Mindful Sitting Practice

In this mindfulness practice, we go through different focal points: the breath, body sensations, sounds, thoughts, and emotions. By becoming aware of your body and mind, you'll find greater acceptance and peace. This meditation is part of the MBSR Training.

Transcript

Welcome to this sitting meditation session of 40 to 45 minutes.

We do this meditation by sitting down either on a chair,

Meditation cushion or a low stool.

Whichever you choose,

Just make sure that your hips are higher than your knees.

If you are sitting on a chair,

Make sure your feet are placed firmly on the ground and that your legs aren't crossed.

Your back is straight,

Not leaning against the back of the chair.

Your shoulder blades are gently pulled towards each other to create some openness in your chest area.

Now either close your eyes or keep them half open and gaze a meter and a half in front of you.

Once you've found a comfortable sitting position,

Become aware of your body.

Become aware of your buttocks on whatever it is you're sitting on,

Aware of your feet in contact with the floor and arrive here.

Become aware of your body and mind,

Of today's events and their effect on your thoughts and emotions.

Simply allow and acknowledge whatever is within and just let it be.

Fl Clarke Now gently bring your awareness to your breath.

Breathing normally and naturally.

Observe where you feel your breath the most clearly.

Maybe you feel it in your nose,

Your nostrils,

That cool off on your in-breath and become warmer on your out-breath.

Or maybe you feel your chest expand when you breathe in and contract when you breathe out.

Another option is that your abdominal wall expands on your inhalation and contracts on your exhalation.

Breathe in,

Aware that you're breathing in.

Breathe out,

Aware that you're breathing out.

Breathe in,

Aware that you're breathing out.

Breathe out,

Give full attention to the feeling of the breath as it comes in and full attention to the feeling of the breath as it goes out.

Breathe in,

Aware that you're breathing out.

Breathe out,

Give full attention to the feeling of the breath as it goes out.

Breathe in,

Aware that you're breathing out.

You will notice that your mind tends to move around a lot.

You may have had the firm intention to keep your focus on the breath no matter what,

But before you know it,

You will find that your mind is off someplace else.

It has forgotten the breath.

Every time this happens,

First note briefly what's on your mind and what carried you away from attending to the breath and then gently bring your attention back to your breathing,

No matter what carried it away.

If it moves off the breath a hundred times,

You just calmly and gently bring it back a hundred times.

And this way you're cultivating your natural ability to concentrate your mind.

Breathe in,

Aware that you're breathing out.

By repeatedly bringing your attention back to the breath,

Each time it wanders off,

Concentration builds and deepens.

We're training our concentration muscles.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Give full attention to the feeling of the breath as it comes in and full attention to the feeling of the breath as it goes out.

Now gently withdraw awareness from the breath and bring it to the world of sensations in the body.

Observe without any aversion or indulgence.

Just acknowledge all the different sensations as they come from moment to moment.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Open your awareness to whatever sensations are predominant or distinct at this moment.

There are so many sensations you can feel,

Tightness,

Softness,

Itching,

Tingling,

Warmth,

Coolness,

Dryness,

Moisture,

Heaviness,

Lightness,

Pain,

Etc.

Etc.

Observe without aversion or indulgence.

If you're not feeling any distinct sensations,

You can bring your awareness to any point of contact.

Your buttocks in contact with whatever you're sitting on,

The contact of the feet with the floor or your hands in contact with your legs or lap.

You may find areas of tension or tightness.

If you can,

Allow them to soften and relax.

If not,

Just let it be.

As a rule,

If you sit for a while in any position,

Your body will become uncomfortable.

Normally we are continuously shifting our posture in response to this discomfort,

Without even noticing it.

But during formal sitting meditation,

It is useful to resist that first impulse,

To shift position in response to bodily discomfort.

Instead,

We direct our attention towards these sensations of discomfort and mentally welcome them.

Make the effort to sit with sensations of discomfort when they come up during meditation.

Welcome the discomfort and try to keep our moment to moment awareness in their presence.

Beautiful as these body sensations may be,

They are potential teachers and allies in learning about yourself.

Whenever you find that your attention has been carried elsewhere,

Wherever that may be,

You simply notice,

Then let it go and gently escort your attention back to the focus of body sensations.

