- Hey, there I'm Anise Benitez,
and we'll be doing a guided meditation for more mindfulness.
So find yourself a comfortable seated position,
and we'll get started.
Once you've found a comfortable seated position,
put your hands on your knees or your lap,
and take a deep inhale through your nose.
Closing your eyes, and exhale through your mouth.
(exhales)
Again, take a deep inhale through your nose,
filling your lungs.
And exhale through your mouth.
Continue to take deep breaths in and out.
Feel each one elongating,
each one grounding you in this moment.
And notice how it feels.
As you take deep breaths, see if you can initiate some
of those deep breaths from your belly.
Letting your belly be full of oxygen,
and tuning into how that feels.
To feel really full in this moment.
Now take a deep inhale through your nose,
and hold your breath for a beat at the top,
before exhaling through your mouth.
Do this again, take a deep inhale through your nose,
and hold for a beat at the top,
before exhaling through your mouth.
And when you're ready,
let's tune our attention to our hands,
wherever they're placed, maybe on your lap or your kneecaps.
Continuing to bring awareness to both our breath,
and the sensation of our hands in contact with our lap.
Maybe you're wearing a material that's smooth,
or a material that creates a little bit
of friction between your hands
and it, what's that feel like?
So often we don't pay attention to all the details
that are around us, all of our sensations.
How can we give more attention to our hands in this moment?
How does it feel, our clothing in contact with our body?
Can you bring your attention there?
Maybe you're wearing something that is loose fitting,
or something that's hugging your body.
How does that really feel against your skin?
By observing this, we're observing all of the nuance
that exists in this moment.
The subtle nuances that we can let pass, and go ignored,
how can we bring attention
to that softness that we might feel?
Of this warm fabric against our skin?
Or maybe you're not wearing any fabric at all,
how does it feel, skin on skin contact,
your hands in contact with your skin?
Of your lap and your knees.
Is it creating additional humidity, moisture?
And when you're ready, take a deep inhale
through your nose, and exhale through your mouth.
And thank yourself for giving your attention
and awareness to your body.
Continue taking deep breaths,
and let's bring our attention to the space around us.
Aside from your breathing,
is there anything that you can hear around you?
Any subtle sounds?
It might just be a bird chirping in the distance,
or a dog barking.
Maybe the subtlety of wind hitting a window.
Is there anything that calls your attention?
We can find our surroundings to be a bit mundane,
but there's always subtlety to them.
How can we bring attention to that in this moment?
Observe it with as much detail as you would
a song that you love,
and let that sound, or combination of sounds around you,
be a sound bath in this moment.
Listen to it against the rhythm of your breath.
See how the two combine.
And when you're ready, take a deep inhale
through your nose, and exhale through your mouth,
and thank yourself
for really tuning into your surroundings,
for really listening.
Continuing to take deep breath in, and exhaling.
Again, taking a deep breath in through our nose,
filling up, up, up,
and exhaling through our mouth.
When you're ready, bring attention to your nose.
Is there anything subtly in your environment
that you can smell?
Maybe you recently cooked a meal,
maybe you put on cologne or perfume this morning.
Anything subtly that you can pick up in this moment?
It's rare that we engage with our sense of smell so strongly
when we're not eating,
or we're not smelling some roses, some flowers,
something that's not grabbing our attention.
But there's always subtlety,
subtle things that you can pick up on.
Give your mind a little moment
to enjoy what that feels like.
(light music)
And take a deep breath.
And thank yourself for taking the time to tune into that.
Take a deep breath in, and out.
Turn your attention to your mouth.
Is there anything subtly that you taste?
Maybe your last meal,
maybe nothing at all.
Take a moment and just take in this moment.
Taking a deep inhale in.
And exhale.
There's so much beauty and subtlety in our presence.
And though our thoughts might be rushing towards the future,
or worried about things of the past,
those things can distract us from tuning
into what's here and now.
So when we feel distracted,
when our mind is racing towards the future or the past,
remember that we can always tune into our body,
and really engage with our senses like you did
in this moment, in this practice.
Take a deep inhale through our nose.
And exhale through our mouth,
feeling ourselves sinking into the earth,
and the ground, or your chair.
Again, take a deep inhale in.
And exhaling, really engaging with this moment.
And when you're ready,
start deepening your breath again.
Taking a deep inhale together, in through our nose.
And out through our mouth.
Again, take a deep inhale through your nose.
And exhale through your mouth.
Now taking the deepest breath of today in this practice,
in through our nose.
And really releasing, exhaling everything.
And thank yourself.
When you're ready, you can open your eyes.
Bring your awareness back to this room,
back to your soundings,
and thank yourself for taking the time
to tune into yourself and your wellbeing.
I'm Anise Benitez, and I appreciate you.
(light music)