Bring Awareness To The Breath

This is a simple breath meditation with a single bell to begin and three bells to end. I guide the practitioner to bring awareness to the breath as the main point of focus for the duration of the practice. This meditation is 20 minutes in length.

Transcript

Hello and welcome to this simple breath meditation with me, Heather. This meditation will be around 20 minutes in length. I'm going to start by inviting you to find a posture that's both alert and relaxed. So you might want to sit cross legged or perhaps you're seated in a chair. Just ensuring that the hips are square on the floor or on your cushion or on the chair. So that your body is not straining to one side or the other. If you are seated in a chair then just making sure that your feet are flat on the floor. You might gently rock forward and back so you can just find a position where there's a sense of being upright and alert through the spine. Making sure that the head is also upright and not hanging forward or resting back. So kind of a gentle uplift through the spine which allows the muscles to just kind of relax off the skeletal structure, Almost like coats hanging on a coat stand. And if you haven't already you can close your eyes or just soften your gaze to a few feet in front of you. Then bringing your attention to your breath. So you might begin by just noticing how your breath is right now in this moment. Noticing the rhythm of the breath. Cadence of the breath. Noticing where in your body you feel the breath. Perhaps you're particularly aware of the cool air as you breathe in through your nostrils. Noticing the warm air on your upper lip as you breathe out. Perhaps you're aware of the chest expanding with your in breath. Really lifting the shoulders. And then as you breathe out the shoulders dropping back down. Perhaps you're aware of the experience of the breath in the belly. Noticing how the belly expands with the in breath. And contracts with the out breath. However you find it most easy to settle your attention on your breath. Just bringing your attention there. And just observing the experience of breath. The experience of breathing. Allowing the natural pauses of the breath. Perhaps aware that there's nothing you have to really do or effort to make this breath happen and you're just observing the experience of it in the body. Just breathing in and breathing out. Now that it's very normal for the mind to wander. And when you find that that's happening or when that's happened. Recognizing that your awareness that the mind has wandered. Signifies that you have returned to a state of mindfulness and presence. So when you become aware that your mind has wandered. Just bringing your attention back to the breath. To the experience of breathing. Nothing you have to do. Not where you have to go. Just allowing yourself these moments. To be right here. When you find yourself distracted by thought you might try just labeling it as thinking. And coming back to the breath. We might imagine the thoughts as clouds in the sky. Just passing through. Always shifting your attention back to the breath. And if you find yourself distracted by sounds. Or physical sensations. Again just when you notice that's happening just bringing your awareness back. To your breath. To the experience of breathing in the body. You might experience a sudden urge to move. Just seeing if you can recognize that. And then without acting on the impulse again just coming back to the breath. If you're in any physical discomfort you can experiment with sending the breath to those parts of the body that maybe feel tight or tense. Breathing into those parts of the body. Inviting tension to let go of the outbreath. So this practice is very simple. As our mind wanders. As it so often does. As it tricks us and tries to tell us there's something more important to be paying attention to. We recognize with no judgement at all these habits of the mind to become distracted. And draining ourselves into a new habit. To bring our attention right back here. To this moment. To really be present with this breath. Seeing if you can follow it. The sensation of the breath. As it moves in through the nostrils. Feels up the lungs and the belly. And then as you breathe out. Belly contracts. Shoulders suddenly drop. Just see if you can as much as possible really be with that experience and that rhythm. Trying to notice if there are. . . Thoughts that have again distracted you. Particularly doubtful thoughts. That might tell you this isn't working for you or you can't do it. Just recognizing that these two are just thoughts. Then you can let them go. Let them pass. And return to your breath.