Awareness of breath.
Coming to sit.
Choosing whether to sit on a chair or on a cushion or stool on the floor.
If you're sitting in a chair,
Coming into an upright posture,
Preferably with your back away from the back of the chair.
Having your body in an upright,
Supported posture but relaxed,
Not tense.
And as you sit here,
Preparing to do this practice,
Perhaps bringing into your mind the idea that for the duration of this practice,
Be alert,
Awake.
Be paying attention to the breath,
Moment by moment.
Remembering that it's fine to move if you need to shift your position to ease any discomfort that arises.
And movement like this can simply be folded into the practice.
Being aware of the movement and aware of the experience of settling afterwards.
So now as you sit in your chosen posture,
Taking a moment or two to be aware of the body as a whole,
Sitting here.
Aware of the space that you occupy.
The space around you,
Above and below,
To the sides,
To the front and back of you.
Taking your seat.
And now bringing attention into your breath,
Feeling the sensations of the breath in the body.
The in-breath and the out-breath.
And noting where in the body you can feel these sensations of breathing.
Maybe at the nose or across the back of the throat.
In the chest or the belly.
And perhaps choosing one of these places where the breath is most alive for you.
To be your focus,
Your anchor during this practice.
If you notice that your mind is very busy and distracted,
Having your hands on your belly so that you can feel the rise and fall of the belly can be an added support to your attention.
Sitting here with the sensations of the breath in the body.
From time to time you will no doubt notice that the mind is no longer on the breath.
That the mind has been caught up by some thoughts,
Just wandered away.
Briefly noting where the mind went to,
What it was that caught the attention and then returning attention to the breath.
The in-breath,
The out-breath.
And it's likely that it'll be necessary for you to do this over and over again throughout the practice.
Having a wandering mind is not a mistake.
You haven't gone wrong.
This is simply the nature of minds.
And you're learning something about the nature of your mind,
About your own habits of thinking.
As you notice where your mind went to when it goes off and gently but firmly bringing attention back.
Over and over.
And being alert to any thoughts or feelings of criticism or frustration with yourself.
As you bring your mind back time and time again.
And as best you can having a kindly and gentle and patient attitude towards yourself.
This is what minds do.
It's in the nature of mind to wander.
So with great patience and gentleness returning your attention to the breath over and over again.
Feeling the in-breath and the out-breath.
Not changing the breath in any way.
Simply allowing the breath to breathe itself.
And as we come to the end of this practice you may choose to stay with your practice and move straight into the next set of guidance which is sounds and thoughts.
If you're ending this practice now remembering that this ability to focus the mind on the breath and the body is available to you at any time.
