To begin this practice,
Find a comfortable seated position,
If sitting on a chair,
Allowing your feet to be flat on the floor,
Allowing your back to come away from the chair slightly so that you're holding yourself up.
If you're sitting on the floor,
On a cushion or a bench,
Seeing if you can bring your knees in contact with the floor,
Making sure your hips are higher than your knees,
Allowing the crown of the head to reach up,
The chin to tuck in slightly and the shoulders to release.
You can close your eyes if you want to,
Or if you wish to,
Keeping them open and finding a spot on the floor in front of you,
Three to four feet in front of you and just allowing them to rest there so they're open,
Not really looking.
Moving your attention to the places of contact,
Your feet,
Your knees on the floor,
Your hands on your lap,
Weight of your body coming down through your torso,
Through your hips,
Into the seat.
What are you aware of right now?
Maybe you're noticing thoughts,
Feelings,
Sounds arising,
Coming and going,
Perhaps like waves in the ocean,
Noticing these waves rising and falling and then becoming aware that in the midst of all of these waves,
You are breathing,
Settling your attention as best you can on the sensations of the breath,
Wherever you feel them the most strongly,
Whether it's at the tip of the nose,
The nostrils,
In the cool air as you breathe in,
The slightly warmer air as you breathe out,
Whether it's in your chest,
In the lungs,
In the ribcage,
Expanding and releasing,
Or whether it's in your belly,
Right down and around the navel,
Feeling a stretching as you breathe in here,
Falling away as you breathe out.
If you want to,
You can place one hand on the belly,
Connect to the sensation of the breath here,
Now,
And notice that moment when you start to breathe in.
And then perhaps a slight pause,
And then that moment when the body starts to breathe out.
Perhaps a slightly longer pause before it all begins again,
All by itself,
Just as it always does.
Of course the mind will wander during this practice,
Sometimes the waves will carry you away.
But that's just what minds do,
It's not a mistake,
Not a failure of any kind.
In fact,
The moment you realize that you've been carried away is a magical moment,
It's a chance for you to do something different.
You don't need to judge yourself or condemn yourself in any way.
Best you can,
Acknowledging the wave,
Labeling it if you want to,
Thinking,
And then as best as you can,
Releasing it,
Just letting it go,
And beginning again,
Just returning to seeing if you can catch the very beginning of the in-breath again,
The very beginning of this next out-breath,
And the end of it.
The waves will carry you off again and again,
Each time it's exactly the same,
Noticing what took you,
Naming it if you wish to,
And letting it go as best you can,
Coming back to this next in-breath,
Without any judgment or evaluation,
Just taking your attention and arm and very,
Very gently walking it back to the feeling of this breath.
Breathing in,
I know I am breathing in.
Breathing out,
I know I am breathing out.
Letting go of distraction gently,
Forgiving ourselves for wandering,
And kindly beginning again,
Practicing being aware of your experience,
From moment to moment,
As best as you can,
And letting the sound of the bells signal the end of the practice,
And opening your eyes when you're ready.
