So in this period of practice,
We're going to be attentive to our breathing.
Very often when people focus on the breathing,
They focus on just one set of sensations,
One area of the body.
And when that happens,
The mind is not being given enough to do.
So it becomes bored and it creates sensation for itself in the form of thought.
And so we become distracted.
And we have a very different experience if we choose not to pay attention to one area of the body as we're breathing,
But to two or three.
Making sure that we have an upright,
Open posture that allows us to breathe freely.
Sitting with a sense of dignity and poise.
The back relatively straight.
The chest open.
The heart open.
Able to breathe freely into the upper chest.
Feeling the upper chest expand as we inhale.
And also letting go on the out-breath so that the body is relaxing.
And just allowing the muscles around the eyes to relax,
Letting the gaze be soft.
As if you're staring into space,
Even with the eyes closed.
With the softness and relaxation that comes with that sense of staring into space.
But also being mindful of our experience.
Attentive to our experience.
And within this field of awareness,
Our sensations arising from the body and in particular,
Noticing sensations arising from the breathing.
And just being aware right now of what it is that you focus on when you're attentive to the breathing.
And just noting that the breathing is not just the breath,
Which is air moving through the passageways inside the body.
Breathing is any sensation connected,
However indirectly,
With the process of air moving in and out of the body.
And I'm going to suggest that you pick out three groups of sensations to pay attention to.
That you notice all of them at the same time.
So first,
There is the breath.
In particular,
Air flowing up and down the nostrils.
Hitting the back of the throat.
And that's one area of sensation.
And then there's the belly moving in and out.
That's a second area of sensation.
So just seeing if you can notice both of those at the same time.
So one thing we're not doing here is rapidly switching a narrow focused attention between the nostrils and the belly.
Instead,
We're just letting our gaze be relaxed.
Aware in a very open,
Expansive way.
Once again,
Almost as if we're staring into space,
But with mindfulness.
And so sensing at the same time,
The sensation of air flowing up and down the nostrils,
And the movement of the belly.
Cooler air flowing into the nostrils.
At the same time as the belly is expanding down and outward.
Noticing how,
On the out-breath,
Warmer,
Moister air is flowing down and out of the nostrils.
At the same time as the muscles in the abdomen.
Moving down and relax and move back toward the centre of the body.
Now adding one more area of sensation.
To create a bit more of a challenge.
A bit more of a perceptual stretch.
You can also notice how the upper back moves in and out as you breathe.
So now you have these three groups of sensations.
The nostrils.
The belly.
The upper back.
And all three sets of sensations are moving in synchrony.
They're creating a kind of dance.
Moving in an elegant and coordinated way.
They're all part of the same holistic process of the breathing.
So just letting the gaze be relaxed.
And defocused.
And seeing if we can find a kind of sweet spot with our attention.
Where we're mindful of enough sensations that it's a challenge.
It creates a kind of perceptual stretch in which the mind becomes quieter.
Without it feeling stressful to do so.
So you may find that you can only really pay attention to two groups of sensation at the same time.
But if while you're doing that a lot of thinking arises,
Introduce the third area of sensation.
And you can regard any prominent thoughts that appear as being mindfulness spells.
They tend to arise only when we've allowed our attention to contract.
When we're not noticing many sensations of the breathing but perhaps just one again.
So these thoughts arise and we can be grateful.
Because they're coming as a gentle reminder to return to this two-fold or three-fold awareness of the breathing.
And now as you continue to observe the breathing in this way.
Broadening your awareness a little further.
Including in your sphere of attention the whole body once again.
Just noticing the qualities of your experience right now.
Physical sensations arising throughout the body.
Noticing what the mind is doing.
Is it busy or quiet?
Is it dull or bright?
Is it sluggish or alert?
And what's your experience on the level of feeling?
Are you feeling troubled?
Or are you feeling content?
At peace?
And now including in the sphere of your awareness the world around you.
Sounds.
Space.
Physical contact that the body is making with your environment.
And then,
When you feel ready,
Bringing your mindful attention more fully into contact with the outside world by allowing the eyes to open.
