Mindful Sitting Practice – MBCT/ MBSR

Step out of automatic piolet and bring awareness to your present moment experience. Noticing the breath, body, and sounds.
Recorded from week 5 of the mindfulness-based cognitive therapy course delivered by Dr. Leveret.

I go among trees and sit still.
All my stirring becomes quiet
around me like circles on water.
My tasks lie in their places
Where I left them, asleep like cattle.

Wendell Berry, A Timbered Choir: The Sabbath Poems 1979-1997

Transcript

You may like to get a cushion or a pillow to rest the arms in,

Taking a bit of time to adjust yourself.

What would be comfortable for you?

You may like to lie down and knowing as well if halfway through the practice you think actually I want to be doing something else then you can move.

And choosing if you'd like to have the eyes closed or if you're having a loose gaze just turning away from the screen,

Having a little bit of screen free time.

You may like to roll the shoulders up towards the ears and as you breathe out relaxing the shoulder blades down the back.

Arriving here.

I go among the trees and sit still.

All my stirrings become quiet around me like circles on water.

My tasks lie in their places where I left them,

Sleep like cattle.

Then what is afraid of me comes and lives a while in my sight.

What it fears in me leaves me and the fear of me leaves it.

It sings and I sing its song.

Then what I'm afraid of comes.

I live for a while in its sight.

What I fear in it leaves it and the fear of it leaves me.

It sings and I hear its song.

After days of labour,

Mute my consternations.

I hear my song at last and I sing it.

As we sing,

The day turns,

The trees move.

Sitting practice.

Feeling the weight of the body resting on the earth.

Sensing the parts of the body that make connection with the earth.

Noticing the sensation of the pressure of the body resting on whatever is supporting it.

Noticing this unconditional support of the earth.

Moving your awareness gently to the breath.

This gently breathing body.

Not needing to change the breath in any way.

Simply noticing.

Simply observing.

Perhaps noticing that to breathe in takes a little energy.

But to breathe out,

The body relaxes,

Releases,

Lets go.

Noticing if there is any holding,

Any tightness in the body.

That perhaps wants to be released and let go with an out breath.

Moving your awareness now.

The part of the body where you first notice the breath.

Where you first notice the breath entering the body.

Perhaps this is the nose.

Maybe the lip,

Back of the throat.

Noticing where this is for you today.

And gently resting your awareness here.

Perhaps noticing what it feels like to breathe in.

The cool air being drawn into the body.

And the warm air being released.

And the warm air being released.

And if you notice the mind wandered away celebrating this noticing.

Knowing nothing's gone wrong.

This is the nature of mind.

Gently and kindly,

Gliding your awareness back.

Back to this moment.

Back to the breath.

And releasing awareness now.

With the place you first notice the breath in the body.

And gently moving awareness to the chest.

A gentle rise and fall.

As air fills the lungs and then is released once more.

Seeing if it's possible to notice how it feels to breathe.

The ribs moving up,

Forwards.

Maybe noticing the sense,

The touch of fabric on skin as the body gently moves.

And then the stomach breath,

The waves on a beach.

Perhaps noticing the pause between the in and the out breath.

Releasing awareness of the chest,

Moving your awareness to the abdomen.

And noticing the sense of the breath as the abdomen rises and falls.

And gently releasing awareness of the breath now.

And guiding your focus to the body,

Down to the toes.

Noticing the toes on the ground,

Perhaps noticing the temperature,

Perhaps the touch of fabric on skin.

Noticing if there's any inclination to move the toes.

Noticing also if there's a numbness,

If there's a lack of sensation,

Knowing that that too is an experience.

There's no right way to experience.

Simply noticing.

Simply bringing your awareness to the body.

Moving your awareness now to the soles of the feet,

The balls,

The arch,

The heel,

Top of the feet,

The ankles,

The calves and the shins.

Noticing if there's any tingling,

Buzzing.

Noticing the knees,

The thighs and the large muscles of the thighs.

Noticing if there's any tightness here,

Allowing us to release the out breath.

Noticing the pelvis,

Whole basin of the pelvis.

