Awareness Of Breathing For Concentration & Focus

This awareness of breath meditation is in the style of MBSR as formulated by Jon Kabat-Zinn. It is useful for helping bring awareness back into somatic experience. It also can help develop concentration and focus. Many thanks to my teachers over the years, including David Potter of Palouse Mindfulness.

Transcript

Welcome.

In this meditation,

We'll be practicing with bringing our awareness to the physical sensations of breathing.

Our experience of breath is always in the present moment.

It's never in the past or in the future.

And so it can be a good anchor to help bring us back into this moment.

The meditation can be done in any posture at all,

Whether standing,

Sitting,

Or lying down.

You might consider finding a posture in which you can be comfortable,

But still remain alert.

As with all of these meditations,

The goal is the cultivation of gentle awareness,

Perhaps kind curiosity.

But no particular posture is the goal.

So you might take a moment and ask yourself,

What posture would be most appropriate for me right now?

As you're practicing,

You may experience any number of sensations,

Pleasant,

Unpleasant,

Or neutral.

If discomfort arises in the body,

Whether it's an uncomfortable feeling or an itch,

As long as it's not extreme,

You might try just noticing what the sensation is like without having to react to it.

But in this,

You must use your own wisdom.

This is not a practice in self-mortification.

We're learning to take care of ourselves.

And part of that care is in exploring,

With open,

Gentle curiosity,

Our experience in any moment.

And part of that care is learning to be patient with what arises.

But self-care is never self-harm.

Please be gentle with yourself and always err on the side of prudence.

I want to begin by inviting you to think of this meditation not as another thing you have to do.

Rather,

I encourage you to allow this to be a nourishing time,

A time set aside just for you to be by yourself and with yourself.

You deserve this.

You deserve your own kind and gentle attention.

I invite you to begin by taking three slow,

Deep breaths,

Perhaps really extending the length of the out-breath.

So breathing in and a long,

Slow exhale.

And breathing in and a long,

Slow exhale.

And last one in and a long,

Slow exhale.

And now just allowing the breath to return to whatever feels normal for you right now.

You might take a moment and check in.

Ask yourself,

How is it with me right now?

We often think that when we sit we have to rush in to doing something,

But really we can often be most skillful,

Even in our meditation,

By taking a moment and asking,

How am I right now?

You might notice a particular mood.

Perhaps say to yourself in a word or two what that mood might be.

Remember there's no need to tell a story about the mood or get lost in thoughts about it.

Just noticing what's here,

Being as open as possible to our current experience,

Because it's already here.

Now perhaps taking a moment to notice the support of whatever surface it is you're standing or sitting or lying on.

Noticing your body grounding into the support.

And when you're ready,

I invite you to gently turn your awareness inward and begin to notice the physical sensations of breathing in the body.

Where is it for you today that the breath feels most alive?

It might be that you notice the coolness of the in-breath and the warmth of the out-breath of the nostrils or in the throat.

Or perhaps for you today it's the rise and the fall of the chest or belly.

And perhaps the awareness is quite broad today and right now you're noticing the entire body as it rests here breathing.

Wherever it feels most alive for you,

I invite you to bring your awareness to that place or that field of sensation that is the breath in the body.

Noticing physical sensations of breathing.

And from time to time the mind might be distracted by inner or outer sensations.

Sounds from outside or thoughts or feelings inside the body.

None of this is a problem.

As soon as you've noticed that the mind has wandered,

That itself is a moment of awareness.

So if you can,

I invite you to celebrate that.

And then when you're ready,

See if it's okay to let go of the distraction and gently bring the awareness back to the physical sensations of breathing.

And you may notice from time to time that you might have a tendency to try to control the breathing.

And if that happens for you today,

I invite you to just notice it.

Maybe say to yourself controlling.

And see if it's possible to let go.

Just allow the breath to be as it naturally is.

See if it's possible to just allow it to continue in its natural rhythm without having to do anything about it.

Just let go.

Just this in-breath.

Just this out-breath.

You might find it helpful from time to time to gently remind yourself that you're not trying to get anywhere.

You're not trying to do anything in particular.

Practicing a mode of being.

What is it just like to be,

To not have to do?

You might ask the question,

What would it feel like in my body if there was no problem to solve right now?

Just let go.

And from time to time while practicing,

You might take a moment to check in with your body.

Notice if any tension has crept in.

And if you find that,

You might invite that tension to relax.

But it's okay if it's not ready to right now.

You may or may not relax as a result of any particular meditation practice.

But relaxation is not ultimately the goal.

The cultivation of gentle awareness,

Of kind curiosity,

And of self-wisdom.

Those are our goals.

And then when you're ready,

Ever so gently,

Bringing the awareness back to the physical sensations of breathing in the body.

Letting the quality of awareness be light and easy.

Simply observing and noticing.

Gently riding the waves of breath.

Gently riding the waves of breath.

Just this in-breath,

Just this out-breath.

And if the mind wanders a thousand times,

It's no problem.

A thousand times with as much gentleness and kind curiosity as possible.

A thousand times with as much gentleness and kind curiosity as possible.

A thousand times bring it back.

Your only job right now is to return the awareness over and over again to the physical sensations of breathing.

Breathing.

Noticing the gentle rise and fall of the breath in the body.

This constant cycle,

This easy rhythm.

You may notice how our mind has a tendency to form opinions.

How you might notice yourself liking or not liking how your practice is going right now.

And if you notice that that's come up for you,

It's no problem.

