Five Minutes Of Appreciating The Breath

This is a five-minute guided meditation for new meditators to become acquainted with the breath. Simple instructions on how to settle the body and notice the breath, as well as a three-step formula for dealing with distractions: note, smile, return. If you're trying to establish a simple daily meditation habit, this five-minute guided track is here for you.

Transcript

Let's begin by finding a comfortable seat. Really checking in with the posture and the whole body and asking ourselves what would be the most supportive and comfortable way to sit right now. Really taking our time here and checking in with the whole body, Asking what's needed, Making any adjustments that are necessary. Can we sit in a way that feels supportive and awake, That allows for calmness and curiosity. And as you find that comfortable posture when you're ready, Just bringing the attention more specifically to the torso and the body and trying to notice the movement of in and out breathing. It may help to breathe slightly deeper and slower breaths for a few minutes, Just to tune in with the movement. But remembering that you have choice and you have control over how you're breathing. If the breath doesn't feel quite right, You can change it. You can breathe differently. So just like with the posture, Asking ourselves what would be the most comfortable and supportive way to breathe right now. Really allowing ourselves to experiment with those choices. Maybe a slightly slower, Shallower breath. Maybe a deeper, Fuller breath. Whatever we want. Whatever's supportive right now. But remembering that you can change when you need to. So just finding that comfortable breath and tuning in with how it feels physically, With where you can feel it physically. Noticing that physical movement, That rhythm. Distractions happen. They're a natural part of meditation and there's no need to get frustrated when they occur. But how we react to noticing a distraction is crucial to good meditation practice. I like to use a simple three-step formula. Note, Smile, Return. When you first notice a distraction, Give it a simple one-word label like thinking or itching. This is the note. It helps to pause the thought chain and give you an opportunity to make a choice. Next, Smile at yourself. Literally, Even just a small smile and appreciate the fact that you noticed the distraction and gave yourself an opportunity to make a choice. The smile is so important. And then gently return the attention to the breathing process. You can use note, Smile, Return as a distraction formula for just about any meditation practice you do. So returning to the movement of the breath and the body and allowing the mind to remain sensitive to the whole space of the body. Allowing the mind an opportunity to notice the breath moving throughout the whole body. It's okay to use your imagination a bit here. What we're trying to do is simply appreciate the supportiveness of that feeling of the breath. To really connect with what the breath is doing for us moment after moment. It's supporting and sustaining our life. It's such a beautiful force that's always with us. So much meditation can begin with simply tuning in to how this breathing happens. To how it feels when we breathe. And emotionally to really fine-tune our appreciation of this breath. Can that be our practice? Can I really appreciate as much as possible what this breath is doing? And also appreciating ourselves for creating this opportunity today for peace to gather in the mind.