Finding a comfortable position for this awareness of breath meditation.
Perhaps sitting in a chair with both feet flat on the floor or on a cushion.
Taking a position that embodies an intention of being awake and alert,
Yet relaxed.
And I invite you to close your eyes if that feels comfortable.
Otherwise just lower the gaze and soften the focus.
And shifting your attention to notice any sensations where the floor or what is supporting you is making contact with your body.
Perhaps noticing pressure or tingling.
Perhaps warmth or coolness.
Or nothing at all,
That's perfectly fine.
Or just noticing what sensations are here in this moment.
And I invite you to shift your attention to where you feel the body breathing most prominently.
This might be the air moving in and out of your nose.
But it could also be the sensations associated with the rising and falling of your chest and abdomen.
Wherever this is for you it's perfectly fine.
If you have any trouble noticing this spot for you it's okay to take two or three more intentional deeper breaths just to get an idea of where this location is for you.
Once you've found it,
Releasing any impulse to control or change your breathing.
This isn't a breathing exercise.
This is an exercise in attention and awareness.
So noticing the sensations for the full duration of each in-breath and the full duration of each out-breath.
After a few moments you might find that your mind gets caught up in a thought or a judgment,
Perhaps a judgment about what you're doing now.
Or a thought about what you need to be doing later.
When this happens it's not a mistake.
Just acknowledge what your mind got caught in and gently escort your attention back to the sensations of breathing.
Noticing sensations as the breath moves into the body.
And noticing the sensations as the breath leaves the body.
Noticing if your mind gets caught up in a thought or is pulled away by an emotion.
And acknowledging what your mind got caught in.
And bringing your attention back to the sensations of each in-breath and each out-breath.
And this mind wandering will happen again and again.
So if you find your mind getting lost in thought fifty times,
A hundred times,
Or a thousand times.
Acknowledging what your mind got caught in and escorting your attention back to the breath just as many times.
This is the practice.
Where is your mind now?
Where is your mind now?
Where is your mind now?
Sometimes sounds can pull us away and set off a set of associations.
When this happens this too is not a mistake.
When you notice it,
Simply acknowledge what happened and gently escort your attention back to the breath.
This is the practice.
Noticing the sensations for the full duration of each in-breath,
The sensations for the full duration of each out-breath,
And perhaps even noticing that small space between the in and out-breath.
And congratulating yourself for taking this time to nurture yourself in this way and for learning to use the breath as an anchor to bring your attention back into the present sight.
