Hi,
This is Anthony and today I'm going to help you get started or refresh your meditation practice.
If you have never meditated before,
Please don't worry because this is a very simple and a very popular technique and I'm going to guide you through the entire session.
To begin,
I invite you to get into a comfortable position in which you can keep your back straight.
This doesn't mean you need to be sitting stiff or with any tension.
For if you try to force yourself to be stiff and sit upright the whole time you're trying to meditate,
Then actually you're just going to exhaust yourself.
So just take what is sometimes referred to as a relaxed yet dignified posture.
You may simply want to notice that your nose is in line and over the navel,
Your ears are parallel to the shoulders and then you can simply allow your body to relax.
Take a moment to notice how the body feels.
Notice the weight of the body on the chair,
The seat,
The cushion or the mat upon which you are seated or lying.
Notice any sounds around you and notice how the body feels.
Now please take a few deep long breaths in and out.
As you breathe in,
Notice how your chest and lungs expand as they fill with air.
As you breathe out,
Notice and feel how the body softens and relaxes.
After this next breath,
If they aren't already then gently allow your eyes to close as you exhale out.
Closed eyes will help lessen distractions and also turn your senses inwards.
At this point,
Let all of your breathing be through the nose.
Both the inhalation and the exhalation should be out of the nostrils and allow your breath to settle to whatever its natural rhythm is in this moment.
You are no longer going to control your breath in any way.
Just allow it to be as it is and simply bring your awareness and attention to the body breathe.
To help you keep your awareness with the breath,
It is often helpful to see where you can best feel the breath.
You may actually be able to feel the breath as it moves in and out of the nasal passages.
But if this is too small and subtle of an area,
It may be easier for you to feel the breath in the rise and fall of the chest or perhaps the expansion and contraction of the stomach,
The belly or abdomen.
You can even gently place a hand upon your abdomen to help you feel and connect with the sensation of breathing.
But remember,
You are not controlling or regulating your breath in any way.
You are simply observing and witnessing it however it is in this moment.
Just observe and witness the breath without judgment.
If your breath is fast,
Don't judge by saying,
Oh,
Maybe I need to calm down my breath.
If it's shallow,
Don't think,
Oh,
Wow,
I'm breathing very shallow.
Maybe I need to take some deeper breaths.
These thoughts,
These ideas,
These notions are the judging mind showing itself.
And meditation isn't judgment.
Meditation is a way of waiting,
A way of watching,
A way of witnessing and listening to what's going on within.
It's about observing and allowing the breath in the moment to be as it is.
As you observe the breath,
At some point your mind will wander.
It may be two seconds or it may be two minutes,
But sooner or later it will happen.
When it does,
Do not get mad or angry with yourself.
This is perfectly natural.
The mind is just doing what has been created to do.
You may have heard that meditation is emptying the mind of thoughts,
That we are supposed to have no thoughts,
But this is actually a fallacy.
Telling the mind to have no thoughts is like telling your heart not to beat.
You are not forcing the mind to focus on the breath.
You are not battling with the mind.
You are not battling or struggling to have no thoughts.
You are just gently encouraging the mind to stay with the breath.
And so the only agreement you make with yourself is as soon as you realize that the mind has wandered,
You acknowledge it,
Let it go,
And then gently and lovingly bring your awareness back to the breath again.
During your practice,
The mind may wander a thousand times.
Simply bring your awareness back to the breath one thousand and one times.
Be patient and gentle with yourself.
Know that it's not failure to start again.
In fact,
Starting again is the practice.
Every time you notice that the mind has wandered,
You actually should be happy.
Because meditation isn't zoning out,
It's not spacing out,
It's sitting in a very particular way.
Meditation is sitting with attention and alertness to the object of meditation.
Yet before you noticed the mind has wandered,
You weren't aware,
You weren't attentive to the breath,
You were off somewhere else.
You weren't mindful of the breath,
You were actually mindless of the breath.
And so the moment you recognize the mind has wandered is actually a moment when you come back to your meditation.
You come back to reality by reawakening to the present moment.
And therefore again,
In meditation the only agreement you make is whenever the mind wanders,
Just gently and lovingly return your awareness back to the breath.
Now let go of the breath.
Bring your awareness back to any sounds happening around you.
Bring your awareness back to the body.
You may wish to take a couple of deep breaths to reground yourself.
And whenever you are ready,
You can slowly open your eyes.
I hope you feel a little bit calmer and relaxed.
Don't worry if there were or still are a lot of thoughts going on in your mind.
You've only practiced for a few brief minutes.
But with continued dedication and practice,
Your thoughts will subside.
Meditation is a mind training tool and unfortunately for many of us,
The mind has had free reign,
So it's really been our master.
Through meditation we're learning to retrain the mind,
To bring it again under our control.
It's normal for thoughts to come.
It's normal for thinking to happen.
But with the continued gentle returning of your awareness to the breath over and over again,
The mind will still.
The wandering mind and thoughts will lessen for longer and longer periods of time.
All it takes is time and practice.
Unfortunately,
In this age of instant gratification,
There is an instant mental training.
Meditation is something you must do.
No one can do the work for you.
No one can do the practice for you.
It's like learning to play an instrument or learning a language.
But all it takes is just a few minutes each day for the benefits to unfold and your life to be transformed.
So have patience with yourself.
Have kindness towards yourself and start slow.
Good luck with your practice and may all your days be filled with an abundance of love,
Happiness and peace.