The lower back,

The mid back,

The upper back,

The shoulders.

And if you notice any points of discomfort in the body,

Is it possible to allow this to be part of your experience?

Perhaps bringing your awareness to these points of discomfort.

Perhaps breathing in and out of these.

You may like to,

When it feels right,

Move awareness away from this point of discomfort.

Perhaps keeping a gentle awareness here,

The attention is still being pulled to this point.

Just seeing the abdomen,

The chest,

The upper arms,

The elbows,

The lower arms and the hands.

Moving up to the throat,

Noticing if there's any tightness here,

The neck,

The scalp,

The forehead,

Balancing the eyebrows,

Place between the eyebrows,

Temples,

The eyes,

Cheeks,

The nose,

Jaw,

The lip,

Allowing the jaw to be loose,

The muscles around the eyes to relax.

Expanding your awareness to take in the whole of this body,

The whole of this breathing body.

Perhaps breathing down to the tips of your toes and back out again.

Noticing how this body,

Your body feels in this moment.

All of the experience of the body.

When you're already releasing awareness of the body,

And gently moving your awareness up,

Up to sound.

Opening to the full soundscape surrounding you.

Is it possible to have an open awareness,

Allowing sounds to come to you,

Needing to search them out?

Not needing to label,

Simply noticing the quality,

Sounds as they change.

Noticing again if the mind has wandered off,

Knowing that's okay,

Nothing's gone wrong.

This is the nature of minds.

Simply noticing where the mind's gone and noticing also if there's any judgment coming in.

Noticing this,

Gently and kindly guiding awareness back to this moment,

Back to the soundscape surrounding you.

Noticing this,

Gently releasing your awareness of sound now.

Moving your awareness to thoughts.

Noticing thoughts move across the mind.

Perhaps choosing to notice thoughts like clouds in the sky,

Perhaps leaves in the river.

Noticing,

If it feels like there's no thoughts to notice,

Returning to the body on the air,

The breath or sounds,

As you wait for the next thought to emerge.

Noticing if any of these thoughts are challenging or difficult.

And if that happens,

Noticing this.

Noticing the quality of the thoughts.

Noticing if there's any response in the body,

Difficult thoughts.

Is there any tightness or bracing?

Is it possible to notice how it feels to have a difficult thought?

And then when you're ready,

Gently letting it go.

Coming back,

Waiting for your next thought to appear.

Noticing if your attention's being caught up in thinking.

Knowing that again is the nature of mind.

Perhaps simply noticing this.

And when you're ready,

Coming back again and again.

And if you notice a difficult thought,

You're noticing that this is happening.

And if you're not noticing any difficult thoughts,

You may like to practice by bringing one in.

Nothing too big,

Just like niggle.

And noticing how it feels to hold this difficult thought.

Noticing if there's any changes in the mind,

If the thoughts move faster or slower.

Is there any inclination to move away from the thought or to do something?

Noticing also if there's any response in the body.

How does it feel to hold a difficult thought,

To have a difficult thought emerge?

How does our body respond to difficulties?

And if you notice that there's an area of tightness or tension in the body,

You may choose to breathe into this.

Noticing this.

Perhaps letting it go and coming back to this moment,

Waiting for the next thought to appear.

And when you're ready,

Releasing awareness of thoughts,

Moving into an open awareness,

Aware of the body on the ground,

Breath,

Sounds and thoughts.

Opening to the full sphere of your awareness in this moment,

Gently noticing.

Nothing to do.

Nothing to achieve.

Simply being.

Simply resting.

If you notice your attention is drawn to one particular sensation,

Drawn somewhere,

Noticing this.

Rejoicing in this noticing.

This noticing is the moment of mindfulness.

And then perhaps gently releasing and coming back to noticing,

To opening to this full sphere of experience.

And as we begin to come towards the end of this practice,

Releasing this open awareness,

Taking a deep breath in and out.

Perhaps starting to bring a little movement to the body,

Noticing if there's any movements or stretches the body would like.

Perhaps wriggling the fingers and the toes,

Rolling the shoulders.

In your own time,

When you're ready,

Slowly starting to open the eye.