Welcome to session 13,
Transition into your day.
In this session,
We're going to be following the breath as normal,
However at the end of the session,
I'm going to ask you to pay extra special attention to transitioning into the rest of your day.
So making sure that you don't rush off as soon as you finish the meditation session.
Making sure that you check in with how you feel compared to how you felt at the start of the session.
And also making a vow to try and keep some of this present awareness with you throughout the rest of your day.
So beginning with your eyes open,
Taking a moment to get comfortable,
Sitting with a relaxed but alert posture,
Checking in with yourself,
See how the mind feels,
See how the body feels,
And then just taking three deep inbreaths through the nose and out through the mouth.
In and out,
In and out,
In and out,
In and out,
And then just gently closing your eyes on the out breath.
Start to feel the weight of your body,
Sensations of heaviness in your legs,
Your torso,
Your arms,
And your head.
Notice the gentle tug of gravity pulling you down towards the earth.
And then start to notice any sounds that might be present right now,
Remembering to allow the sounds to come to you rather than you straining to hear them.
And when you're ready,
Just gently start to follow the breath,
It can be at your nose,
Your chest,
Or your belly,
Wherever you feel it most clearly today.
And again,
Feel free to count the breaths,
Use the word calm,
Or even to maintain an awareness of some sounds as you continue to follow the breath if it helps you to maintain mindfulness.
Remembering to not get frustrated or upset when the mind wanders,
Just remembering to smile and to have a positive attitude,
To celebrate the fact that you've noticed the mind wandering and then just smilingly returning your attention back to the breath.
Again,
Don't be frustrated if the mind has wandered with that positive attitude,
Putting a smile on your lips and in your mind.
Congratulating yourself,
Returning to the breath.
And also remembering that this state we're cultivating during meditation,
Trying to be as present as possible is really what we hope to achieve in our day-to-day lives in the outside world.
The aim is for you to be mindful for as long as you possibly can throughout your day.
And it might be at the start that this is just fleeting moments of present awareness,
But I can guarantee as your practice develops,
These moments will come more and more frequently,
They might last longer as well over time.
And if you can do this,
You'll find your days to be much more enjoyable.
And one of the ways you can try and bring this mindful awareness into your day-to-day life is to take your time at the end of this session and all sessions going forward.
Don't just rush off and check your phone or check the news or rush off to the next task of the day without really taking stock of the practice,
How you feel,
And also reminding yourself to try and be mindful throughout your day.
The way you end the session will determine to some degree how mindful you will be able to be throughout the rest of your day.
And now just letting go of all effort completely,
Allowing your mind to be free to do whatever it wants to do,
Noticing any sounds or smells in the room,
Sensations related to sitting.
Again,
Try not to focus yet on the rest of your day,
Just check in with yourself,
See how you feel compared to how you felt before the session.
And then when you're ready,
Just gently opening your eyes with your eyes open and sitting still.
Just see if you can maintain some of that quality of awareness that you've built up over the last 10 minutes.
Take stock of your surroundings and of the room and then make a commitment to yourself to try and see how present you can be throughout the rest of your day.
And remembering to get up slowly and maintaining an awareness of your movement as you go into the rest of your day.
Have a great day.
