Welcome to this 10-minute mindful awareness of the breath meditation.
Bringing yourself into a supported posture that allows for wakefulness and attention.
Bringing yourself this time to focus the mind,
Calm the body,
And connect with this present moment.
Mindfulness meditation offers us a break in the rush of our daily lives,
Allowing us time to reflect on and experience the joy of simply being.
Nowhere to go,
Nothing else to do,
But simply be here.
Becoming aware of the body however it is positioned in this moment.
Realizing perhaps for the first time today that you're breathing.
Feeling the entire body expand and soften on the inhale and the exhale.
Having a sense of the body as a whole,
Resting here in this moment.
Tuning into points of contact the body may be making with a chair,
The floor,
Or a cushion.
You may notice from time to time that your attention strays,
Pulled by thoughts or sound,
Planning,
Memories.
When you notice this,
Kindly and gently escort your attention back to the breath.
Moving attention now to a sense of the movement of the breath at the belly.
Feeling the belly expand and soften with each inhale and exhale.
Noticing the chest as it moves with the breath when the lungs are inhaling and expanding and exhaling and softening.
Moving attention now to feeling the breath at the nose.
Feeling the flow of air in and out through the nostrils.
Belly cooler on the inhale and warmer and moister on the exhale.
Following the cycle of the breath,
Breathing in and breathing out.
Slowing with each inhale and exhale.
Knowing that you're breathing in and knowing that you're breathing out.
Bringing a sense of curiosity to the breath.
What will this breath feel like in my body?
Beautiful or shallow,
Smooth or rough.
Noticing again if the attention has moved away from this breath and coming back over and over again.
Noticing and returning is the practice of mindfulness.
Following the complete cycle of the breath,
The full inhale,
Followed by a short pause before the exhale and a pause again before the next inhale begins.
Breathing in.
Breathing out.
Remembering as we practice and even when we are done with this practice that as long as we are breathing,
There is more right with us than there is wrong.