Guided Breath Meditation

This 45-minute guided meditation invites a seated posture and focuses on awareness of breath. Inspired and informed by the teachings of Jon Kabat-Zinn in the book Full Catastrophe Living, this seated breath meditation is one of the core formal practices taught in the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program.

Transcript

Welcome to this seated breath meditation.

Taking this opportunity to choose the posture in which you'll take this meditation.

Choosing to be seated in a chair,

On a cushion on the floor,

Or standing,

Whatever works for you today.

If seated on the floor on a cushion,

Sitting so that the knees are below the hips,

If that feels comfortable for you today.

If you are seated,

Choosing your posture to be upright and dignified,

Embodying a quality of attentive wakefulness,

Whatever that means for you in your body today,

In this moment.

If on a cushion or chair,

Taking a position that offers greatest stability and stillness.

Using posture that allows breathing to happen with the least amount of effort or difficulty.

Sitting relatively upright,

Not stiff,

But natural and dignified to you.

Having shoulders balanced over hips,

Head balanced over shoulders.

Taking several moments to find the posture that's right for this meditation.

Adjusting to get a sense of stillness and stability.

If it suits you to close your eyes today,

Inviting your eyes to gently close or taking a relaxed,

Unfocused gaze a few feet from the body and inviting the body to become still.

In this seated meditation,

Recalling that in each moment there is the opportunity to bring the attention to wherever you intend it to be.

Each time attention wanders,

And it will,

Ten,

One hundred,

Or a thousand times.

You only have to realize it to return to the anchor you have chosen.

Mindfulness is as close as the next moment.

Is this moment.

In this sitting,

You may be aware of your breathing.

Seeing if you can be a watcher of the process of breathing without guiding,

Directing,

Or managing it.

You don't have to breathe in any particular way.

Simply allow breath to breathe itself.

Watching the breath without directing it.

Taking this opportunity to observe this process of breathing.

Noticing wherever you happen to be most aware of the breath,

And perhaps choosing to rest your awareness on that location.

Feeling the breath as an anchor.

A secure line to which you can bring yourself whenever your mind wanders.

To sensations,

Emotions,

Thoughts.

Watching to the breath as a familiar place.

Coming home to the breath from wherever you may have wandered.

Simply taking the time,

Forming the intention to be present right here,

Right now.

Always the opportunity to return.

Each moment a new opportunity to be present.

To bring the attention back to this moment,

And this experience of sitting here.

And when you find your attention wandering,

Simply returning your attention.

Letting go of judgment for having wandered.

Letting go of resistance.

Simply choosing to be where you already are.

Noticing whatever distractions,

Discomforts,

Sensations,

Thoughts,

Or feelings may be present.

But choosing to stay present for all of it.

And allowing the breath to be the means by which you stay focused on the present moment.

Finding your way back to the breath.

This breath,

Wherever it might be.

An in-breath,

An out-breath.

A transition between breaths.

Coming back.

Taking a moment to perhaps notice your posture.

Have you begun to lean?

Slump?

Stiffen?

If so,

Becoming aware of the choice to adjust or not to adjust.

If choosing to adjust,

Setting an intention to adjust.

And then allowing the body to return to a posture of being upright and dignified.

Using the process of choosing,

Adjusting,

And the impact of your movement.

Turning back into the breath if perhaps your attention has wandered.

Allowing the breath to breathe itself.

Feeling the breath as that secure line that brings you back to this moment.

In the course of sitting,

You may perhaps encounter some sensations in the body.

Discomfort.

Pain.

Irritation.

Itching.

Sensations perhaps arriving.

Perhaps present.

Perhaps passing.

Seeing if you can at first.

Allowing the sensation to simply be in your awareness without acting on it.

Noticing its quality.

Its intensity.

Being willing to be with whatever arises in the way of sensation.

Bringing it into awareness.

Being playfully curious about anything you're experiencing.

Perhaps after being aware of a particular sensation,

You may set an intention to move or act in response to it.

And if so,

Simply choosing to do whatever you've intended.

Noticing the intention being formed.

Noticing making the change.

Noticing the impact of the change.

Noticing the moment.

Encountering what arises.

And choosing at first to hold whatever arises in awareness before choosing whether or not to act.

Or how to act.

Or what to do.

How automatic that process can seem.

Noticing you have control over how or if you act in the face of an itch,

A twinge,

Or sensation of any sort,

Or in the face of a passing thought or feeling.

Noticing you have control over how or if you act in the face of an itch.

Noticing the whole array of options available to you in any moment when you are actually aware of that moment.

You might find it helpful to periodically ask yourself the question,

Where am I now?

