33:42

Still Point: An MBSR Anchoring Practice With Silence

by Anne Marie Allen

Rated
4.7
Type
guided
Activity
Meditation
Suitable for
Everyone
Plays
2.2k

This practice begins with guidance to discover or find your anchor followed by exteded silence. Such anchors may be your breath, body, sound or sight. The anchor is that still point that you can come back to over and over as mind does its thing. When you find yourself thinking, ruminating, worrying, resisting, wanting or craving you then will have space and moments of awareness that bring you right back to this moment. It is there that your wisdom and true self abide.

MbsrAnchoringSilenceBodySightStill PointMindfulnessBody ScanAwarenessKindnessAnchor CreationMind WanderingPresent MomentSensory AwarenessNon Judgmental AwarenessKindness To SelfAnchorsBreathingBreathing AwarenessPosturesSoundsGuided

Transcript

Inviting you to find a seat that you can hold,

Maybe adjusting or maneuvering yourself to find that sweet spot.

And if you like,

It's also okay to have your eyes open at this time and take a gander at the space before you,

Noting where you're sitting,

Looking at the room with kind of new eyes.

Maybe noticing where your body is in relation to the floor,

The cushion,

The bed,

The mat.

And it's okay through this meditation to leave your eyes open if you like.

If so,

I suggest that they go to a fixed spot,

Kind of angled down.

And then it's okay to also close your eyes.

With eyes open or closed,

Getting an internal sense of the space that you occupy.

Noting the touch points of the body to the floor,

Mat,

Or bed.

Maybe noting where feet hit the surface,

Knees,

Legs,

Tush,

Back.

Maybe also noticing where your arms meet your body or your hands.

And this is a time where I'm inviting you to,

Again,

Become familiar with your anchor.

Finding you that anchors can be a variety of things,

But it's important to really kind of train to have this one anchor that you can come to over and over through your sit and through active life.

So examples of anchors might be your breath.

Noticing the rise and fall of the breath,

The in and out.

Maybe even the movement of the body with breath.

The pauses of the breath between the inhale and the exhale.

Maybe noting the difference of temperature between the inhale and the exhale.

Possibly the sound of your breath.

So finding one of these to have as that light point,

That anchor point that you can come back to over and over when mind does its thing.

And then you come back to that still place.

Maybe the body is your anchor.

Maybe a sensation in the body,

Maybe the heartbeat.

Or the sensations of hands on lap,

Seat on cushion,

Air touching skin.

Or maybe an anchor is sound,

The sound of a fan of cars.

Maybe the sound of your breath.

Or sight,

Maybe some visual thing,

Some still point that you fix your eyes to.

As you're looking you might note again how mind wanders off and then you come back to that still point,

That fixed point.

So,

Sitting with that anchor.

Noting as thoughts drift in and out.

At times you might find that you're caught up in a story,

Dramatic story,

Maybe even a happy story,

Something exciting that you're looking forward to or something that you're regretting or worried about.

Mind is doing just what it does.

There's no need to be upset or frustrated.

Simply acknowledge,

Yes thinking,

Thinking,

Maybe worry thought,

Excited thought,

Resistant thought.

Then bring yourself back to your anchor,

Back to your breath,

To your body,

To sound.

Over and over.

So I'm going to give you some time here to become really familiar and comfortable with your breath or sensation,

Sight.

And allow those thoughts to do what they do.

This is the training.

Each time you become aware of that thought,

Of that thinking mind,

Those are the hallelujah moments.

So it's okay I see you thinking,

Thinking,

Thinking,

Thinking,

And then you come back,

Come back right here.

End of session.

Wiped You You You You You You You You I also invite you occasionally to do Scans of the body to note areas of tightness tension discomfort tingling These things can be distracting And note if you're resisting it at first before quickly adjusting We're trying to take care of an itch tickle a pressure a discomfort I invite you to be with it to note it Possibly look at it deeply so deeply you could draw a picture of it knowing its edges shape color What type of sensation it is And at times you might note that either mind gets bored with that or it disappears If something is nagging and seems to keep hijacking you from your breath or your other anchor It's okay to mindfully adjust At times there can be a discomfort that's so nagging that we need to change position completely might maybe From sitting to standing or lying down This is okay.

