Hello and welcome.
Today's practice,
We will use the breath as an anchor to calm our wandering mind.
This will help you to dissolve anxiety,
Decrease stress,
And allow the body to heal in a relaxed,
Peaceful state.
So to begin,
Find a comfortable position.
It's often best to be sitting,
But you can do this practice in any posture of standing,
Lying,
Or sitting.
So my guidance will assume you're sitting,
But adapt the instructions to whatever posture you've chosen.
Sitting with your back upright,
Get relaxed,
Allowing the spine to maintain its natural curves.
Just see if you can establish a position that feels dignified,
Alert,
And yet relaxed.
And allow the body to settle,
To rest down into gravity,
Letting it be supported by the floor beneath you.
And you can gently close your eyes if that's comfortable.
This will help your awareness settle by lessening external distractions.
Gradually allow your awareness to gather around the sensations of the breath in your body.
Where do you experience the ebb and flow of the breath most strongly?
Be curious about your actual experience and letting go of what you think should be happening and being with your experience without judgment.
Now very gently,
Rest your awareness within the whole chest,
Belly area.
Can you feel your belly swelling on the in-breath and subsiding on the out-breath?
Can you feel any movement and sensations with the breath in the sides and the back of the body as well?
Gradually inhabit your body a little more deeply with a sense of curiosity towards whatever you're experiencing as you breathe.
Allow your awareness to be receptive as it rests upon the natural movement of the breath in the body.
When thoughts arise,
Remember that mindfulness isn't about having a blank mind.
It's normal to think.
Mindfulness is the training whereby you cultivate awareness of what is actually happening physically,
Mentally,
And emotionally.
So you can gradually change your perspective and feel you have more choice in how you relate to life.
Can you look at thoughts rather than from them?
Can you be aware of what you're thinking and feeling without either blocking it or getting overwhelmed by it?
Remember,
Thoughts are not facts even though we often think they are.
Notice how your thoughts continually change from one moment to the next the same way your breath is always changing.
Using awareness of the movement of the sensations of the breath in your body as an anchor for the mind over and over again.
Follow the breath all the way in and all the way out.
Each time your awareness wanders as it will,
Just note this and return to the breathing time after time moment by moment.
Making sure you're very kind and patient with yourself even if you have to start again a hundred times.
And remember that each time you notice you've wandered that is the magic moment of awareness.
A moment where you've woken up from a distraction and a moment of choice.
So when you catch yourself having wandered off you've succeeded in the practice just as you succeeded when you managed to stay with the breath.
What's happening now?
Just note this,
Bringing awareness back to the body over and over again.
And now gently begin to bring the breathing anchor practice to a close.
Opening your eyes.
Be aware of the sounds around you inside and outside of the room.
Feel your whole body gradually,
Gently begin to move.
Making sure you give yourself time to make a smooth transition from the anchor practice to your next daily activity.
