Simple Meditation For Beginners | Breath & Body

In this meditation for beginners, we begin by bringing awareness to the body before settling our attention with the breath. For some people, using the breath to anchor the attention can actually have the opposite effect and produce anxiety rather than feel calming. If it’s difficult for you to be with the breath, you can always anchor your attention on awareness in the body instead: sensations in the feet or hands, or maybe the pressure of the seat or floor against your sit bones. See what works best for you. And remember: if your mind feels busy—even extremely busy—this is very normal, especially for someone new to meditation. Let me know how your experience was in the comments!

Transcript

Hi friends, And welcome to this meditation. Whether you are a brand new meditator or you've been meditating for some time, I am grateful that you pressed play on this meditation. And we'll take a couple moments here in the beginning just to find a comfortable position because how we arrive to our meditation is important. So I invite you to find a seated position, Whether you are seated in a chair with your feet on the floor, Or maybe there's a cushion or a pillow nearby that you can sit on. So just finding a position that feels comfortable for you. Maybe your legs are crossed if you're seated on the floor. Your hands can rest gently in your lap or on your thighs. And find length in your spine as you sit up tall. You want to find a position that makes you feel alert, Even a position that makes you feel like you're seated and a sense of integrity and wakefulness. But you also want there to be a softness in the spine and in the chest, An openness in the heart space. Let your shoulders be soft. And if it feels good for you, You can close your eyes or maybe just let your gaze rest on a point out in front of you as your periphery vision blurs. And we'll begin by taking a few deep breaths together. So beginning by letting out all of the air that you're currently holding in the body. And now take a deep inhale through the nose, Filling the belly and the lungs. And then a slow exhale through the nose, Relaxing down through the body. Again, A deep inhale through the nose, Expanding, Becoming full. And a slow exhale through the nose to release. And one more time, Deep inhale. And slow exhale, Relaxing through the shoulders, Through the spine. And now let your breath return to its natural rhythm. And take a moment to connect with your body, Just noticing any sensations, Any areas of tension. Noticing if there's parts of the body that feel warm or cool. And relaxing the forehead and the jaw, Letting there be a heaviness in the shoulders as they're pulled downward by the force of gravity. And now noticing the points where your body meets the surface, Maybe the floor or the chair. Noticing the pressure of the floor against your sit bones. And noticing where your feet or your legs make contact with the floor. And let there be a softness in the hands. Noticing any sensations in the hands, Maybe tingling, Pulsating. Are the hands warm? Are they cool? Maybe they feel neutral. We're just bringing a sense of awareness into our body, Moving our awareness below the mind into the rest of this body that we inhabit. And now connect with your breath, Bringing your attention to wherever it is in your body where you can most easily sense the breath. So maybe this is in the nose as the air passes in and out. Maybe it's in the rise and fall of your chest or the rise and fall of your belly. Maybe you can feel the breath as it brushes against your upper lip or as it passes along your throat. Or maybe you're able to tune into just an overall sense of the body breathing. And see if you can really tune into the sensations of the breath and becoming very familiar with the breath as if it's a dear friend who is sharing some news with you, Becoming curious. And notice how the body expands slightly with each breath. Each inhale and how it contracts becomes slightly smaller on the exhale. And notice that there's a steadiness in the breath. The breath rocks the body to and fro. It comes and goes like waves crashing on the beach. And you may notice, Maybe even immediately, That the mind likes to wander. Even when you focus your attention on the breath, You might notice the mind likes to time travel into the past, Thinking about memories or something you said, Maybe analyzing an experience or it likes to time travel to the future, Planning, Rehearsing, Wondering what if. All of this is totally normal. And sometimes it's when we slow down that the mind suddenly remembers things. And so when you notice that your attention has wandered, You just pause to notice where the mind has gone and then gently bring your awareness back to the breath. Each time you notice that the mind has wandered, It's really a moment for celebration because it's a moment where you have become aware again and you realize the choice you have to redirect your attention. And in meditation, This is the practice. And each time we bring our awareness back, It's like we're strengthening this muscle of mindfulness. And I'll take a moment to come back into the room. If your eyes are closed, Just imagining the space around you maybe taking a deep breath. And take a moment to notice how your body or your mind might feel differently after that moment. Meditation, There's no right or wrong way to feel but just noticing. You can begin to move your fingers and your wrists, Maybe your ankles. You might take a big stretch overhead. Blinking your eyes open and coming back into the room and into the rest of your day. And see if you can come back to your breath a few times throughout the rest of your day.