Welcome to this arriving to the mindfulness of breath practice.
Take a moment to find a comfortable sitting posture,
One that allows you to feel upright,
Awake,
But still comfortable,
Centered.
You may lean against the back of a chair or allow the back to be self-supporting.
Whatever serves this feeling of being awake and relaxed.
Take a moment to let go of any attachment to how you think this practice should feel and just tune in to what's really here in the body.
If the mind is preoccupied with anything else,
Allowing that moment to be over whatever you were thinking about before this practice and arrive into what's really here in the body.
Connect to the sense of support under the seat.
Tune into this strong supportive feeling through the spine up to the top of the head.
Allow the chin and the shoulders to feel relaxed and sink.
And now bring the attention to the movement of the breath wherever you can feel it the easiest.
This might be the nostrils or the throat.
It might be the chest,
Any side or all sides of the ribcage or perhaps it's the belly.
And just take a moment here to notice the movements here.
This moment of the breath and this moment of the body.
This moment of the breath and this moment of the body.
Taking a few moments just to be with the movements of the inhale,
This inhale and the movements of the exhale,
This exhale.
Anytime the mind wanders,
Guide it back.
This moment of the inhale,
This moment of the exhale.
No matter how many times you have to guide the attention back,
See if you can do so with just as much patience as you use firmness,
Just as much kindness as you use discipline.
Anytime the mind wanders,
Guiding it back to the breath like it's the first time you're guiding it back,
Whether it's the 10th or the 100th time,
Guiding it back with the same amount of patience as you use firmness.
Arriving again and again into this moment of the inhale,
This moment of the exhale,
This moment of the breath and this moment of the body.
Being with this moment of the breath,
Being with this moment of the body,
In this posture that feels awake and comfortable,
Upright and relaxed.
Wherever the awareness is,
Expanding it to hold the entire body,
Inhabiting the body as you sit here.
If it feels good,
You can take a few deeper breaths in through the nose and out through the nose.
You can bring some small movements into the fingers and the toes.
Maybe move the head from side to side and if the eyes are closed,
You can slowly open the eyes.
