Welcome to the Mind Gym Guided Meditation.
Let us start with first exploring what exactly are we trying to do before starting on the details about the meditation technique.
We will try to build up our attention's capacity to let go of thoughts by continuously bringing our attention back on an anchor.
As the attention favors the anchor,
It automatically practices letting go from distracting thoughts.
This practice helps build up our ability to focus and to not get entangled with the thoughts that keep arising.
There are many kinds of anchors that can be used in this technique.
In this meditation,
We will use breath as an anchor.
Breath is the simplest and most used anchor,
Also taught by the Buddha.
Breath is always with us.
It's real and bringing our attention to it brings us to the present moment.
You can sit criss-cross on a mat or you can sit on a chair.
Be aware of your bottoms before you start and balance your weight evenly.
Try to keep your back as straight as possible but not tense.
Gently close your eyes.
Try to experience the feeling that there's nowhere to go and nothing to worry about.
Just relax and let go of the tension in the jaw,
In the shoulders and any other place in the body that feels tight.
Now let us take ourselves to a deeper,
Quiet place within us.
Let us now start with belly breathing.
This increases our capacity of not getting distracted by thoughts.
The technique is quite simple.
Make sure your belly goes up when you breathe in and it goes in when you breathe out.
Breathe deeply but slowly.
Focus on the belly as you breathe.
Breathe in,
Belly out.
Breathe out,
Belly in.
Let's repeat this a few times.
You can also put your hand on the belly and see that it moves out when you breathe in and goes in when you breathe out.
Now put your attention on the sensations in your back,
Specifically around your spine.
Move the attention from the bottom of the spine to your neck and back down.
Now try to synchronize this up and down movement with the belly breathing.
Move the attention up the spine slowly as you breathe in and move it down along the back as you breathe out.
This practice will help further quiet our active mind.
Let us repeat this a few times.
Now that your mind has calmed down and attention starting to get focused,
We will move into the meditation.
Bring your attention to the breath.
Watch when it enters the nostrils and comes out.
Observe the warmth or the coldness.
Touch the gap between the in and out breath closely.
Observe the sensation the breath creates below the nostrils,
Above the upper lip.
Make sure that the in breath is of the same length as the out breath.
Longer in breath can activate your mind whereas longer out breath can make you very relaxed and sleepy.
So for deep meditation,
Make sure that your in breath and out breath is of equal length.
You can count to three for the in breath and count to three for the out breath if you want to make sure the lengths of the in and out breath are the same.
We are using the breath as an anchor in this technique.
Bring pure attention on the breath and the sensation it creates.
If your attention wanders into other thoughts,
Get it back to the breath whenever you become aware of the fact that you have wandered.
You are trying to gently favour the breath.
Don't judge yourself or the thoughts that distracted you.
Stay equanimous.
Stay with the breath.
If your attention does not wander,
Continue to watch the breath and the sensation it creates with more awareness.
You may zone out or move into the gap between the breath and thoughts sometime during the practice.
As soon as you realise you are in the zone,
Bring the attention back to the anchor.
The gap will keep getting bigger but practice.
Keep the awareness of your breath.
Watch the warm breath in and out and the sensation it creates above the upper lip.
Keep the breath.
If your attention wanders into other thoughts,
Get it back to the breath whenever you realise this.
No need to judge your thoughts or the drifting away.
We are practising letting go of thoughts and coming back to the anchor.
Gently favour the breath.
Continue to watch and stay with the breath.
Keep the awareness of your breath.
Now,
Before we end this meditation session,
Let us practice loving kindness for a minute.
Start with sending love to yourself.
Picture your own image and feel compassion flow from your heart.
Then follow with your family members,
Friends and known ones and other fellow human beings around us.
Let's feel the compassion and love flowing through you.
May all beings be happy.
Continue to sit still with your eyes closed for one more minute before resuming your daily activities.