There's no need to judge this This is an act of kindness So you might note sensations in the forehead or temples jaw Shoulders neck back stomach arms hands thighs Lower legs feet In any areas that are kind of cranky I invite you to bring breath to those spaces Instead of getting frustrated with the sensation it's offering an almost a kind of peace Then come back to your breath or body Finding that still point Finding that still point You You You You You You You You Noting where mind is at this moment Is it taking you off to some story to some land to some frustration resistance In those gentle reminders,

So this is it this is all we have those stories are pretend They're not happening right now Although the mind might be convincing you otherwise Invite you to come right back here Right back to this breath to the seat to this body to the sound to the site There's nowhere else to be there's nowhere else you can be right at this moment.

This is it Being kind when the thoughts flood in dance in drift in It happens to us all It's happening to me as I'm sitting here with you Happening to others It's just part of this meditation and thoughts go together It is us the opportunity however to see to know it.

Oh,

That's where mine was.

Yes.

Hello thinking Then you get to bring yourself right back here A lovely opportunity you're affording yourself Coming back to your still point with kindness Coming back to your still point with kindness So So So So So So So So So So So So Inviting you from time to time to note your posture has it changed Has it become uncomfortable or have you fallen forward or to the side?

Finding again that dignified seat Or if lying down that awake position That this isn't necessarily about relaxing it's about being with what is right here being with it all The lovely the difficult the painful the sufferings the joys The sufferings the joys You get to observe that they come and go all of them So So letting the still point be the witness So So So Inviting you to notice that there's any frustration with the thoughts coming through So And I offer a possibility of maybe being humored by this busy creative active mind Being witnessed to it maybe saying oh yes.

Oh look at me today busy busy Lots of thoughts come right back here.

Just like you're calling a puppy to you like come on.

Come on Come on right back here Still loving that puppy still loving yourself knowing you're like everyone else With these with this busy active mind you're not doing this wrong.

You're doing it exactly right And then coming back to the still point that anchor Almost to that straight beam of light That's alive active bright and still Still all at the same time So So So So So So So So So And as we come to a close to this meditation Noting right now if mind is already jumping forward And I invite you to still just be here Be here as we navigate from this inner domain to a more outer domain And Bringing some attention to Maybe physicality maybe moving toes fingers maybe inviting a deeper breath in Also,

You might note light coming through your eyelids if your eyes are closed So still as we as we come back into this outer world staying with it moment by moment And then when you're ready to open your eyes kind of doing a flutter slowly kind of looking okay What does that look like?

As I can kind of see through my eyelashes And then bringing eyes open as you're ready Open as you're ready so gently coming back into the space

Meet your Teacher

Anne Marie AllenAltoona, WI, USA

4.7 (78)

Recent Reviews

John

February 13, 2026

Grew more in being present๐Ÿ˜Œ

Karen๐ŸŒพ๐Ÿ๐ŸŒพ

January 15, 2022

Come back to the breath! Thatโ€™s what my focal point is. She is such a great guide and her voice is so gentle and calming. It was awesome just BE-ing. ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿผ๐Ÿ•Š๐Ÿ’ž

Michele

July 28, 2021

Such wonderful guidance. My new favorite. ๐Ÿž

Katie

March 17, 2021

Lovely. Really helped me find my anchor and gently brought me back each time I wandered away. Very soothing voice. ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿฝ

Elisa

March 21, 2020

Perfect amount of support. Lovely friendliness toward ourselves modeled. Thank you. ๐Ÿ™

Miranda

January 31, 2020

Thank you for the soothing words and the long silences throughout the meditaciรณn.I really appreciated that.๐Ÿ™๐Ÿป

Catherine

January 17, 2020

Thank you๐Ÿ™๐Ÿป๐Ÿ™๐Ÿป๐Ÿ™๐Ÿป

Eme

January 14, 2020

Beatiful practice even for more or less experienced mediators. Warm and loving voice! Than you!!

Gin

January 14, 2020

Exceptional great balance between guided and quiet!

Judith

January 13, 2020

Lovely. I loved the silences and gentle guidance.

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ยฉ 2026 Anne Marie Allen. All rights reserved. All copyright in this work remains with the original creator. No part of this material may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

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