When you're ready,

You can just see if it's okay to gently let go of that opinion,

As you do with any distraction.

And gently,

With kindness and curiosity,

Bring the awareness back to the physical sensations of breathing in the body.

Part of the practice is developing the capacity to notice when we like or dislike something without having to do anything about it.

Just noticing,

Oh,

Liking,

Disliking,

Judging mind.

And when you're ready,

Gently let it go and bring the awareness back to the physical sensations of breathing.

Breathing.

And if,

While you're practicing intense bodily sensations,

Sensations should arise,

It's no problem.

Rather than reacting,

You might see if you can respond wisely to those sensations.

You might,

For example,

Allow your awareness to go to those parts of the body from which you feel the intense sensation.

And really notice what's there.

Perhaps bringing curiosity to any intensity,

And seeing if you can note in a word or two,

Not just pain,

But perhaps throbbing,

Or burning,

Or itching,

Or tightness.

See if you can bring some curiosity to the experience.

And you might see if it's possible to pause just for a moment within that intensity,

And just hold it with kindness.

If you do decide that it's appropriate for you to move the body,

I invite you to first form an intention to do something.

And then as you move,

Try to keep as much mindfulness in the body as possible as you shift or move your body,

Perhaps experimenting with seeing how quietly you can move your body.

And then when you're ready,

Gently settle back in.

Find your comfortable posture that allows you to remain alert.

And gently bring your awareness back to the physical sensations of breathing.

There's no need to judge or criticize in any way.

Your only job right now is to notice the activity of the mind,

And when necessary,

Gently bring it back to the physical sensations of breathing in the body.

Physical sensations of breathing in the body.

Once again,

You might take a moment to just notice if any tension has arisen in the body,

And if you find any,

Gently inviting it to relax.

And then when you're ready,

Bringing the awareness,

Kindness,

And curiosity back to the physical sensations of breathing.

Nothing to do but ride the waves of the breath,

Letting go of distractions,

Whether they're internal or external,

And gently coming back again to the physical sensations of breathing.

Just this moment,

Just this breath.

Just this moment,

Just this breath.

Notice this in-breath and this out-breath,

And this in-breath and this out-breath.

Noticing how each breath is a new opportunity to bring yourself back into the present moment,

And how each breath is a new opportunity to bring yourself back into the present moment,

And how each breath is a new opportunity to bring yourself back into the present moment.

A good meditation is the process of bringing yourself back into the present moment.

The process of bringing yourself back into the present moment is a process of bringing yourself back into the present moment.

A good meditation is not some 30-minute session without a single thought.

A good meditation is recognizing when the thoughts arise,

Noticing them,

Gently releasing them,

And coming back to the breath over and over again.

This is practice.

This is practice.

From time to time,

You may notice that a particular distraction is really taking the awareness from the breath.

It might be a sound,

Or it might be a very strong thought or emotion or physical sensation.

It's never a problem when this happens.

This is exactly what the mind does.

When you notice that the mind is really taken with a distraction,

You might just see what that's like.

What is it like when my awareness is really taken by this distraction?

Sometimes you can almost feel the pull.

Rather than tensing up and trying to force awareness back to the breath,

Instead,

Perhaps just resting for a moment with that new object of awareness,

Noticing what that's like,

And noticing,

Too,

How,

Like everything,

Eventually that distraction changes,

Fades in intensity,

And awareness will be ready to let it go and gently come back to the breath.

This is not failing.

This is learning to understand our awareness and how our mind works by practicing over and over again.

And if it feels right for you,

I now invite you to allow your awareness to expand,

To take in the entirety of the body.

The whole body is a field of sensation as it rests here breathing.

And you might perhaps notice in the body if there's any particular place where you feel pleasant sensations,

Perhaps in the hands or the feet,

Anywhere at all.

If you do notice even the slightest amount of pleasant sensation somewhere in the body,

See what it's like to allow your awareness to rest with that pleasant sensation,

Perhaps allowing the sensation to spread to take in the entire body,

Noticing pleasant sensations.

What's this like?

If that's not right for you right now,

You're always welcome to allow your awareness to rest with a smaller portion of the breath.

Whatever is most appropriate for you right now.

And as this meditation comes to an end,

I invite you to perhaps gently wiggle fingers and toes,

Take any movements that feel good,

Stretch it out maybe.

If your eyes have been closed,

You might gently open them,

Softly,

Slowly reestablishing connection with the world outside your body.

And I hope you can take a moment to congratulate yourself for having taken the time to do this work.

It's not always easy,

But it is important,

Learning to cultivate this ability to hold whatever comes your way with kindness and gentle curiosity,

With patience,

Non-judgmental awareness.

Thank you.

Reviews

simple, to the point, gentle. I like it to go back to the simple part of meditation

Cultivating my curious awareness —so good. This helps me lasso my imagination and let it enjoy each precious “now moment.” Being ADD (before teachers & Media knew about this), my mind skips around wildly at times. I’m grateful I became a veracious reader at an early age. Cultivate was one of the first audios I encountered on InsightTimer. Meditation, especially body scans, are so wondrous in my ability to live in the present.

Thank you so very much for this gift 🙃🎈

Very supportive, simple & spacious, thankyou 🌸

Unobtrusive guiding that helped my focus .

My therapist told me to seek out some work by Jon Kabbat-Zinn, and this was perfect. Thank you!

I appreciated the "its ok" if your mind wanders because that is awareness. Her voice calmed my soul.