And wherever that might be,

You may choose,

When you are aware of that,

To choose to return here to this breath,

This body,

This moment.

Noticing the breath,

This breath.

Noticing the opportunity ever present to return to this breath.

Noticing the ability to return to this breath.

Noticing along the way any particular struggles you may find yourself engaged in.

Perhaps wanting this experience to be different.

Perhaps wanting a taste or sound or smell to change or go away.

Perhaps noticing the presence of emotions that perhaps intrude on your experience.

Feelings like boredom,

Impatience,

Irritation,

Worry,

Sadness,

Agitation,

Confusion.

Can you in this moment allow any or all of these to be present?

Because they are.

And not feel the need to do anything about them.

Noticing the presence of anything that arises and choosing perhaps to simply name it to yourself.

Boredom is here.

Pain is here.

Sadness is here.

Impatience is here.

Taking note of whatever arises and choosing to stay present nonetheless.

Allowing the breath to be the anchor,

The line which returns you to this moment whenever you choose.

Again and again,

Every moment a new opportunity to be present.

Where are you now?

Coming back to the breath.

Where are you now?

Where are you now?

Where are you now?

Where are you now?

Where are you now?

Where are you now?

Where are you now?

Returning to the breath.

Where are you now?

Where are you now?

Checking in with the body,

Taking note of the posture,

Perhaps choosing to make adjustments if adjustments are needed.

Noticing the intention,

The action,

And the effect of the action.

Imagine bringing attention back to the breath in this moment.

You may be finding the presence of drowning.

Drowsiness along the way.

If so,

See if you can bring that into awareness as well.

Drowsiness is here.

Fatigue is here.

And if there is difficulty around drowsiness or anything else,

Perhaps noticing and naming difficulty.

Noticing evaluation.

Are you aware of thinking about how you are doing?

Aware of wanting a different experience from the one you're having right now?

If so,

Can you step back and notice those thoughts,

Judgments,

And evaluations?

Noticing that even if you are wanting something different,

Noticing judgments,

Noticing evaluations,

No action is required.

No change is needed.

You have options.

You can choose.

Noticing,

Am I meditating or am I thinking about meditating?

Am I following the breath or am I thinking about the breath?

Noticing,

Is it?

Sorry.

Where is your attention right now?

Focusing or returning to the breath.

Resting in awareness of the breath,

Just as it is,

Making its way in and out,

Being a watcher of the process of breathing.

Resting in awareness of the breath.

Where are you now?

Where are you now?

Always the opportunity in every moment to return to where you are now,

Here in this moment.

Where are you now?

Noticing evaluation.

Are you aware of thinking about how you are doing?

Wondering how long you've been sitting?

How long you will be sitting?

Can you step back and notice those thoughts,

Judgments,

And evaluations?

Can you notice wondering,

And let wondering pass like clouds on a summer day?

How long you will be sitting?

Finding your way into the breath.

Finding your way back to the breath.

Noticing whatever it was that took you away,

Captured your attention.

Acknowledging its presence and choosing to return to the breath,

To this sitting,

This here,

This now.

Where are you now?

Is there difficulty present?

Seeing if perhaps you can notice the difficulty over wanting this experience to be different from what it is,

Or for this experience to end,

Or for it to continue.

Seeing if you can notice the difficulty and returning to this breath,

The movement of breath in and breath out.

The breath continuing to breathe itself,

Whether you have attended to it or not.

Always here.

Always available.

Always now.

And in these final few minutes of this sitting meditation,

Noticing your reaction to hearing that it's the final few minutes.

What's here now?

Has your attention shifted to a few moments in the future?

Do you feel anticipation present?

Disappointment?

Relief?

Seeing if you can simply stay with what is here now,

Including the breath,

Moving in and moving out.

You can see the difference between what is here now and what is not.

And what is not.

And what is not.

And what is not.

And what is not.

And what is not.

Taking a moment to appreciate having given yourself this time to be present with your breath,

Your body,

Your experience,

As it unfolded moment by moment.

Feeling to have cared for yourself when you are paying attention.

To feel the richness of each moment.

The texture.

The whole array of experiences that unfold when you're willing to encounter those experiences.

The

Reviews

Thank you for providing me the opportunity to meditate without any distractions, returning to my breath, the present moment, over and over again. I feel relaxed, open, like a clean slate, ready to start my day. 🙏

Great voice

Good one!

Very nice lightly guided meditation. It's all about the breath. Thank you. ☮️💖🙏

I find this meditation most pleasurable and peaceful. I am so grateful Chris thank you. 🙏🏽