Let's begin with sitting comfortably.
Sit in a position where you can be relaxed and alert at the same time,
Whatever that means to you.
Maybe uncrossing your legs,
Feet flat on the floor with a straight back.
And having your hands on top of your legs or in your lap,
Whatever feels most comfortable.
And then perhaps closing your eyes or casting your gaze down.
And you may like to imagine sitting like a majestic mountain.
Maybe you can think of your favorite mountain and pretend you are that mountain as you sit.
And then allowing your body to settle down into gravity.
Letting it be held and supported by the chair or the bed or the couch beneath you.
And then perhaps noticing what the weather is like in your mind.
Do you feel sunny?
Or are there grey clouds?
Or perhaps it's a windy day in your mind?
Just being with whatever is going on.
And then begin by tuning in to the sounds around you.
What can you hear?
Near you?
Further away from you?
Just noticing the sounds,
Trying not to make any stories around them.
Just noticing as the sounds come and go.
Just trying to listen to the sounds in your room for a few moments.
And then letting go of the sounds and focusing the spotlight of your attention on your feet.
Can you feel the floor beneath them?
Do they feel warm or cold?
Just being curious about what sensations there are.
What do you notice?
Perhaps there's some pulsing.
Perhaps they feel a bit achy.
Do you actually feel your socks touching your skin?
We're just paying attention to the sensations themselves,
So we're not trying to picture them.
We're not forcing any sensations.
We're just noticing what is there for you.
And if you feel nothing,
That is also fine.
We're not forcing any sensations.
We're just noticing what is there for you.
And then we're letting go of the feet and we're moving our attention to the breath.
Just taking some deeper breaths.
And then trying to notice where you feel the sensations of the breath the most.
Perhaps you can feel the breath flowing in and out of your nose.
Perhaps noticing that the air coming in is colder and the air coming out is warmer.
Or perhaps you can feel the movement of your chest or the rising or falling of your stomach.
Just take a moment to take your attention to the breath in one of these areas.
And there's no need to control the breath.
Just your normal breathing.
And remember that you can't do this wrong.
It's not the breath that's important as much as the awareness,
Because that's what we're trying to cultivate here.
Hey,
You've been breathing for a long time and doing just fine,
So there's no need to have any thoughts about the breath or how well you're breathing.
We're just trying to become aware of the sensations of breathing.
The feeling of the breath moving in and out.
Breathing in,
Knowing that you're breathing in.
Breathing out,
Knowing that you're breathing out.
And you've probably already noticed that although you decided to practice mindfulness and follow along with my voice,
It doesn't actually mean that you can keep your attention on the breath.
And that's part of the nature of the mind,
Because it has a life of its own and it's filled with all sorts of thoughts,
Feelings and ideas,
Perhaps worries about the future and the past.
And now you're trying to focus on meditation.
And maybe you've never thought about your breath at all and you're thinking,
How am I doing this right?
Am I breathing deeply enough?
But whatever it is,
Trying not to judge,
Just trying to notice how easy it is for the mind to wander off,
Acknowledging that,
And then taking your attention back to wherever you feel the breath the most,
Perhaps in your nostrils,
Perhaps in your chest or in your stomach.
And this is the one instruction that's really important,
That when you notice that your mind is not on the breath anymore,
Then you are already back in the present,
Because you've become aware that your mind has wandered away.
So when that happens,
Just notice what's on your mind and gently but firmly bring your focus back on the breath.
And you don't have to give yourself a hard time or think you've failed,
Because this is what the mind does.
It wanders here,
It wanders there and it's got all sorts of ideas and opinions.
And we just notice this.
And perhaps you can label the thought and think to yourself,
Thinking,
Thinking,
And then you just take your attention back to the breath.
Perhaps you can try to follow one whole in-breath and one whole out-breath.
And sometimes it helps if you quietly say in your mind,
Breathing in on the in-breath and breathing out as you breathe out.
So breathing in,
Breathing out,
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
Just trying to become aware of the beginning and then the end of each breath.
Or even noticing that short pause where the in-breath becomes the out-breath and the out-breath becomes the in-breath.
Breathing in,
Breathing out,
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
The philosopher Lao Tzu writes,
Nothing is rushed in nature.
Everything unfolds how it is meant to unfold.
Nature does not hurry,
Yet everything is accomplished.
