Thank you for joining me in this mindfulness meditation series.
I'm happy to be with you over the next several weeks.
And I thought we would start with a basic definition of meditation and mindfulness so that we know what it is we're doing here.
Meditation is the practice of concentrated focus,
Usually on your senses,
So the sound and breath,
Perhaps movement and touch,
Sight and visualization.
And this practice,
The word practice is important because that means we do it regularly.
The practice develops mindfulness.
And a lot of people aren't really sure what is mindfulness.
So mindfulness creates an increased awareness of the present moment.
It sounds really simple,
But I think it's one of the most difficult things there is to do,
Is to just notice what's happening in the moment without the thoughts running in a hundred thousand different directions.
And not getting trapped in our thoughts,
In our reactions.
So being mindful is really being aware when something is grabbing our attention,
Whether that's a thought,
Whether it's something in our environment,
Is that we're just aware that it's happening.
A simple way of being mindful is noticing your breath.
It's something we do all day long and we don't even notice that we're doing it.
So much of meditation is practicing noticing the breath.
An important thing to also mention is what is not meditation.
And I think a lot of people get the misconception that meditation means not thinking.
It's like to meditate and be a good meditator,
I shouldn't have any thoughts.
And I think that's virtually impossible.
You are going to have thoughts.
It's just going to happen.
Even one of the most experienced meditators will still have intruding thoughts.
The practice is to notice when you're having thoughts.
That's what meditation is.
So if you notice that you're thinking and your mind just ran off in a direction,
But you noticed that it happened,
Then that's the win.
That's the practice,
Starting to do what it's supposed to do.
So just don't feel bad if it's hard to focus and concentrate.
That's just a part of this process.
And it is true that over time that will improve.
There are a lot of scientific studies around meditation.
And you could find so many really solid studies on how it improves brain functioning,
And immunity in the body.
It helps to create more calm and focus.
It helps to grow gray matter in the brain.
It helps to balance our sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system.
And there are even studies that show there's a positive association between meditation and longer telomeres,
Which prevents aging and illness.
So there are all kinds of reasons to practice regular meditation.
And regular practice is important.
So part of our intention with this series is to give you some guidance,
To give you the recording that you could practice with later,
And to make it something maybe you do every day.
And you don't need very much time,
Even five to eight minutes a day is plenty of time to gain all those benefits.
So let us begin by taking a tall seat.
And you can sit in a chair.
You could sit on the floor.
It doesn't matter so much where you sit as long as your spine feels supported.
So if you're sitting on the floor,
Do sit up on some support,
Cushions,
Pillows,
Something to elevate your hip bones.
And if you're sitting in a chair,
Make sure it's supportive enough.
And maybe there's something you can lean into.
If it has a back,
Great.
If there's no back,
Just feel that you can sit back a little bit and still feel support in your back body.
And you might just take a little movement.
You might roll the shoulders.
You might move the head a little.
And you want to find as comfortable a position as you can so there's relative stillness.
But if you need to adjust yourself during the practice,
That's okay too.
And once you find that comfortable seat,
I'll direct you to placing your hands in a particular way.
If you are feeling that you need a little bit more focus,
That you're feeling scattered,
You need to feel a little bit more grounded quality,
Turn your palms down on your legs,
Palms down resting in your lap.
If you feel that you need a little more alert quality,
If you're feeling kind of groggy today,
Then you might just flip your palms to face up.
So just choose one way that seems right to you.
And then you might close your eyes or you might let your gaze look down.
Different schools of meditation will tell you to do one thing or the other,
But I think it's important to do what feels right to you.
Does it feel right to close your eyes?
Or does it feel right to simply gaze down?
Then just notice how you're feeling.
I like to say it's check the weather today,
The weather of the body.
What are you feeling in the body?
And you're not supposed to feel anything in particular.
You're just noticing what's there.
You might start from the bottom and work your attention up.
Notice the feet and legs,
The hips and your back,
Your belly and your breath,
And your shoulders,
Your neck and head,
And maybe even your face.
And then take three mindful breaths.
Again,
Mindfulness is just really noticing the breath deeply in and deeply out.
And do that a few more times.
And then let your attention settle on that pulse of the breath.
Belly is soft,
Shoulders relaxed.
Notice the body breathing in and breathing out.
And the meditation teacher Thich Nhat Hanh really captured the essence of meditation when he said,
When I'm breathing in,
I notice I'm breathing in.
When I'm breathing out,
I notice I'm breathing out.
And that really is the essence of meditation.
And when thoughts pull at your attention,
As they will,
Simply notice that they happened.
An analogy often used is like a cloud passing in a blue sky.
You notice it.
You might think,
Oh,
Thought.
And then come back to the breath.
And now I will leave you to sit quietly without me speaking for about three minutes.
It might feel challenging.
Just come back over and over to the breath.
And you'll hear a bell when I pull you back.
Invite your breath to deepen.
Notice the body sitting still.
Notice the breath.
You might bring a little bit of movement once more.
Maybe it's brushing the thumbs over the fingertips.
Maybe it's wiggling your toes.
Feel the movement without seeing it.
Take a full breath in and out.
And then you might start to lift your gaze.
Gently let your eyes lift up.
And just notice something in the room that you are in.
Let your eyes look at something in the room.
And just welcome yourself back into that space.
It's important to let yourself slowly come out of meditation.
Let your senses gently broaden into the space around you.
And take three deep breaths.
Just a big inhale.
And you might take a little pause at the top.
And then a deep exhale.
And again a deep inhale.
And exhale.
And one more.
And let that idea of taking a tall seat and a full breath follow you throughout the day and throughout your work week as a reminder to yourself to be present.
And just a quote here by a teacher named Ajahn Brahm.
Meditation is like a gym in which you develop the powerful mental muscles of calm and focus.
And lifting your gaze up.
Thank you for practicing with me.
