Welcome to this mindfulness of breathing meditation.
We'll explore a few different ways you can sense the breath.
And after you've chosen your favorite breath anchor for today,
Then we'll practice bringing our attention back to the breath when the mind wanders.
Let's begin.
Take a few moments to adjust your posture,
Coming into a comfortable seated position or a lying down position,
Where you can easily breathe,
Where all your joints feel supported,
And where there's a balance between alertness and relaxation.
And then see if you can bring your attention to your abdomen.
Are there any sensations there as you just land your attention at the abdomen?
If it helps,
You could take a hand and lightly rest it there on the belly for a moment.
And then bring your attention to your belly.
And then bring your attention to your belly.
You could take a hand and lightly rest it there on the belly for a moment.
And you can be curious,
Is it possible to feel the presence of the breath here?
Is there movement?
Maybe relaxing the stomach muscles a little bit,
If there's a feeling of tightness,
And just allowing for that little swell as the breath flows in and expands the abdomen.
And that sense of the abdominal area,
The belly kind of gathering back in as you breathe out.
If it helps to take a few fuller breaths to get that breath going,
If it helps to take a few fuller breaths to get a feel for that,
You can do that.
But this isn't really a breathing exercise.
So more than anything,
We relax into noticing the way the breath is naturally showing up.
Let's try another breath anchor.
So you could bring your attention to the chest and the rib cage,
Sort of this middle to upper part of the torso.
Sometimes it helps to place a hand and a little bit of a hand on the chest,
Sometimes it helps to place a hand on the chest at the heart.
Bringing in that curiosity again,
Is there movement with the breath?
Can the breath be sensed in this area?
Sometimes a few more deliberate breaths help us to get a feel for the movement that can happen here.
Expansion on the inhale,
The release on the exhale.
And then we relax,
We simply allow the breath to be as it is.
Sometimes it's deep,
Sometimes it's more subtle.
Another location we might sense the breath is right at the nostrils,
Where the breath flows in and out of the nose.
This might feel a little more subtle for some of us.
It's a small area.
For others,
It might be the most interesting place to connect with the breathing.
You could take your index finger and lightly rest it along your upper lip for a moment,
Just to feel that there is breath flowing in and out of the nostrils.
Do you notice that the breath feels a little cooler on the inhale and a little warmer on the exhale?
One more option for working with the breath,
Being mindful of the breath,
Is to hear the sound of the breath.
It's hard to sense the feeling of the breath.
Sometimes we can let our attention rest with the sound of the breath.
So take a few moments just to listen for the breath.
Be curious.
No need to make the breath louder or to breathe more heavily.
Rather,
Can you listen a little more closely and hear that quiet whisper of your natural breath?
And then now for the remainder of this practice,
Choose one of these locations or ways of sensing the breath.
The sound of breathing,
Breath at the nostrils,
Breath in the chest and ribs,
Or at the abdomen.
Choose one and stick with it for a while.
Really let your attention collect with that technique.
That place,
That method of knowing the breath.
It might help to use a mental note to help you.
To note of in,
In,
Whenever you feel the breath flowing in.
And to note out,
Out,
Whenever you feel the breath flowing out.
We don't need to make the breath happen.
We're not telling us to breathe in and out.
We're just noticing the breath in this present moment.
Knowing when we're breathing in and knowing when we're breathing out.
And of course,
We'll notice thoughts that pop up that get our attention.
And that's okay.
And then relax again,
Maybe soften the eyes or the shoulders.
Maybe sigh out a breath.
And then refresh your attention with that chosen location and breath anchor.
Knowing when you're breathing in,
Knowing when you're breathing out.
And then just notice that.
Can you allow your heart and mind to enjoy resting in the simplicity of this next breath in all the way through the breath out?
Resting our awareness with this breath,
Just this.
Coming back to the present moment through the knowing of the breath as many times as we wander.
