Breath, Body, Sounds And Thoughts

A powerful and straight forward mindfulness practice focusing the breath, body, sounds and thoughts. This contains the key teachings from a mindfulness based stress reduction course and makes for a wonderful daily practice. From my new album "Everyday Meditations".

Transcript

The sitting meditation.

So coming to rest in a sitting posture,

Either on a chair,

Stool or meditation cushion.

And sitting with the qualities of a mountain in a tall and dignified posture.

With your head slightly tilted forwards.

Allowing yourself to be relaxed with your shoulders loose.

And just starting by noticing the points of contact where your body is being held by the surface that you're sitting on.

Just feeling grounded and held.

Whilst letting go of thoughts about the past and the future.

Zoning into this moment.

Right here and now.

However you find yourself.

Maybe quickly scanning your body and noticing any sensations and just checking in with yourself.

Is your mind busy?

Quiet?

What about your emotions?

Any particular tone?

And just accepting whatever is there right now for you.

Allowing it to be there.

There's nowhere that you need to be right now.

There's nothing that you need to do.

Just giving yourself full permission to be here as you are.

And using this time to give yourself some positive energy.

And now moving your attention to your breath,

Your breathing.

Maybe noticing it at your nostrils.

Noticing the cool air coming in and the warm air going out.

Or maybe down at your belly.

Feeling it rising and falling with your in-breath and your out-breath.

So just resting your awareness on the breath.

Bringing the gentle,

Kindly attention to the sensations of your breathing.

And maybe noticing the short pause between the in-breath and the out-breath and the out-breath and the in-breath.

And really paying attention to the subtle nuances of the breath.

So as you breathe in,

Your breathing slowly begins and builds and then fades just before the short pause.

And then it slowly builds again on the out-breath into a crescendo and then fades again.

And each breath is different.

So just being curious about your breathing.

Maybe noticing your body rising and falling as you breathe in and out.

Being guided by the breathing and trusting in your breath to be your guide.

And sooner or later,

Usually sooner,

You might find that your mind has wandered off into thinking,

Into thoughts.

If this has happened,

That's okay.

That's just what our minds do.

So gently bringing your attention back to the object that we're focusing on,

Which at the moment is the breath.

Resting in awareness of the breath sensations.

And you may notice that it's not very easy to keep your mind on the breath.

And sooner or later your mind will wander off into thoughts,

Into thinking.

Planning,

Judging,

Worrying,

Liking and disliking,

Daydreaming,

Boredom and patience.

Or maybe their sleepiness.

This is perfectly normal.

It's just the nature of our minds.

So don't worry.

And each and every time your mind has gone for a wander,

Just noticing that's happened.

And then gently bringing it back.

And we're not trying to push our thoughts away here.

Just noticing them.

And then letting them go.

And then grounding ourselves back into an awareness that's wiser than thinking.

And usually kinder than thinking.

Thank you.

And again,

If your mind has wandered off into thoughts,

Into thinking.

Each and every time your mind wanders,

Just noticing that's happened.

And then gently but firmly bringing your attention back to your breathing.

Back to this breath.

And each in-breath is a new beginning.

And each out-breath is a letting go.

So just beginning again and again,

Back to this moment,

To this breath.

Thank you.

And now allowing your breath to move into the background of your awareness.

Shifting your attention to your body as a whole sitting here.

And however you find your body in this moment,

That's where you're starting from.

So letting go of judgements and concerns and just letting your body be as it is.

Maybe just scanning through your body,

Noticing any areas of tension.

And experimenting by breathing into them.

Allowing them to soften and release as you breathe in and out.

Holding your body in a wide spacious awareness.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And you might notice sensations that are unpleasant or intense.

Maybe they repeatedly draw you away from your sense of the body as a whole sitting here.

If this is happening,

Maybe experiment by going right into the sensation and investigating it.

Does the sensation change?

Does it move around in the body?

Does it have a particular colour or shape?

Does it become more intense when you focus on it?

If at any point you feel overwhelmed by investigating this area,

You can always return to your breathing or a sense of your body as a whole sitting here.

And you can use your breath to anchor you back in the present moment.

And if the sensation subsides,

Just returning to the body as a whole,

Fully awake in the present moment.

Thank you.

So just allowing your body to rest here as it is.

Noticing every and any sensation.

Thank you.

And now shifting your attention away from a sense of the body as a whole sitting here.

And moving our attention to sound.

Noticing sounds near and sounds far.

And maybe how some are loud and some are quiet.

Some come and go quite quickly.

And others seem constant in our field of awareness.

And also noticing if you're drawn to any particular sounds.

