Welcome to this mindfulness of breath meditation,
Which will take around 20 minutes.
Start by switching off any electronic devices and making sure you won't be interrupted.
Then sit comfortably on a meditation cushion or straight back chair.
Let yourself be relaxed and at ease.
If you're sitting on a chair,
It's helpful if your posture is upright without being stiff,
With your feet flat on the floor and hands resting on your legs or in your lap.
If you're on a cushion,
Take a moment to make sure you're comfortable and that your buttocks,
Knees and feet are all supported.
Especially when we sit for longer periods,
Being comfortable is important,
So you don't get distracted by creaky knees or an aching back.
Close your eyes if that feels comfortable to you,
Or lower your gaze and soften your focus.
Start by letting your attention gravitate to the sounds that are all around you.
You don't need to go searching for sounds,
Just let them come to you.
Immerse yourself in the richness of the soundscape that is always in the background,
Even if we don't often notice it.
Pay attention to every sound,
Both the small,
Quiet,
Subtle sounds and louder,
More vivid ones.
Just notice these sounds without judging them,
If you can.
Now shift your attention to explore your body.
Imagine that your attention is like the white beam of a spotlight and consciously move that beam around your whole body.
Notice the points where your body makes contact with the cushion,
Chair or floor,
The weight of your arms and hands resting in your lap.
As you're scanning your body,
You may notice areas of tightness,
Tension or discomfort.
As your spotlight lands on these areas,
See if you can allow them to soften and relax.
Nowhere to be right now,
Nothing to do,
You're just breathing.
Now shift that beam of attention onto the breath.
In mindfulness meditation,
We don't try to change the breath at all,
Making it slower,
Deeper,
Faster or anything else.
Instead you're just noticing,
Perhaps for the first time today,
That your body is breathing.
And this is one of the many miraculous things your body does for you all the time.
Pumping blood around your body,
Bringing air into and out of your lungs,
Digesting food,
Excreting waste,
Regenerating tissue and cells.
All of these marvellous life-giving processes happening every second of every day of your life,
Without any conscious effort from you.
So just settle on one place in your body,
Like your chest or abdomen,
As they gently rise and expand with the in-breath,
Then contract and fall away with the out-breath.
Or focus on the tip of your nostrils,
Slightly cooler on the in-breath and warmer on the out-breath.
Wherever your attention settles,
It's a good idea to stay with this place for the whole meditation.
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Of course,
As we try to focus on the breath,
We start to realise that this apparently simple task is not so simple or easy.
Your mind,
Like mine and everybody else's,
Is constantly busy,
Thoughts scurrying here and there,
Thinking,
Worrying,
Planning,
Strategising,
Daydreaming,
Fantasising,
Remembering.
And it's important to understand that none of these thoughts are bad or wrong in any way.
In fact,
Thinking is a wonderful,
Miraculous thing,
Which is fundamentally part of being human.
So if you notice your mind being busy,
Don't worry about it,
This is just what minds do.
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Every time you notice that your attention has been pulled away from the breath,
Just gently bring it back.
It's like leading a toddler up a path.
They walk forwards for a bit,
Then get distracted and wander off,
Fascinated by an insect or a flower.
Then you gently guide them back to the path,
Where they move forwards for a bit before wandering off again.
So once more you delicately escort them back to the path.
So it is with the breath.
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If this happens one time or one hundred times in each meditation,
It's always the same.
Just notice that your mind has wandered off the path and gently guide it back to the breath.
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And from time to time,
Just check in on your posture.
If you feel a bit slumpy or stiff,
Just adjust your body accordingly.
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