Coming into a comfortable seated position for this meditation,
Whether that's on a cushion or on a chair,
Just making sure that the spine is as upright as possible,
Feeling a sense of alertness,
Making an intention to fall awake in this practice.
Coming into this posture,
We begin to focus on the breath,
Finding a spot where the breath is most noticeable to you.
That might be around the nostrils,
Noticing the air flowing in and out,
Out,
Cool air inhaled,
Warm air exhaled.
You may notice it most in the rise and fall of the chest or the belly.
There's no right or wrong,
Just find a spot where you can focus your full attention on your breath.
Notice the quality of your breath today.
Is it fast or slow?
Is it deep or shallow?
Trying to rest the attention on the natural rhythm of your breath,
Noticing its qualities without any judgment or without trying to change anything.
Simply bringing an attitude of friendly curiosity to the breath,
Following each breath from the top of the inhale to the bottom of the exhale.
If you notice any thoughts,
Feelings or sensations coming up for you,
Notice that your attention has wandered and then gently bring the focus back to the breath.
It's normal for the attention to wander.
It's not good or bad,
It just is.
So gently bring the attention back each time it wanders away.
This is the process of meditation,
Of maintaining our awareness in one place and when it wanders,
With a kindness and compassion,
Gently drawing it back to our focus.
Keeping the attention on the breath.
If it helps for you to keep the attention on the breath,
On the breath,
You can count your inhales and exhales.
If you decide to count the breaths,
Then move through each breath counting one,
Inhale,
Exhale,
Two,
Inhale,
Exhale,
Until you reach 10 and then start over again at one.
Remembering to keep your posture relaxed but upright.
If you notice yourself beginning to slouch,
You can use an inhale and breathe yourself a little taller,
Straightening the spine.
If you notice tension creeping into the body,
On an out breath,
See if you can breathe it out,
Letting something go.
When you've corrected your posture,
Come back to the breath with your attention fully focused on the breath flowing in and out of the body.
For the next couple of minutes,
Try and keep your attention on the breath each time it wanders,
Gently bringing it back.
Now bring your attention into the body.
Perhaps imagine breathing into the body,
Noticing how the breath feels in the body and seeing if the quality of your breath has changed.
Just noticing and if it hasn't,
Notice that.
Feeling now the whole body sitting,
Noticing the seat beneath you,
Your feet touching the floor,
Bringing the practice to a close and when you're ready,
Gently opening the eyes.
