Brief Mindfulness Practice

This is a brief mindfulness of breath practice - utterly classic structure and content. As perfect for beginners as it is for experienced meditators who want a change of pace from self-directed practice.

Transcript

Sit upright in your chair, Not to attention, Not stiff in any way, But with a posture that sends your brain a clear signal that you intend to be attentive over the next few minutes of this practice. Put your feet flat on the ground and rest your hands palms down on your lap. Begin by allowing your eyes to close gently. If this is uncomfortable for you then simply let your gaze settle on a spot on the floor, Perhaps a metre or two in front of you with a soft relaxed focus. Begin to settle a little more by taking three deep but comfortable breaths allowing the in-breath to be slower than usual and the out-breath to be longer than the in-breath. As you settle into the natural rhythm of your breath be aware that it's quite likely that throughout this short practice you will hear sounds inside and outside the room you're practicing in and that's okay. Don't think of them as distractions because they're not. They won't affect the quality of the practice at all. It's quite normal that life goes on around us even when we stop to sit and breathe. Allow yourself to be okay with these noises. So continue with those nice gentle breaths where the out-breath is a little bit longer than the in-breath in the silence that's coming up. You may already have begun to notice that your mind has started to wander jumping from thought to thought. That's what minds do and that's normal. Don't worry about it. Gently guide your attention, Your focus to your stomach and your chest. As you breathe in follow that breath noticing your chest and abdomen rise as you breathe in and notice them fall as you breathe out. So following the breath in by noticing the chest and abdomen rise and the breath out as the chest and abdomen fall over the next few seconds of silence. Simply continuing in a relaxed way with no pressure and no great effort to notice the breath going in and out with the rising and falling of the chest and the abdomen. This is the practice, Nothing more complicated. At some stage you'll notice that your mind has wandered and you're no longer paying attention to the breath and that's okay. Minds wander, That's normal. When you notice you're no longer paying attention to the breath just allow the word distracted to come up in your mind and then gently but firmly return your attention to the breath going in and out and carry on. This is the whole practice, Noticing distractions. Every time you notice you've been distracted you've just become a little more mindful. So as many times as you get distracted simply return your attention to the breath and carry on. So in the next period of silence just continue to notice the breath going in and out and when you become distracted noticing that and gently but firmly returning the attention back to noticing the breath going in and going out. Breathing in, I know I'm breathing in. Breathing out, I know I'm breathing out. Anytime your mind wanders when you notice you're not paying attention to the breath gently guide your attention back to the breath. Each time you notice a distraction it's a sign that your practice is getting better. You're becoming more mindful, More attentive and more focused. So continuing to notice the breath, Notice distractions, Return to the breath and the silence is coming up. Let go of any expectations or judgements you have of your practice. Just sit and breathe. There's nothing else you need to do, Nowhere you need to be. No results you need to get or no goal to achieve. Simply noticing your breath. Breathing in, I know I'm breathing in. Breathing out, I know I'm breathing out. Learn to be comfortable in the stillness, In the silence. Allow yourself to become aware of what it's like to stop doing and just be. What it's like to just sit and breathe. In a moment a bell will ring. When it does, Allow your attention to come off your breath and rest on the sound of the bell as it begins to slowly fade to zero. And as it fades, Allow yourself to gently return yourself to the room where you're practicing with one or two relaxing breaths. And as you finish up the practice, Set an intention to bring some of the calm from this session out into the world with you when you finish. And then go on with your life. Are you ready?