Mindful Leader: Basic Attention Practice

This is a brief mindful attention practice aimed at people completing the Genos Mindful Leader program with Deiric McCann, but suitable for anyone looking for a basic attention practice. You are invited to a place of presence and stillness where you will cultivate a greater state of focus.

Transcript

This is our core practice for developing focused attention.

And to do that we use attention to the breath.

Start by sitting in a posture that suggests your intention to remain alert but relaxed throughout this practice.

So sit up straight,

Not stiffly,

And sit as if your head has been gently pulled upright by an invisible cable.

Allow your spine to lift but allow your shoulders to relax.

You should be upright but relaxed.

You can put your hands wherever they feel most comfortable for you,

In your lap or on your thighs,

Relaxed and ideally symmetrical.

Place your feet flat on the floor,

Your legs uncrossed and relaxed.

For this practice you may choose to close your eyes or to keep them slightly open with a soft focus,

Looking downward somewhere a few feet in front of you.

So let's begin with taking six slow breaths.

And as we learned previously,

The aim here is to relax and not get over anxious about the breathing,

But to just bring some attention to making the exhale longer than the inhale to trigger the parasympathetic nervous system.

So as you breathe in,

Count.

At the top of your in-breath,

Take a single count,

Then breathe out.

And as you breathe out,

Extend the count on the exhale so that the exhale becomes longer than the inhale.

At the end of the exhale,

Take a beat,

A single count and begin it again.

So I'm going to give you a few minutes to take some breaths in this fashion and just to settle into the practice.

Don't focus too much on the breath,

Just relax into it.

It's just nice,

Slow breathing.

And the only thing you need to remember is keep the out-breath longer than the in-breath.

So let's take a few minutes to do that right now,

Quietly.

After that,

Let's start with thatok disturb habit.

You you Remember as you continue to breathe You don't want to work too hard at this Just keep the breath nice and smooth and steady Don't overdo it Keep the in breath steady in a beat at the top And then the out breath a count longer a few counts longer than the in breath And Now as you finish the next exhale Just very gently bring your attention to your feet Just notice your feet on the floor You don't want to visualize them You just want to notice and reach out with your attention to notice what's going on there.

Are there any sensations?

Is there a hot or a cold tingling pulsing?

Just be aware of your feet a relaxed attention don't strain don't over focus just bring your attention to them and Notice what's going on there as we learned in the previous recordings and on the mindful leader program So take a moment just to bring your attention to your feet quietly just noticing what's going on there?

And Now releasing your attention from the feet Just scan your attention up a little bit to your behind on the chair bring your attention to your seat What do you notice here?

What's there to be noticed are there any sensations if there are no sensations notice that?

Just bring your attention to whatever is going on There's no right experience.

There's no need to be looking for any special experience.

Just notice what's going on Maybe notice where your thighs are in touch with the chair Where the cloth of your clothing is touching your legs anything there is to notice just sit with that and pay attention to it Pay attention to it for the next 30 seconds Now gently releasing the attention to your seat and your feet bring your attention lightly to your breath You've been breathing this whole time But because you've been paying attention to your seat and your feet you may not have noticed that process going on Now you just want to observe it.

You don't want to control it.

You don't want to take it over You just want to notice what's going on as it goes about its business as it has every day since you were born and will Every day until you die.

Just notice the breath going in and out Bring attention to wherever that breath is most noticeable Some people notice it in the movement of the abdomen or the chest as you breathe in and out Others notice at the tip of the nose that the breath going in is a little cooler than it is as it exits Wherever it's easiest for you to be aware of your breath flowing in and out of your body That's where you rest your attention And rest the attention don't focus it don't clamp on Your attention should be as light as a as a butterfly landing on your arm your attention to the breath is not To interfere with it just to pay attention to it So you can explore just noticing the breath noticing the inhale as it goes in the exhale as it leaves Maybe notice the sensation of the breath at the tip of your nostrils slightly warmer on the way out than it is on the way in Slightly warmer on the way out than it is on the way in And when you lose attention to breath and you will many times during your practice just simply notice that And then gently but deliberately return the attention to the breath it's not a failure in fact every time that you notice that you've lost attention to the breath You've just strengthened your faculty of attention so be thankful but just gently return back to the practice and continue to watch the breath And if you lose attention a thousand times during the practice just return it gently without judging yourself without feeling it's a failure return it gently to the breath and carry on Sometimes you may find yourself becoming excessively engaged with the breath and it becomes unnaturally heavy or light or mechanical This is not a breathing practice it's an observation practice it's about noticing so just let your breath do what it wants to do and just notice its passage in and out Thoughts will come and thoughts will go just notice them come and go there's no need to push them away or wrangle with them nor do you want to engage with them or follow them If a thought comes along notice the thought as if it was a cloud moving across the sky and then just return to what you were focused upon your breath You just want to be here right here right now Some people find it useful to count the breaths you might want to count an exhale and an inhale as a pair as one and count them up to ten gently without becoming excessively focused And when you find you've lost the count just start again and remember it's a victory when you notice you've lost attention or lost the breath you've just moved your faculty of attention forward a little bit So let's just now sit quietly for two minutes just making the minimum effort necessary to be present to notice the body and the breath and noticing what comes and goes what thoughts or what distractions come and go but always returning to the breath So let's just now sit quietly for two minutes just making the minimum effort necessary to be present to notice the body and the breathing And gently opening your eyes fully,

Returning awareness to the room,

Stretching in any way that you would like,

And carry on with your day.

Reviews

I really like the way your guide to the simple awareness and focus can be redirected. Thank you.

Supportive, factual and encouraging

Excellent guide.

I'm happy to give a five star review. This is a good meditation that I will bookmark and do again.

try this each one

Very straightforward, basic, warm, welcoming and instructive. Want to learn more from him.

Nice intro practice

Excellent, pace, volume, content.

Very nice guided meditation. Thank you!

Gentle soothing voice