Ten minutes, six segments. Read it straight through — the notes in brackets are for you, not the listener.
Welcome and settle
1 min[warm and unhurried — resist the urge to fill the silence]
Hello, and welcome. Over the next ten minutes we're going to do very little. No fixing, no solving. Just sitting, and paying attention to the breath.
Find a position you can stay in comfortably. Sitting is good. Lying down is fine too, if you're not likely to fall asleep. Let your hands rest wherever they fall. [pause for 5 seconds — give them time to actually move]
When you're ready, let your eyes close. Or if you'd rather keep them open, soften your gaze and let it rest on a point on the floor a little way in front of you.
Arriving in the body
2 min[slow right down — longer gaps than feel natural while you're reading]
Start by noticing where your body meets what's holding it up. The chair, the floor, the bed. Notice the pressure there. You don't have to change anything about it — just notice that it's there, holding you. [pause for 10 seconds]
Now let your attention move to your shoulders. Shoulders carry a lot without being asked to. See if they'll drop, even slightly. [pause for 8 seconds]
And your jaw. It's common to hold the teeth lightly together without noticing. Let the jaw hang a little loose. Let the tongue rest. [pause for 10 seconds]
There's nothing to achieve in the next few minutes. Nowhere else you need to be. Just here, in this body, for a little while.
Following the breath
3 min[let them find their own rhythm — mark only the turns, don't count for them]
Bring your attention to your breathing. Not changing it. Not deepening it. Just finding it, the way you'd find a sound you hadn't noticed was there. [pause for 15 seconds]
See if you can find the place where you feel it most clearly. For some people that's the air at the nostrils, cool going in and warm coming out. For others it's the chest rising. For others the belly. Any of those is right. Pick one and stay with it. [pause for 20 seconds — hold your nerve]
Follow one breath all the way in. And all the way out. [pause for two full breath cycles]
Notice the small pause at the top of the in-breath. And the longer, softer pause at the end of the out-breath. Those gaps are part of the breath too. [long pause — 45 seconds to a minute of silence]
When the mind wanders
2 min[plainly, with no hint of correction in your voice]
At some point in the last minute your mind will have wandered off. To a conversation, a task, something you forgot to do. That's not a mistake, and it isn't a sign you're bad at this. It's simply what minds do.
The practice isn't staying with the breath. The practice is noticing you've left, and coming back. Every time you notice, that's the repetition. That's the whole thing. [pause for 10 seconds]
So — wherever your attention is right now, notice it. And bring it back to the breath. Gently. No commentary. [long pause — 60 seconds]
Widening out
1 min 30[a little energy back in the voice — you're walking them out of the room]
Let the breath go now. Let your attention widen out from that one point to take in the whole body sitting here. [pause for 15 seconds]
And wider still. Notice the temperature of the air. Any sounds in the room, or beyond it. You don't have to name them or work out what they are. Just let them be there. [pause for 20 seconds]
Closing
30 sec[normal speaking voice by the last two lines — ending in a whisper leaves people stranded]
Start to bring some movement back. Your fingers, your toes. Roll your shoulders once if that feels good. [pause for 5 seconds, then lift the voice]
And when you're ready — no rush — let your eyes open.
Whatever you've got waiting for you today, see if you can carry a little of this pace into it. Thank you for sitting with me.