the breath.
Wherever you experience it most vividly.
Most clearly.
Perhaps at the nostrils.
In the throat.
The chest.
Right down in the belly.
There's no need to control the breath in any way.
Just letting the body breathe naturally.
And tuning into the full duration of the in-breath.
And the full duration of the out-breath.
Sensations may be very subtle.
Moving in close and bringing interest to the details.
Savouring the breath.
Enjoying the breath.
Appreciating the breath.
And whenever you notice that your mind has wandered away from the breath.
Just becoming aware of this.
Noticing where the mind has gone to.
And then very gently bringing it back.
However many times the mind wanders.
The breath is always here to return to.
An anchor to bring us back to the present moment.
Each in-breath a new beginning.
Each out-breath a letting go,
A letting be.
In touch with this breath coming in.
In touch with this breath going out.
Then at a certain point expanding the field of awareness to include your seat.
Contacts between skin and clothing.
An opening to sensations from the body as a whole.
And perhaps having a sense of the space the body takes up and the movements of the body as it breathes.
And checking in with your posture and making any small adjustments that may be necessary.
Opening to,
Receiving sensations that are obvious and those that are more subtle.
Sensations that are pleasant and those that are unpleasant.
Being with the body.
Inhabiting the body.
Appreciating the body.
Being with whatever is here,
Right here,
Right now,
As best you can.
Knowing that there's no need to chase away unpleasant sensations or to hold tightly onto pleasant ones.
Then noticing how sensations arise.
Stay around for a while and then change or fade.
Then you notice thinking is here,
Just recognizing that and gently coming back to direct experience.
You may notice feelings of intensity or discomfort.
If you do,
There are two options to choose between.
First is to adjust your posture.
Try and relieve the intensity.
If you choose to do this,
Bringing awareness to the movement so that it's part of the practice,
Not a break from it.
The second option,
Always to be done with kindness and gentleness,
Is to bring a sense of allowing to these feelings,
Allowing them to be here,
Perhaps even moving in and feeling them more fully.
Seeing if it's possible to bring a sense of softening and opening to what is here.
When the intensity stops pulling for your intention,
Or if it feels too much,
Bringing awareness back to a sense of the body as a whole.
Breathing here,
Breathing,
Tuning into whatever is arising in the body,
This body,
This anchor for our attention,
This anchor to the present moment.
As best you can,
Being with the body as it sits here,
Breathing.
And when you're ready,
Maintaining a connection with the body,
Letting it be in the background,
Bringing awareness to hearing,
To sounds.
There's no need to go out hunting for sounds,
Just receiving them as they arise.
Sounds from outside the room,
Sounds from in the room,
From inside the ears.
Velvet sounds and loud sounds,
Letting them come,
Opening to them.
Aware of the gaps between the sounds,
Silence.
Noticing how the mind has a tendency to label sounds,
To decide if it likes them or not.
Seeing if it's sometimes possible to just hear the sounds without thinking about them or reacting to them.
Allowing them to be just as they are.
Their loudness,
Pitch,
Intensity,
Duration.
Breathing in stillness,
Being with hearing,
Being with sounds.
Now,
Letting sounds fade,
Maintaining an awareness of the body and turning attention to thinking itself.
Seeing if it's possible to bring a gentle awareness to thinking,
To memories,
Worries,
Plans,
Images,
Fantasies.
As they arise,
Stay around for a while and then fade.
As best you can,
Sitting and observing thoughts as thoughts.
And when you notice that you've been caught up in the thinking,
Lost in thought,
Just acknowledging that and coming back to this moment,
Seeing thoughts as mental events and holding them in awareness as best you can.
Some thoughts may come with an emotional charge.
When this happens,
Seeing if it's possible to hold the thought and feeling in a gentle and kind awareness.
Perhaps using the breath or the body as an anchor to steady the mind.
And as best you can,
Watching the thoughts and feelings as they stay around.
Change,
Dissolve.
There's no need to judge the thoughts,
To interfere with them or to add to them.
Allowing them to be just as they are,
To arise and to pass.
And for the last few moments of the practice,
Bringing awareness back to the breath.
Moving in close,
Aware of the full duration of the in-breath and the full duration of the out-breath.
And remembering that the breath is always here,
Always available as an anchor to bring us back to the present moment.
Is available to steady us when we feel off balance and under pressure.
Come back to a sense of ourselves as whole and complete,
Just as we are.
Thank you.
