Mindfulness of breathing.
Beginning the meditation by establishing your posture,
Sitting upright,
Yet relaxed and at ease.
Gently closing the eyes and turning the gaze of attention inward.
Just noticing how it is to be sitting here in this moment.
And then sensing your body,
Feeling your body posture,
Sensing how the body connects with the ground through your sit bones,
The legs and the feet touching the floor.
Scanning through the body to release any unnecessary tension.
Softening the belly,
Relaxing the shoulders,
Softening the eyes and the eye muscles,
Relaxing the jaw.
And then begin to notice how the breath is naturally breathing itself,
Coming and going quite effortlessly.
Noticing where you feel the breath most distinctly.
Perhaps the air coming through the nostrils,
Or the expansion and contraction of the chest,
Or the lifting and falling of the belly.
Let your attention settle in one of those places you feel the breath most clearly.
Letting go of any ideas or images or thoughts about the breath.
And coming into a direct experience of the actual sensations of breathing.
Feeling and sensing the sensations of an in-breath,
Of an out-breath.
Breathing and knowing that you're breathing.
Breathing and noticing the quality of your breath.
Is the breath long or short,
Deep or shallow,
Rough or smooth,
Tense or relaxed?
And noticing how the quality of the breath changes over time.
Taking the attention close to the breath.
So feeling each nuance,
Each changing aspect of the in-breath and out-breath.
Each breath is distinct and unique from the last.
And let the attention become curious,
Interested in the breath,
As if it was your very first breath.
If you notice the attention is scattered and wandering,
You can make a soft mental note of in on the in-breath,
Out on the out-breath.
All kinds of other things may appear in your awareness.
Sounds coming and going,
Different sensations in the body,
Emotions,
Thoughts.
And for the most part in this meditation,
We simply acknowledge them and then redirect the attention to the breath.
It can be helpful to be aware of the very beginning of an in-breath,
Sustaining the attention just for the duration of that in-breath.
Connecting with the beginning of an out-breath,
Sustain the attention just for that out-breath.
If there's a long pause between breaths,
You can simply be aware of the whole body sitting until the in-breath begins again.
Just simply feel.
Wandered into thought,
Into memory,
Into the future.
That itself is a moment of mindfulness and so without judgment or criticism again releasing the thoughts and beginning again,
Settling the attention into the body,
Reconnecting with the breath.
And in the last few moments of the meditation,
No matter how far you may have wandered,
Letting go of all that's come before and simply begin again this moment,
This body,
This breath.
