Over the Hump

Hi, and welcome to today's meditation. So today is another opportunity to rest, recharge and recover. Such an important part of any movement or exercise routine. And we're also going to focus on our motivation. So reminding ourselves again, of where it is we're headed, but more important than that, learning the skill of being able to let go of the past and the future. To step out of the thinking mind and be present, knowing that it's in being present right now, in doing things as we would like to do them that allows us to get to where we want to get to. So we're going to keep practicing noting today. But we're going to begin just by getting comfortable wherever you are. We're going to start with the eyes open, a soft focus, just aware of the space around you. And just begin by taking some big, deep breaths. Breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth. And with the next out breath, just gently closing the eyes. Just take a moment to appreciate that feeling of having paused, having stopped. And take a moment as well just to feel that sensation, the weight of the body pressing down against the seat or the floor beneath you. A moment to notice the weight of the hands and the arms just resting on the legs. So just anchoring the mind in the body. And as you sit there, notice how the body feels today. So we're not looking for any particular feeling. We're just interested, curious as to how the body feels. And in your own time, you can just scan down from head to toe. Just noticing in a bit more detail any areas of heaviness or lightness. Restlessness or stillness. Tension or ease. Just gently scanning down, not getting stuck in any one place, scanning down towards the toes. And as you scan down, just beginning to notice the breath, the movement of the breath. So in a very general way to begin with notice which parts of the body move as the body breathes. Notice the rhythm of the breath right now. Long or short. Deep or shallow, just present with each breath. And then whenever you feel ready, you can just slowly begin to count the breaths as they pass. So one with the rising sensation, two with the fall. And three. And four. Just to a count of 10 and then starting again at one. So know that as you follow the breath, the mind is going to wander. It's normal. It's natural. And we need it to happen in order to train this particular skill. So our only job is to realize when the mind has wandered. To note it as thinking. Very light. Oh, thinking. Let it go and come back to the breath again. So no need to give ourselves a hard time, no need to be impatient. There's gently acknowledging it, letting it go and coming back...