So taking a moment to get in a comfortable sitting position on a cushion or in a chair and finding a posture that supports a sense of dignity.
The back upright,
Not stiff but relaxed.
And also a position that supports stability.
And so you might rock a little bit back and forth,
Left and right,
So that the sitting bones and hips feel stable and solid and grounded.
And the shoulders are above the hips and the head is above the shoulders.
The eyes closed or the gaze resting in front of you on the ground.
Allowing yourself to arrive in the present moment.
Becoming aware of this breathing body.
And then beginning to become aware of the sensations of breathing in the place where you can feel it the most.
And so for many people this is in the belly.
As you breathe in,
The belly expands.
And with the out breath,
The belly deflates.
And for others this is sensation of air streaming into the nose,
Through the nose into the body,
And back out.
And it's a warmth and coolness.
Taking a moment to explore for yourself where do you feel the breath at most.
And if no particular place stands out,
Then allowing the attention to rest with the breath in the belly region.
The breath goes in,
And there's a short pause before the in breath turns into the out breath.
Then the breath goes out.
And again a little pause before the out breath becomes the in breath again.
And there's no need to control the breath or to breathe in any special way.
This is an observation of the breath,
Sitting with the breath.
Noticing something that happens all by itself.
And again,
A little pause before the out breath becomes the in breath.
And again,
A little pause before the out breath becomes the in breath.
And again,
A little pause before the out breath becomes the in breath.
And again,
A little pause before the out breath becomes the in breath.
And so what you'll discover when you try and keep the attention on the breath for any period of time,
Is that that's not easy.
The mind wanders off into thoughts,
Stories.
Here's noises,
Other distractions.
And if you've noticed that as well,
It's not a problem at all.
In fact,
It's just the way minds are made.
When you notice that the mind has wandered off,
You can gently and firmly bring it back to the breath,
The sensations of breathing,
Wherever you feel it most.
The mind wanders off.
You notice it.
And you bring the attention back.
And whether this happens 100 times or 1000 times,
The practice isn't a practice in not wandering off.
It's a practice in bringing the attention back.
And so the attention is anchored in the sensations of breathing.
And where is the attention now?
You notice wherever it's gone to,
And you gently lead it back.
Each time you become aware that the attention has wandered off,
Noticing where it's gone,
And even congratulating yourself for this moment of awareness,
This moment of mindfulness,
And then bringing the attention back to the sensations of breathing,
Riding the waves of the breath.
.
.
A thousand times wandered off.
A thousand times we bring the attention back to the breath.
.
Anchoring the attention from the sensations of breathing.
.
.
.
.
.
.
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.
.
.
.
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.
And where is the attention now?
Noticing wherever it is,
And guiding it back to the sensations of breathing.
Which breath different than the last?
Curious about this breath,
And this breath,
And this breath.
And this breath,
And this breath.
Each time you notice that the mind has wandered off,
It's a moment of awareness.
And this breath,
And this breath,
And this breath.
And so this ability to gently return to the breath,
And to the present moment,
Is always available.
So when you notice that you're no longer present in daily life,
You might experiment with returning to the breath,
Or returning to the present moment.
Deepak,
You know.
