Hello everyone and welcome to Today's at 250.
Thank you so much for being here.
If you're joining live,
It's great to see you.
Thank you.
Nice to see you there.
And if you're listening to the recording,
Then welcome to 250.
We meet every day at 250 p.
M.
Eastern European time and 250 p.
M.
Eastern time in the U.
S.
And Canada for about 10 minutes of just quiet reflection.
Today's Thursday,
December 16th,
Day 645,
So welcome.
Today we'll be using the observing your breathing prompt as our prompt for 250.
So let's get started.
See that you're in a comfortable position.
You might be seated or lying down.
If you're in motion or moving around,
Just make sure to keep aware of your surroundings as we talk through today's 250.
One way to participate in mindfulness activities is to pay attention to the breath.
It's a very simple practice that goes back a long way.
Attention to the breath can come in many,
Many forms.
And so for today,
I'll speak briefly about it and I'll come back in and speak about it for a minute or two here and there during the 10 minutes.
To start with,
You might like to just simply observe where the breath is entering and leaving the body.
So this might be the nose or the mouth.
And just observe what's happening.
Watch it happen naturally.
And if the mind wanders off,
Just bring it back to the attention on the location where the breath is entering and leaving the body.
Silence.
And as you're watching the breath go in and out,
You may notice various sensations along the way and these are perfectly natural.
The idea is to just observe the breath and watch it move in and out.
So as we move along in today's practice,
You might start to notice that there are feelings or sensations that you're having in the mouth or in the back of the nose or in the throat as the breathing moves in and out by itself naturally.
Just take time and observe the feelings that you're having,
Knowing that this is just a natural part of the breath going in and out.
Just watch and observe the breath in the mouth and the throat and the neck as it moves in and out of the body.
Vision.
Another aspect of observing the breath is you might notice that it changes the shape of your chest as the breath moves in and out.
You might feel your rib cage expanding slightly and contracting slightly as the breath moves in and as the breath moves out on its own.
And now just watching the breath as it opens and closes,
The chest is an excellent way to observe nature happening right there inside your own body.
And so just observe and watch as the breath moves in and as the breath moves out all on its own.
And now just watching the breath as it opens and closes,
The chest is an excellent way to observe nature.
And if the thinking mind wanders off a little bit,
That's perfectly normal,
Feel free to bring the mind back into observation of the breath.
You might also like to notice your abdomen or your diaphragm as the breath moves in and out by itself.
Just notice how the diaphragm changes its shape.
Maybe your belly rises and falls slightly as the breath moves in and out along with the chest.
Or maybe the belly doesn't move at all.
Either way is very natural.
Just notice what's happening there in the mid-side part of your body as the breath goes in and out.
And notice it inhaling and exhaling and notice it exhaling seemingly on its own.
And now just watch the breath as it opens and closes.
And now as we near the end of today's at 250,
I'd like to introduce you to the breath and to bring your attention back to the room and back to your surroundings if you're outdoors.
Today we took a deeper look at observing the breathing as a way to practice mindfulness in three different places on the body where we can observe the breath as it goes in and out.
You might be able to use this practice any time of the day in many situations.
Just Just observing the breath can be a great way,
Great strategy,
And great pathway toward mindfulness.
And thank you for joining Today's at 250.
We meet every day at 250 p.
M.
Eastern European Time and 250 p.
M.
Eastern Time in the US and Canada.
My name is Arthur and I'm the host of the Eastern Time Meetup,
So it's a pleasure to be here with you today and maybe we'll see you again next time on At 250.
For now,
Please enjoy.
