Awareness of breath practice.
So finding a way to sit that is comfortable for you and in that posture finding a sense of balance and support.
Sitting so that the sit bones are underneath you,
Shoulders soft and moving down,
Chin tucked gently towards the chest so that the back of the neck can lengthen slightly.
Softening the jaw,
Closing the eyes if that feels comfortable.
Feeling present with your posture.
And feeling into all the sensations of sitting.
Pressure from the chair or cushions.
Pressure of parts of your body touching the floor.
Feeling the touch of clothes against your skin.
Temperature of the air.
And now turning your attention to the process of breathing.
Feeling where your attention is drawn in order to sense the breath.
Perhaps at the nostrils.
Maybe you can sense slightly cooler air as you breathe in.
Maybe warmer as you breathe out.
Or perhaps noticing a rising of the chest area with each inhalation.
A falling of the chest with each exhalation.
Feeling the expansion in the lungs as you breathe in.
And a releasing sensation as you breathe out.
Or maybe you notice the movement of the breath in your belly.
Feeling a slight increase in pressure as you're breathing in.
Releasing of pressure in the belly as you breathe out.
So wherever you notice the breath most strongly.
Simply allowing the attention to settle in that place.
And we're also opening to this breath which is already here of its own accord.
So we don't have to do anything in particular or breathe in a certain way.
We're practising being present with this breath just as it is.
Whether it be shallow or deep.
Constricted.
Easy.
Fast or slow.
Testing our attention in the changing physical sensations of each breath.
Following all the small movements of each inhalation.
Including the small pause where the breath turns around becomes an exhalation.
Then following all the moments of the exhalation.
And again being present for the spaces between breaths.
As you attend to the breath you may notice that there are thoughts arising or feelings arising.
Perhaps about the breath or other things.
Simply bringing your attention back to the direct physical sensations of this breath.
And opening to this breath.
Each breath a new expression of rising and falling.
Of entering and leaving.
Each new breath appearing and disappearing.
And each time the mind wanders to other things whether it be thoughts,
Feelings,
Sounds.
Noticing that and bringing the attention back again to this breath.
Seeing being present with the breath just as it is.
Sometimes you attend to the breath perhaps noticing if and when the quality of the breath changes.
And remembering that the intention of this practice is not to get anywhere or feel anything in particular.
Even relaxation.
Just simply allowing yourself to be with this breath as it arises.
To feel the sensations of it arising and passing away.
And we are not necessarily thinking about or visualising the breath but actually sensing the movement of the breath in and out of the body.
Regardless of whether it feels pleasant,
Unpleasant or neutral.
And when your mind wanders as the mind tends to do.
Simply noticing where it has wandered to.
Each moment you notice the mind has wandered is a moment of awareness,
Of mindfulness.
Again and again allowing the breath to be in the forefront of your attention.
Being accepting of each moment as it arises,
Unfolds,
Passes away.
Coming back again and again to this present moment of this breath.
And we are not necessarily thinking about or visualising the breath.
You
