Let's start again.
This is a daily Vipassana practice in the style taught at Goenka's 10-day silent retreats,
Which dates back 2,
000 years to the Buddha.
I'm Dani Fankhauser,
And I'll be your guide.
You can sit with your legs crossed or on your knees on the ground,
Maybe on a blanket or a yoga block,
Or you can also sit in a chair.
Just find a seated position that allows you to remain still with your eyes closed.
Whether you are a beginner or advanced in this method,
Follow my verbal cues and progress as you see fit.
We'll start with awareness of breath.
So just start to notice your breathing.
Notice what part of the body you feel the air coming into.
Maybe you feel some expansion in your belly,
Or maybe you feel the close against your chest.
As you draw your breath in,
You might find some movement in your shoulders.
So we're connecting to our breath through our body.
And now narrow your focus to your nose.
See if you can feel your breath,
Noticing which nostril you feel your breath through.
Maybe the left side,
Maybe the right side,
Or maybe through both.
And if you don't feel your breath there in your nostrils,
Do a few harder out-breaths until you can feel the breath.
And then once you've tuned in,
Continue following the breath,
Feeling that sensation as the breath comes in through your nostrils and as it releases.
And so we don't need to change or judge the breath here,
But just notice it.
And as your breathing slows,
It might become less noticeable.
So if you lose the breath,
Just do a few of those harder out-breaths to find the breath again.
If you find that your mind becomes distracted,
Give yourself the utmost compassion and come back to the breath.
Meditation is not a performance.
It's a practice.
So come to it with both patience and persistence.
If you find this awareness of the breath to be a good challenge,
Continue following the breath until the end of the recording.
If you'd like to progress,
We'll move on to tracking sensations.
So there are sensations happening all over our bodies every day.
There's blood flowing,
There's chemicals releasing,
Cells dividing,
Reproducing.
Our mind usually ignores these,
But when we get really still,
We can learn to tune in.
So let's narrow the focus again.
Bring your awareness just to your upper lip area,
Right under your nose.
So you might feel a tickle of air against your upper lip on the out-breath.
You might feel a tingle or some pressure,
Some warmth or some cooling.
You might also feel nothing.
But still,
Simply rest your attention on this area,
Just like you're watching for a train and you're not sure what time it will come.
Keep observing and stay alert.
Some other memories or thoughts may come up.
If they do,
If they do,
Simply return to the upper lip.
And if you do feel a sensation,
Be curious.
There's no need to label it,
But notice the intensity,
The texture,
Or the shape of it.
And notice how long it stays.
Anicca is a concept that reminds us that everything changes and everything is impermanent.
If you don't like something,
You can know that it will pass.
And if you do like something,
You know that it will also pass.
And by knowing that instead of fear of losing it,
You're able to enjoy the moment.
So as you notice sensations or lack of sensations,
Don't judge this as good or bad,
But just observe.
If you'd like,
You can continue noticing sensations on your upper lip or move on to the body scan.
So we'll take our practice observation of the upper lip and now scan for sensations starting at the top of the head and moving all the way down to the soles of the feet.
Some sensations will feel nice.
Some will be uncomfortable.
And in some areas of the body,
You may feel nothing at all.
And these don't have to be fancy sensations.
It's just really anything that you feel.
It could be the touch of clothing against your skin,
Or it could be soreness from the arrangement of your legs.
But whatever you find,
Choose equanimity.
So equanimity is a state of being with what is,
With noticing and accepting.
So we'll notice,
Accept,
And then move on to the next area.
I'll guide you through the first round.
So go ahead and bring your awareness to the top of your head and notice what you feel.
Any of that warmth,
Tingling,
Any pressure,
Just noticing on the outer layer.
And start to move down your face,
Down the back of your head.
And as your awareness moves,
Notice any sensations,
Any feelings in your nose,
Your lips,
Your chin,
The back of your skull.
And come down to your neck and scanning down the front of your neck,
Your throat,
And scanning down the back of your neck.
Notice any tightness,
Any warmth,
Any sensations at all.
Notice them,
Accept them,
And keep moving.
Coming down to your shoulders,
The tops of your shoulders,
Your shoulder blades,
And coming down off of your shoulders to your upper arms,
Noticing any sensation,
Any feeling,
Any touch of clothing against your skin,
Any tightness or heaviness.
And come down your upper arms to your elbows,
And now down to your lower arms,
Pausing,
Noticing any sensations.
And come through your wrists,
Into your hands,
Checking your palms,
Checking the backs of your hands,
And coming all the way down into your fingers and out to your fingertips.
And if you notice a sensation,
Simply being aware of it and then moving along.
We'll come back up to our chest and our upper back,
Scanning both the front and the back of the body at the same time.
So pausing here in the chest area and the upper back,
Noticing sensations or noticing the lack of sensations,
Any tightness,
Any heaviness,
Any warmth,
And moving down your chest,
Down to the middle of your torso,
Your upper ribs,
And to the middle of your back,
And also scanning around the sides of your torso.
Notice any touch of clothing,
Any tickle,
Any warmth,
And continue down,
Down to your belly,
Down to your low back,
And around the sides of your torso,
Checking in,
Noticing any tightness,
Any pain,
And continue down to your hips,
Following the shape of your hips,
Checking in and noticing any sensations you feel here.
And come down into your thighs,
To the backs of your legs,
The front of your legs,
Checking in for any sensations you feel,
And come down to the knees and down to the lower legs,
Letting your awareness scan down your lower legs,
Noticing anything that you feel,
And checking in with your ankles,
And continuing down to your feet,
The tops of your feet,
Around your heels,
The soles of your feet,
And all the way to your toes.
And now continue the scan on your own,
Moving in reverse,
Starting with your feet,
And following your body up to the crown of your head,
Pausing for a moment on each body part to notice sensations,
And then moving right along.
Once you get to the crown of your head,
Move right into another body scan.
You can go at your own pace,
Spending longer with some body parts to check in,
Or if you find sensations in each region,
You can move smoothly from the top of the head down to the feet and back up.
And remember to practice with patience and persistence.
You are training your mind to be free from suffering.
I will give you some time to practice the body scan and lead you out at the end.
As we come to a close,
We can extend the freedom we've cultivated in ourselves to others with a practice called MEDDHA.
If your legs are in an uncomfortable position,
You may move them now.
But keep your eyes closed and stay connected to the meditation.
And now repeat these words in your mind,
Or let the words vibrate through you.
May all beings be happy and free.
May all beings be happy and free.
May all beings be happy and free.
Our meditation is now complete.
