Begin by finding a comfortable seat for your body,
Preferably one that allows your spine to be upright,
But not rigid,
Where your shoulders rest comfortably on your back.
Your chest is slightly lifted,
And your chin nods forward toward the chest,
Leaving the back of the neck long and free.
Once your seat is established,
Let your eyelids gently close.
Consider as you close the eyelids that you're not turning your vision off.
You're simply turning it around,
Allowing your attention to flow inward rather than outward.
And then begin to bring this stream or force we call attention to the gentle,
Subtle,
Internal movement of the breath,
Noticing the movement in and the movement back out,
The movement in and the movement back out,
This continuous rhythmic flow of breath,
The movement in and the movement out.
And for just a moment,
Allow your lips to gently separate,
So there's a small space between the top lip and the bottom lip.
And begin to observe the movement of the breath through that small opening between the lips.
Notice the in breath.
Notice the out breath.
And particularly,
Tune into the sound that is generated with the lips slightly parted.
It's a quiet sound,
But you can hear it.
Notice the sound on the in breath.
Notice the sound on the out breath.
The soothing,
Repetitive,
Continuous sound.
And then if you'd like to,
You can allow the lips to close again,
Keeping the jaw and the tongue relaxed,
Still continuing to notice that movement of in and out,
And possibly still able to detect the sound,
Though it will be more quiet and internal with the lips closed,
You can still detect it,
The in breath and the out breath.
Once your connection to the breath is established,
Start to bring your attention to the brief pause right after the inhale.
It's already there.
It's already happening.
You're just bringing conscious attention to it.
The brief pause right after the inhale,
And just before the exhale.
Just noticing the inhale,
The pause,
The exhale.
The inhale,
The slight pause,
Just before the exhale.
As you're bringing attention to that brief stillness between the inhale and the exhale,
Double checking that your eyes are relaxed,
That the eyes are sitting a little deeper in the sockets.
As you notice that brief stillness between the in breath and the out breath.
Maybe that pause right after the in breath can begin to feel a little more extended,
Just very naturally.
Nothing forced.
Just letting that natural pause that occurs right after the in breath,
Allowing it to extend slightly,
Just suspending that pause,
Extending that pause ever so slightly.
So that space between the movement of the in breath and the movement of the out breath is slightly longer.
And then imagining in the space of that pause,
All thinking activity subsides.
For the duration of that pause between the in breath and the out breath,
All mental movement ceases.
And with the cessation of the mental movements,
There's a noticeable relaxation through the eyebrows and the forehead.
And the concentration of energy recedes towards the back of the head,
Evoking a feeling of spaciousness and freedom.
As you continue to notice and imagine that for the duration of that pause between the in breath and the out breath,
All thinking activity subsides.
.
.
.
And then slowly,
Gradually becoming aware consciously of that fourth component of the breath cycle.
The pause right after the out breath.
That little space of stillness between the exhale and the inhale.
So all four parts of the breath are now in your conscious awareness.
The in breath,
The pause,
The out breath,
The pause.
The in breath,
The pause,
The out breath,
The pause.
And continuing to imagine that during those pauses between the in breath and the out breath,
And between the out breath and the in breath,
In the space of those pauses,
All thinking activity,
All mental movement subsides.
.
And perhaps over time as you practice,
Those pauses feel more prominent than the movements.
You're more aware of and more connected to the stillness between the in breath and the out breath,
And between the out breath and the in breath.
.
And the state of the mind mirroring the state of the breath is also very still,
Very quiet,
Very spacious.
Eyes released to the back of the sockets,
Brow and forehead relaxed,
Energy concentrated towards the back of the head.
As you continue to experience the cessation of thought during those pauses between the inhale and exhale,
And between the exhale and the inhale.
And eventually,
Perhaps,
That stillness of mind can extend throughout the entire breath cycle.
Stillness of mind can extend throughout the entire breath cycle.
.
.
.
Over the next few moments,
We're going to bring this formal practice to a close.
Just giving a moment for the impressions from this practice to sink in,
Sink into every cell of your body.
So that throughout this day,
Even if you're not consciously aware of it,
These impressions are influencing your responses and your ability to respond to life's experiences,
Life's circumstances with a sense of connection to your center and a feeling of equilibrium,
Poise and balance.
As you're ready,
Just allow your breath to deepen.
Start to move your body gently in a way that feels good to you and open the eyelids.
Taking a few moments to gaze around the room,
Reconnect with the apparent external world.
Give yourself plenty of time.
And then you can move on with this day.
