This basic meditation is helpful if you are just beginning, and/or to print out to use for those times when you need a quick sense of calm, ease, and kindness – especially during difficulty.

1. Choose a comfortable, relaxed posture, with your feet flat on the floor, and your back and head upright, but relaxed.

2. Close your eyes, and sense your sit-bones, and the weight of your body supported by the chair … allow yourself to feel held and supported.

3. Place one hand on your heart, the other on your belly, with an attitude of kindness towards yourself.

4. Take a slow, deep inhale thru the nostrils, and a slow deep exhale.

4. Repeat, sensing your fingertips on your heart & belly, the flow of the breath.

5. Gradually, allow the breath to soften, and to become natural in the body.

6. Invite the body to soften/melt/release any obvious tension:

     -forehead, eyes, face, jaw, neck, shoulders, belly

7. Continue to focus on the natural flow of the breath, without trying to make your thoughts disappear, or change; as they arise naturally, simply note them as “thinking.”

8. Then, return again and again to the breath, noticing:

   – The temperature of the breath on inhale/exhale

   – The quality of the breath – smooth, coarse, dense

   – The duration of each breath; counting can help

9. Sense the calming aspects of breath, especially at the exhale, and at the belly.

10. You might even try repeating a kind affirmation of your choice, such as: “May I be at peace, may I be well, may I be free from fear.”