And if you have an aversion to any as well.

So just becoming aware of the whole soundscape around you.

And not listening out for sounds but rather allowing them to come to your ears.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And rather than labelling sounds or trying to pinpoint the source.

Just experiencing them directly as they are.

As just sound waves moving through the air to our ears.

Thank you.

And if your mind wanders off into thoughts away from sounds.

Just noticing that's happened.

And gently but firmly guiding your attention back to the soundscape around you.

Thank you.

And now shifting your attention away from sounds.

Paying attention to the thought stream itself.

And we can watch our thoughts very much in the same way that we were focusing on sounds.

Some thoughts come and go quite quickly.

Some seem to linger.

Some thoughts seem quite dark and heavy and take us over.

Others seem quite light and don't really affect us very much.

And you might find it helpful to imagine that you're sat on the bank of the thought stream.

Watching your thoughts go by.

And without being affected by them as you normally do in everyday life.

Getting some distance and clarity.

And seeing your thoughts as they are for what they are.

Just mental events in the stream of your awareness.

And if you do get pulled into the thought stream.

As soon as you notice that's happened.

Just bringing yourself back out again onto the bank.

Once again being the watcher of your thoughts.

And each and every time you get pulled into the thought stream.

Just hauling yourself back out.

Back onto the bank.

And the observer again.

Thank you.

And in watching your thoughts in this way.

They lose the power that they have over you.

And you can just allow them to be there without getting dragged into constant inner monologues.

The same old stories.

The same old judgements and worries and concerns.

And just taking a step back.

Watching these mental events unfold before us.

And trusting in our awareness.

Knowing that we have a choice.

And that we don't need to be pulled along by our thoughts.

And that we can choose which thoughts to invest in.

And which ones to leave alone.

So just resting our awareness on the thought stream.

And once again if you are pulled back into the thought stream.

That's okay.

Just noticing that's happened again.

And hauling yourself back out.

Thank you.

And now letting go of any effort that we've been making.

To focus on anything in particular.

And resting in what's sometimes called choiceless awareness.

Or pure awareness.

So being able to hold anything that comes into our awareness.

Without being pulled into it.

Just bringing a curious,

Kindly attention to whatever we notice.

And knowing that you can hold anything that comes into your awareness.

Even your heaviest and most persistent thoughts.

Or sensations.

But without being disturbed by anything.

Resting in an awareness that knows and sees everything.

And this awareness is trustworthy.

And can reconnect us to our wisdom and happiness.

Right here and now in this moment.

With things exactly as they are.

Thank you.

So just resting in awareness until the bell rings.

And when you hear the bell ring.

Just being mindful of how you transition from this meditation back into everyday life.

And just being mindful of how you transition from this meditation back into everyday life.

The bell rings.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Reviews

Beautiful, simple meditation. What a wonderful voice. I appreciate the practice you share, the kindness of bringing awareness back again and again. I did this in the park on a beautiful sunny day and felt very present, despite many moments of discomfort, distraction, planning. Thank you!

The bells aren't very nerve friendly but apart from that it's s a very nice and relaxing practice

"Every breath is a new beginning. Beginning again... and again... and again..." Great meditation 🙏

Lovely meditation. I did miss your beautiful music though 😉.

this is a fabulous mindful meditation- do you have one like this with no bell? please consider using a lower toned bell for people with a noise sensitivity like me (tinnitus and hyperacusis) thanks 🙏

Simple but effective

I was so stessed when I began this meditation and I am so relaxed now. It took me somewhere. I don’t know where but wherever it was I want to go back. I loved the silent times where it just let me be. Thank you.

Perfect balance of guidance and quiet space. Thank you.

very good pacing of instruction and space for quiet. excellent thank you Andy 🙏

Beautiful instructions. Guidance coupled with periods of silence. 🙏

I loved that it was holistic, incorporating all fields of presence. Really practical and effective too . I loved it 🐨

Excellent. Great beginner practice as he walks you along the entire journey.

EXCELLENT meditation. Wonderful mindfulness practice. Thank you for it.🙏

Helpful. It was good to focus on my thoughts, as well as the sounds around me and my breath.

Calm and clear, each step explained. I felt very grounded by this meditation.

Always a fan of Andy and his meditations. Thank you!

Excellent meditation both for beginners and those who might need some reassurance along their mindfulness path.

I experienced a very deep restful, peaceful meditation. Thank you so much 🙏🏻🥰🌱

Great meditation, thank you ✨🙏🏽✨

Just perfect.

Space is so important. Calmness and awareness created by the guidance and the space.

Perfect.