Find a position that's comfortable for you.
So if you're sitting,
Then you'd be sitting with your feet on the floor,
But also having kind of an intention to pay attention.
So it's just an upright readiness in the body to pay attention.
And if you're in movement,
You can do the same.
It's just telling your body that we're going to do this practice right now.
And if it feels right,
If you're sitting,
You can close your eyes.
If you're running,
You wouldn't close your eyes,
Of course.
And just sensing your feet wherever they're touching.
So noticing the sensations of the feet,
Touching the floor or the ground,
Whether they're still or in movement,
Sensing the pressure of the feet against the surface,
Maybe sensing the socks or shoes you're wearing.
Just allowing your attention to move all the way down to the feet.
Maybe sensing any tingling or rhythm in the feet or temperature.
And if it feels right now,
Allowing your attention to move all the way up the body to the breath.
So no need to change the breath or do anything with it right now,
Just noticing what is the breath rhythm doing.
Noticing the breath right here right now.
Sensing the air wherever it's most noticeable right now.
So that might be more in the chest.
You might sense the air cooler coming in and warmer leaving.
Or maybe just noticing the body moving up and down with the waves or the rhythm of the breath.
There's no right way to do this.
We're just allowing our mind to rest on the breath with each in-breath,
Allowing that to draw our attention in to the breath.
Most likely the mind will wander away.
And if it does,
That's okay.
We congratulate ourselves for noticing and invite our attention back to that place of the breath.
This breath.
Not so much thinking about the breath,
But sensing the breath in the body,
Feeling the breath,
Coming back as many times as you need.
If thoughts take you away in a different direction,
Maybe even noticing or labeling the thought,
Thinking or future,
Past,
And allowing the attention to come back to the breath.
Now inviting you to expand your awareness as you breathe in,
Expanding out to the whole body.
So starting with the torso,
Noticing the sensations in the torso as you breathe in and out.
Noticing the hips and legs,
Expanding your awareness on the in-breath to the hips and legs all the way back down to the feet.
Now on your next in-breath,
Expanding to the shoulders and arms and hands,
Whether in movement or still,
Just noticing the sensations,
Opening your attention to those sensations and including now the neck and head.
And so holding in your awareness as best as you can,
The whole body,
Whether sitting still or moving,
Sensing the whole body sensations,
Maybe including the breath,
The whole breathing body.
No need to change or do anything,
But maybe noticing areas that are more pleasant in the body.
And just noticing what those feel like.
Maybe a soft piece of cloth or a comfortable movement,
A stretching.
Now letting go of the pleasant and opening to maybe a more intense sensation,
Something a little more difficult.
Maybe it's a muscle or a tension and knowing that you have choices around that.
So allowing the mind to notice that more intense sensation and making a choice,
Maybe opening and being curious about the sensation or maybe breathing into the sensation.
So imagining the breath,
Moving into that area,
In and out.
Or maybe if it's too intense,
Making a choice to move in a different way or release attention.
Any of these options are fine.
Just opening to making a choice around it,
Conscious choice,
And coming off of the automatic rejection of the intensity.
So opening to it and making a choice.
Now maybe letting go of the intense sensation and opening to a neutral part of the body,
Something you don't normally pay attention to.
Maybe the back of your arm or the back of your neck or between your fingers.
Just noticing what that's like to pay attention to.
And if the mind wanders away,
Just allowing it to come back to the focus on the body.
You were focusing on the neutral area.
Now letting go of that and narrowing your attention back to the breath.
So allowing your attention to rest on the breath again.
Noticing the sensations of the breath,
However they might be right now.
And if in movement,
Maybe making choices around any intensity in the breath.
Just like you did in the body.
Just knowing that you can come back to the breath as many times as you need.
When thoughts arise,
Noticing them and maybe labeling them and coming back over and over.
So now bringing your awareness back to the body as a whole.
Expanding your awareness maybe out to the sensations in the skin.
Noticing the temperature on your skin or the clothing.
And when you're ready,
Opening your eyes out to the space that you're in.
Or if your eyes are already open,
You can choose to continue the practice or shift into your next moment.
