Take a few moments to get comfortable.
Of the body.
There will be parts that feel loose and parts that feel tight.
Using this feedback,
See if you can gently relax the parts which are tight without trying to relax them.
Just let go to whatever degree you are able.
We can use the breath as a tool here.
Many teachers,
Both meditation teachers and yoga teachers,
Speak about breathing into certain parts of the body.
Well,
Of course,
It's only possible to breathe into your lungs.
What these teachers mean is that the breath actually involves quite a lot of movement.
And that if we're tight in certain areas of the body,
Excluding the limbs of course,
Then by breathing deeply,
We can identify and help ourselves to let go of any tensions.
So let's use a few deep breaths to explore this.
Explore breathing as naturally as possible.
What's the least you can do to take a deep breath?
Let's take a deep breath.
When you've done these few deep breaths,
Regardless of whether or not you were able to relax at all,
There's an interesting assessment that you can make here regarding how to direct your practice.
This can be addressed in the form of a question.
Were those deep breaths leading to insight about the body?
Or were those deep breaths leading to insight about the breath?
Those deep breaths may even have been leading to insight about the mind.
If the answer is yes to any of those questions,
Then it's a good idea to continue with deep breaths.
But an opposite example of what might have occurred with those deep breaths is that there may have been some dissatisfaction.
It is of course worth noticing this dissatisfaction,
And that can very well be its own insight.
But it's possible that we can feel that deep breaths might be overly effortful,
Or like they're not leading to any valuable observation.
This would be a time to not continue with those deep breaths,
And take your investigation in some other direction.
Assuming you're not following some prescribed method of practice,
Moments of choice like the one I've just described,
Will present themselves many times inside of one sit.
And what we want to do is use discernment to move in the direction of insight.
Curiosity is something which is not often spoken about in mindfulness practice,
But it's vitally important to the practice of anything.
Curiosity is rocket fuel for the learning mind.
So,
What are you curious about right now with regard to your practice?
You might be curious about the body.
This includes the breath.
You might be curious about emotions.
You might be curious about the nature of mind,
Or the mechanics,
The workings of the mind.
You might be curious about thoughts,
Memories,
Imaginings.
These are the four areas of investigation that the Buddha laid down in the Anapanasati sutta.
We take all four with us everywhere we go.
In each moment,
There is the potential to experience some bodily sensation,
Some emotion,
Some characteristic or mechanic of mind,
Or some mental object.
The sixteen steps of the method of Anapanasati are often taught in a linear fashion.
That is,
We practice step one,
Then we practice step two,
Then we practice step three,
And so on.
But actually,
These sixteen steps of Anapanasati are better practiced like freestyle dance,
Meaning the steps can be performed in any order.
Whatever is going on in the present moment,
Including your curiosity,
Tells us which step to perform.
In one moment,
I experience some bodily sensation,
And I investigate it.
What is it like?
Does it have a location?
In what ways is it changing?
If I ask myself whether I have any thoughts or feelings about this bodily sensation,
Then I ve just taken another step in the dance.
Perhaps I find the bodily sensation pleasant,
Or perhaps I m in resistance to this bodily sensation.
Now I m investigating dissatisfaction.
In this way,
Using curiosity to design your practice,
Practice becomes infinitely interesting.
When practice is interesting,
It s enjoyable.
When practice is enjoyable,
We wish to practice more.
When we wish to practice more,
We can end up practicing a lot.
When we practice a lot,
We develop skills and gain insight.
When we gain insight,
We become free.
May we all be curious.
May we all enjoy our practice.
May we all develop skills and gain insight.
May we all be free.
