Shamatha (Abdomen)

Shamatha is the practice of cultivating a calm, clear & focused mind. In this practice, we cultivate three qualities: relaxation (overcoming tension), stability (overcoming distraction), and clarity (overcoming dullness). In this session, we emphasize the stability of attention by focusing on the sensations of the breath in the area of the abdomen. Previous session: Shamatha (Rhythm Of Breath) - emphasizing relaxation. Next session: Shamatha (Nostrils) - emphasizing clarity of attention.

Transcript

So,

As always,

We begin by preparing the body.

So,

Allowing your awareness to descend into the body.

Really becoming aware of sensations throughout the body.

And using the out-breath to relax and release any tightness or tension in any part of the body.

Bringing your awareness to the area of your face.

Relaxing and relaxing all the muscles in the face.

Mouth and jaw,

Soft and relaxed.

And all the muscles around the eyes,

Soft and relaxed.

In this way,

Allowing the entire body to become completely relaxed,

Completely at ease.

And relaxing more deeply with each out-breath.

Allowing the breathing to settle into its natural rhythm.

Not trying to control or regulate the breath in any way.

Really allowing it to flow naturally and effortlessly.

And then preparing the mind.

Simply allowing it to come to rest in the present moment.

And simply becoming aware of the rhythm of your breath.

Nodding to itself.

Exploding the egg.

Pressing back your associated sense faces.

And now narrow your focus and focus on the sensations of the breath in the area of the abdomen.

Focusing on the sensations of the rising and lowering of the abdomen as you breathe.

And maintaining an ongoing flow of mindfulness of the sensations of the breath in the area of the abdomen.

Meaning that mindfulness throughout the entire cycle of each in and out breath.

OK,

Good.

And if you find yourself getting distracted from the breath,

Remember the first thing to do is simply relax.

Then release the distraction and very gently return to focusing on the breath at the abdomen.

And keep coming back to the breath again and again,

Patiently and happily.

And to help balance focus with relaxation,

On each out-breath we can emphasize that the relaxation is relaxing any tension.

So,

Let's now introduce counting the breath to see if it helps to improve our focus.

So,

At the end of the out-breath,

Mentally note one.

And then focus on the sensations of the breath on the following in-breath and the following out-breath.

At the end of the next out-breath,

Mentally note two.

In this way,

Counting from one up to ten,

When you get to ten,

Go from ten back to one.

If at any time you lose the count,

Simply go back to one.

So,

Let's now introduce counting the breath to see if it helps to improve our focus.

So,

Let's now introduce counting the breath to see if it helps to improve our focus.

So,

Let's now introduce counting the breath to see if it helps to improve our focus.

So,

Let's now introduce counting the breath to see if it helps to improve our focus.

So,

Let's now introduce counting the breath to see if it helps to improve our focus.

So,

Let's now introduce counting the breath to see if it helps to improve our focus.

So,

Let's now introduce counting the breath to see if it helps to improve our focus.

So,

Let's now introduce counting the breath to see if it helps to improve our focus.

So,

Let's now introduce counting the breath to see if it helps to improve our focus.

So,

Let's now introduce counting the breath to see if it helps to improve our focus.

Reviews

I love your meditations 🙏

Me like!

Clear and simple instructions. A lot of space to experience. Thank you.

Wonderful. I appreciated the long unguided sections.

excellent! lots of silence between guidance, clear and simple yet powerful

I'm so grateful for the simplicity of this practice

Thank you for making me count.

Great breathing guidance. New teacher for me and I’ll be following for more of this clear expert guidance. Thanks.