This week,
We turn to mindfulness of the breath,
But with some options.
You can continue to focus your attention on the sensations of the breath at the nostrils.
But this week,
You can also choose instead to focus on mindfulness of the breath at your stomach,
Or you can watch the full flow of the breath.
And this for you might be starting at the stomach and then rising through the diaphragm,
And perhaps your exhale continues to be from the nostrils.
So just follow the full flow,
All of the sensations of the breath as they manifest throughout the body.
And with that,
Let's get started.
Please begin by finding a comfortable seat with your back a little bit straighter than it normally might be,
But still feeling comfortable.
And you do want to think about your head as being evenly perched atop your neck.
So not having your head tilted back or forward,
But facing evenly up to the ceiling or the sky.
And for this meditation,
You can either close your eyes as I usually do,
Or you're always invited to keep your eyes open,
But with a soft gaze,
Perhaps a half to a third to maybe even two thirds shut,
Looking just ahead of you.
And now I invite you to find the breath.
This week,
You can find the breath once again at the nostrils.
And with this,
See if you can find an even more discreet part of the nostrils.
See if you can notice the flow of the breath,
Specifically just as the breath comes into and out of the nostrils.
But if you prefer,
You can choose to find the breath at the stomach.
And if you do this,
You can actually choose,
If you want,
To place your hands on your stomach.
And when you do this,
You'll notice that as you inhale,
Your hands move a bit further away from you.
And then with each exhale,
Your hands will move closer to you.
Or you can choose to follow the full flow of the breath and see what impact the breath has on any and all parts of the body.
You will probably especially notice the breath at the stomach,
And then perhaps you'll follow it as it flows up through the diaphragm.
And then perhaps you may find the breath at the nostrils once again as you exhale.
But just follow the full flow,
The full breath,
So to speak,
Of each breath.
And so find your point of focus here.
And as we did last week,
Allow yourself to notice any distraction that comes up.
It might be sounds in your environment.
It might be thoughts,
One or a thousand.
But just smile to yourself once again,
Knowing that any distraction that comes up is mindfulness.
It's mindfulness that you are noticing this.
But then use the freedom and the mindfulness that we're carving out in our minds together to let that thought,
Any distraction,
Just float or sail away.
And then choose with mindfulness and perhaps a smile to return your focus.
Remember the gift of your attention back to the sensations of the breath.
Each breath,
Each inhale and each exhale is an invitation and an opportunity to return.
And we approach each moment of this meditation with a beginner's mind.
A childlike curiosity about the sensations of the breath,
As if this were the first breath we ever experienced in our lives.
What are the sensations of an inhale?
And what are all of the sensations that I can notice and bring my awareness to with each moment of the exhale?
See if you can notice that moment of transition when the inhale turns over and becomes the exhale.
And see if you can notice the sliver of a moment at the end of an exhale just before you take in that next sip of breath with the inhale.
Just notice each discrete moment of the breath,
This moment,
And then this moment again,
And this moment too.
You can think about diving into all of the sensations of the breath.
And if you lose focus,
Just start again with a smile,
Always with gentleness for yourself.
Be kind to yourself,
Even during this meditation.
Allow yourself to hold a relaxed alertness,
A relaxed focus on the sensations of the breath.
Simply return to the sensations of the breath.
See if you can hold your focus on an entire inhale or an entire exhale.
Or see if you can hold your attention,
Your focus on an entire inhale and still hold that attention on the entire exhale.
Each moment,
A new opportunity to try again.
And when you're ready,
You can open your eyes,
Can stretch your arms and your legs if that feels nice,
And enjoy this second week of mindfulness of the breathing body.
