Hi there,
This is Andrea.
Welcome and thank you for being here.
So mindfulness is paying attention to what is happening inside and outside of you in the present moment.
And this begins with something that is incredibly simple,
A pause.
With even a short pause,
You can begin to sense more aliveness and more clarity in times of overwhelm or anxiety.
And by initiating this pause in your day,
You're allowing yourself to interrupt the conditioning of the mind and instead to notice and get in touch with what is really here.
So let's begin our practice.
Finding a posture that allows you to be comfortably at rest,
Sitting upright to help you stay alert but also relaxed.
You can sit in a chair or on the floor,
Allowing your hands to rest easily on your knees or on your lap,
Letting your eyes close gently,
Or if you prefer,
Leaving them open with a soft gaze and bringing attention to the feeling of your body sitting wherever you are and whatever sensations you discover.
Bringing your attention to your hands and noticing the different sensations in the fingers,
Both of the hands.
There might be pulsing,
Tingling,
Pressure,
Coolness or warmth.
Whatever you might notice.
And you don't have to name what you notice,
Just feeling.
And then bringing your attention to the feeling of your breath,
Just the normal,
Natural breath.
Whatever you feel it most strongly,
This is where you can rest your attention.
And if you find your attention wandering or you feel sleepy or distracted,
That's fine.
We say the most important moment is the next moment when you realize you've been gone.
And so we just gently let go and start over with this next breath.
And now let your awareness expand even further to sound.
Maybe at first noticing sounds of breathing or sounds of the body,
The sound of my voice.
Not trying to reach out for any sounds,
But just listening to any sounds that are in your environment right now as you sit here.
In silence,
That certain quality of silence,
Just listening.
Maybe letting the awareness expand even further to sounds outside the room into a larger area.
And as best as possible,
Not trying to create any stories about the sounds or make them good or bad,
But just receiving sound in your awareness,
Just as you would the breath and the body.
Now,
Bringing the awareness of the body back into the foreground,
The breath moving in and out of the body and letting go of sounds and beginning to come back as we close this practice.
When you're ready,
Maybe taking some deeper breaths,
Opening the eyes and maybe thanking yourself for practicing mindfulness today and initiating this pause into your day.