Now,

Release the awareness of the body sensations and bring attention to hearing,

Observing all sounds without aversion or indulgence.

Register the sound exactly as they occur,

Without interpreting them.

Are the sounds far away,

Close by?

Are the sounds in front of you or behind you?

Or maybe inside your body?

Whether the sounds are internal or external,

Notice how they are ever changing.

Sounds rise and fall.

Sounds appear and disappear.

Whenever you find that your attention has been carried elsewhere,

Wherever that is,

You simply notice it,

Then let it go and gently bring your attention back to the focus of hearing.

Now,

Release the awareness of the body sensations and bring attention to hearing.

Try to hear sounds just as sounds.

Simply hearing what is here to be heard,

Moment by moment,

Without judging or thinking about what you're hearing.

Okay.

There's no need to analyze them or figure out the sounds,

No need to like or dislike them.

They're just sounds and sounds come and go.

Okay.

Now gently shift attention from awareness of sounds to the mind,

To thoughts and emotions.

Observe the mind without any aversion or indulgence.

Just acknowledge all the different mental formations,

Moment to moment.

Like lying in the field and watching the clouds float by,

Watch the mind in the same way.

Note that an individual thought doesn't last long and if it comes,

It will also go.

It is important to be aware of this.

No thoughts about the past,

No thoughts about the future.

And note how some thoughts keep on coming back.

Your thoughts are ever changing,

Just like the breath,

Body sensations and sounds.

Okay.

Thoughts and emotions rise,

Thoughts and emotions fall.

You may become aware that the mind has a mind of its own.

It analyzes,

Scrutinizes,

Plans and remembers.

It catastrophizes,

Compares and contrasts.

It dreams,

Blames,

Feels sad,

Angry and fearful.

It fantasizes,

Has likes and dislikes.

The mind is busy thinking with thoughts rising,

Forming and receding.

Notice how they appear and disappear,

Noticing them just as thoughts.

Keep on experiencing the changing nature of mind states and if you become frustrated with your wandering mind,

It's fine to return to the breath for a while to center yourself.

Sometimes you may find yourself caught up in thoughts and emotions,

Perhaps again and again.

When this happens,

Don't judge yourself.

Let your awareness recognize that all these mental states are coming,

Going and changing.

Let your awareness recognize that all these mental states are coming,

Going and changing.

Once you become aware that your mind is caught up in thoughts and emotions,

In that very Now very gently withdraw your awareness from mental events and bring your attention to the present moment itself as the primary object of your attention.

Choiceless awareness invites you to become mindful of whatever is arising and unfolding in the present moment.

It could be the body,

The mind,

Thoughts,

Emotions,

Sounds,

Body sensations or other sensory experiences.

Simply observe whatever is predominant or compelling to the mind and body and be present to it.

If you're unsure where to focus your attention,

You can always go back to the breath or any other object as a way to anchor into the here and now.

You can also go back to the breath or any other object as a way to anchor into the here and now.

Sometimes there are sounds,

Sometimes there are sensations,

Sometimes thoughts,

Sometimes emotions.

As you learn to give space to whatever is arising inside with greater equanimity and balance you can begin to go with the flow.

Instead of fighting or resisting what's there you'll come to understand and deeply know that all things change.

Just sit,

Don't hold on to anything,

Don't look for anything.

Practice being completely open and receptive to whatever comes into the field of awareness,

Letting it all come and go,

Watching,

Witnessing,

Attending in stillness.

Now withdraw from choiceless awareness and come back to the breath,

Feeling the whole body as you breathe in and out.

Breathe in aware that you're breathing in and breathe out aware that you're breathing out.

Paleo deadline.

And whenever you find that your attention has been carried elsewhere,

Wherever that may be,

You simply notice it,

Then let it go,

And gently bring your attention back to the breath.

Let the air Political.

And now we've come to the end of this meditation.

Start moving your body carefully.

Maybe you want to stretch out before you open your eyes.

Congratulations yourself for finishing this entire meditation and use it every time you want to take care of yourself.

Till next time.

Reviews

Wonderful. Very simple, basic. Nothing fancy but gentle instruction that took me very deep I to mindfulness.

Really great meditation.
Perfect amount of instructions!