Mindfulness Classics: 30 Minute Sitting Practice

In this 30-minute sitting practice, we move our attention from resting with the breath to cultivating awareness of the body and finally observing the presence of sounds around us. This practice guides us in developing both focused and open attention.

Transcript

Let's begin by adopting a sitting posture on a chair or on the floor.

Allowing your posture to be stable.

Sitting up tall and wakeful.

Relaxing the shoulders and resting the hands on the lap.

Taking a few moments now to become aware of what is present for you right now.

You might notice sounds around you.

Perhaps lingering in the mind.

Emotions arising and changing.

Parts of the body calling for your attention.

Allowing the present experience to be just the way it is.

One moment at a time.

Simply acknowledging what is here for you.

When you're ready,

Gently bring your attention to this body.

Sitting here.

Breathing in and breathing out.

How do you know that you're breathing?

Which parts of the body tell you that you're breathing right now?

Directing your attention to the part of the body where you best sense the breath.

You might bring your attention to the nose area.

Becoming aware of the air flowing in and out through the nostrils.

Notice the air flowing into the nostrils.

Traveling down the back of the throat and into the lungs.

And notice how the breath leaves the body through the nose.

You might also pay attention to the touch of the breath just under the nose and above the upper lip.

Notice the temperatures of the breath.

Is there coolness?

Is there warmth or heat?

You might rest your attention on the movements of the breath in the body.

At the shoulders or the chest area.

Seeing this part of the body rising as you breathe in.

Falling as you breathe out.

Or paying attention to the belly area.

As you breathe in,

Notice the belly expanding.

As you breathe out,

Notice the belly releasing.

Just allowing the attention to follow the movements of the breath in the body.

Notice if there is a tendency to want to change or control the breath.

And explore the possibility of just allowing the breath to be the way it is in each moment.

So if the breath is deep,

Just allow it to be deep.

If the breath is shallow,

Just allow it to be shallow.

From time to time,

The attention may get distracted or wander off to thoughts.

When that happens,

Gently invite the attention back to the breath in the body.

One inhalation at a time.

One exhalation at a time.

Adding gentleness to every breath.

There is nothing you need to do to the breath.

Simply know that you're breathing in each moment.

Total awareness of every breath.

Bringing the breath all the way in and all the way out.

If the mind drifts away again,

Simply escort the attention back to the breath in the body.

One breath at a time.

When you're ready,

Gently softening and widening your attention to the entire body in this sitting posture.

Having a sense of the body's overall shape and size and how it's simply resting in this stillness.

Exhaling to the body one moment at a time.

Are there any physical sensations present in the body?

Notice the space around the body in contact with the skin.

Notice their temperature in the air.

Becoming aware of the touch of the clothing on the body.

Notice the contact that the body is making with the chair and the floor.

Paying attention to where the hands are placed.

What physical sensations are arising or changing within the framework of this body from moment to moment?

You might notice sensations of temperature,

Coolness or warmth.

You might notice sensations of weight,

Heaviness or lightness.

You might also notice sensations of pressure,

Tightness or tension,

Looseness or relaxness.

Notice other sensations like pulsing or tingling in the body.

Paying attention to stronger sensations.

And softer,

Subtler sensations.

Exploring the possibility of observing the body just the way it is without the need to change anything in this experience.

Opening your awareness to the changing nature of physical sensations in the body.

Using any preference for some sensations to continue.

Or a tendency to want certain sensations to go away.

One moment at a time,

Resting with the body as it is.

If the mind's attention wanders away to somewhere else,

Simply bring it back to the body again.

Sometimes you may meet with stronger,

More intense sensations in the body.

Instead of turning your attention away,

Seeing if it's possible to gently rest your attention on the area of intensity.

One moment at a time.

You may wish to explore observing this area of intensity.

Noticing the physical sensations that are present.

Is there a temperature?

A sense of heaviness?

A feeling of tightness?

Or perhaps some tingling or numbness?

You might also imagine breathing in and out through this area of intensity,

Softening it.

If there is a need to change your posture,

You might wish to slowly and gently move or shift your body a little.

And when the intense sensation subsides,

Returning the body back to its original posture.

One moment at a time.

Imagine your body just the way it is.

When you're ready,

Gently letting go of your attention from the body and opening your awareness to the presence of sounds around you.

One moment at a time,

Allowing the ears to simply receive sounds.

These sounds arising,

Changing and fading away in your landscape of awareness.

There is no need to anticipate sounds.

And there is no need to search for a particular sound.

Simply acknowledge any sound that comes into your awareness from moment to moment.

You might notice sounds coming from different directions.

Sounds coming from behind you or in front of you.

Sounds coming from above you or from the sides.

Changing sounds that are further away from you.

And sounds that are closer to you.

You might also attend to the different qualities of sounds.

Paying attention to the volume and intensity of sounds.

Louder sounds.

Softer sounds.

Becoming aware of the duration of sounds.

Longer sounds.

Shorter sounds.

Noticing pitch,

Tone and frequency of sounds.

Using spaces between sounds.

And sometimes,

Maybe even no sound at all.

There is no need to know or identify what you're hearing.

Simply observe sounds coming and going in this landscape of awareness.

Sometimes,

The arising of sounds may invite thoughts of memory or imagination.

When you notice your attention wandering off to thinking,

Simply know that the mind has drifted away.

Without any judgment or criticism,

Just invite the attention back to the breath in the body for a few moments.

And when the attention stabilizes,

Opening your awareness once again to the presence of sounds.

Letting go of any need to push sounds away and simply notice that sounds are here.

One moment at a time.

Attending to sounds,

Arising,

Changing and fading away in this experience.

As we arrive at the end of this practice,

Taking a deep breath in,

Exhaling completely and gently opening or widening your eyes.

Allowing yourself a few moments to transition out of your posture.

Reviews

I like how awareness is put on breathing, the whole body and then sounds, it’s a nice mix up from focusing on the breath the whole time. Thank you 🥰