Make yourselves comfortable.
Comfort is queen and I would say the second most important thing when it comes to really cultivating daily or continuous meditation practice.
And I say the second most because the most important thing is that we show up for our practice in any way we do it.
And you're already here so you've already succeeded.
So you can do this meditation sitting up or lying down.
If you're sitting up I invite you to find support with pillows or whatever you have so that you feel that you're supported by your environment.
So let's take just deep inhale,
Maybe the deepest one you've had so far today.
And as you breathe out,
If they haven't already,
Gently let your eyes drift closed or lower them to a soft gaze.
Let your shoulders drop.
Let your jaw unclench.
And let's start by just spending a few moments here,
Feeling the body breathing,
Arriving in this present moment experience by simply feeling our aliveness.
Feel how your body breathes you.
We don't have to think about our next breath.
It just happens automatically.
But still turning our attention towards our breath can be a good way to just take the temperature on our state of being when times get stressful or challenging.
We might find that we hold the breath and by intentionally just turning our attention to our breathing we can help ourselves to soften.
Notice where in your body that you feel the breath the most right now in this moment without trying to change it in any way.
But if possible I suggest that you breathe in and out through your nose.
Then the air has a slightly longer path to travel which means that it gets a bit warmer when it arrives in the lungs.
And also we have this really smart system in our nostrils that filters the air a bit.
Now turn your attention to the sense of hearing,
To the noises and voices and sounds around you and see how far you can go with listening.
If you can hear anything that is outside the room that you're sitting in.
And now listen to the sounds that are closest to you and even closer.
Notice the sounds coming from your own body.
Can you hear the sound of your breathing?
Are there any other sounds from your inside that you can detect?
Move your attention to your left side and then to your right.
And now back to listening with both ears.
See if you can move your awareness back and forth from close to where you are to further away.
Just noticing the sounds without getting attached to them.
And next let's move our attention to the sense of touch.
Feel where your body meets the surface that you're resting on.
You can lightly scan your body from the top or starting at the bottom,
Any way you like.
And just feel where it touches the surface.
Feel your clothes against your skin and if you have a blanket or anything more covering you,
Notice if you can feel the subtle weight of it.
Notice the parts of your body that is not covered by clothes.
Your face,
Maybe your hands,
Maybe some other part of the body.
And see if you can pay close enough attention that you feel the air on your skin.
And that can be a bit of a challenge if the air is not moving.
But just go ahead and feel it.
And don't forget to breathe.
Next let's move our attention to the sense of smell.
Breathe in and out through our nose.
Just smell the air.
And this is probably the sense that numbs the fastest,
So we only feel the smell when it changes.
And most of the time we're probably grateful for that because if the air has a less pleasant smell,
We get used to it.
Now move your attention to the sense of taste.
The taste in your own mouth right now.
Although you're probably not putting anything into your mouth,
I think it has a taste.
Maybe it's toothpaste or the taste of your last meal.
And next let's move our attention to the sense of sight.
Although we have our eyes shut,
We can still see things.
If the room you're sitting in isn't completely black,
I guess you can see some sort of light.
And maybe the light through your eyelids also presents as a color.
Maybe you see small dots dancing around on the inside of your eyelids.
Maybe you see movement.
Maybe it's just still.
But anyway,
Just notice it.
Let's see if we can sense our senses all at the same time.
Start with hearing.
And hear the sounds.
Then add the sense of touch.
And on top of that,
The sense of smell.
The sense of taste.
And the sense of sight.
See if it's possible to experience them all at the same time.
And now you can let go of that.
And just move your awareness back to feeling the breath.
And notice where you feel it the most in this moment.
Is it in your chest?
As it fills up like a balloon on your inhale and then empties on the exhale?
Do you feel the breath all the way in your abdomen perhaps?
That rising and falling sensation?
Or maybe you feel the most in your throat as the air passes through on its way in and out.
Or maybe it's that tingling sensation in the nostrils that's most.
Can you feel the breath anywhere else in the body if you're really paying attention?
Maybe you feel it in your groins or in your hips.
Maybe even further down.
Can you feel your shoulders moving?
The back of your neck?
The top of your head?
And bring the awareness to the place where you're sitting or lying down.
Remember the room around you.
Hear the sounds.
And start gently moving your toes.
Wiggle your ankles.
Move your fingers and your wrists.
Stretch anything that is calling for a bit of stretching.
Maybe you also need to John.
I needed that.
And when you feel ready,
Just blink your eyes open and come back.
